Happy New Year! The holiday season usually gives us a chance to think about our lives and the past year that was. It’s also a time we reflect on the coming year and what changes we’d like to make. We’re all making resolutions to make this year better than last year. But no one wants to fail. Here are a few tips for new year goal setting that can help improve your chances of success.
Write down your goal.
The first step in setting goals is to write them down. This helps solidify your intentions and makes it easier for you to stay focused on the goals you want to accomplish. Once you know what you want, you can begin breaking it down into smaller steps that will bring you closer to achieving your goal.
Create a backup plan.
Creating a backup plan can help you avoid those tough times when it’s hard to think straight and stick with the plan. If you’re going through a stressful time, or your resolutions seem too hard, take a step back and think of another way that could help you reach your resolution. Creating a backup plan takes some thought and time, but it’s worth it in the end.
Decide when you will accomplish the goal- set a timeline.
The trickiest part of creating a timeline is deciding how long it will take you to accomplish your goal. This can be the most difficult part of planning a timeline. The best way to set this deadline is to know yourself well enough to decide how long it will take you to accomplish the goal with proper planning, research, and effort. If you’re not sure what this amount of time is, set two or three deadlines and revise them as needed.
Break up the big goal into smaller steps.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the enormity of a goal and give up before trying, but if your goal is broken down into manageable pieces, it becomes much more doable. When you accomplish each small task, savor the feeling of accomplishment and pat yourself on the back!
Reward yourself for achieving the goals.
Reward yourself for the milestones that you reach along the way. This is important as it not only keeps you motivated, it also helps you see your progress clearly and make sure that you do not lose sight of the objective at any point in time. You could reward yourself with small things. It doesn’t have to be expensive. They keep you motivated enough to continue with your task.
In Summary,
Goals should be a way for you to feel better about yourself and your actions, not a means by which to mock yourself when you don’t reach them. Be realistic with your expectations, don’t pressure yourself, and most importantly, have fun!
