Five Tips For Setting New Year Goals
I like to set goals on an ongoing basis, but the new year traditionally marks a time when people sit down and evaluate the results of the past year and make plans for the upcoming year. So, as we enter 2017, here are a few goal-setting tips I would like to share!
1. Find a comfortable and undistracted place. No electronics, no people, no computer; turn everything off! It doesn’t have to be a beautiful skyline, ocean and palm trees, but I recommend choosing a place where you are very comfortable and in-tune with your personal world.
2. No time constrains. It is very important to select a time of day when you don’t feel rushed, because you never know if you’ll end up working on goals for 20 minutes or two hours. If I feel that I’m generating great ideas and new inspiration, I want to have enough free time to explore them fully and get carried away.
3. Evaluate long-term vision. When working on goals, it is great to evaluate long-term vision, as we sometimes have great ideas that can alter the entire vision of ourselves in the future. I like to make sure that my goals for the upcoming year are helping me achieve the life that I envision living, or I re-evaluate the vision itself, if that is needed.
4. Divide Goals Into Different Categories - What works best for me is writing out goals for different categories in my life: professional, spiritual and personal development, health and fitness, and hobby related goals. This helps me to clearly see the entire picture and visualize what I need and want to work on. Categorizing helps me achieve significant improvement in different areas of my life and ultimately reach a new level of self-development. I also write a list of places that I want to visit throughout the year. An avid traveler, it’s fun to evaluate this wish list at the end of the year and see how many places I’ve crossed out!
5. Be Specific and Clear - It is very important to know exactly what you want. The more specific you are, the better chance you have for achieving your goal. Our brains are wired this way; we focus better when information is presented in a short, clear and concise way. Also, let’s not forget that goals should inspire you! When goals are just a list of things you once wrote, with no emotional desire to execute, they will remain as just a list of things to do. Feel inspired, wish it with all your heart, write it out clearly, set a deadline for it to happen, and you will see by the end of the year how many goals were accomplished.
Wishing everyone an amazing New Year and success in achieving your goals!