Starting the New Year is always a wonderful feeling because it’s a time we can all start fresh. We can start making plans, create goals, and defining your future. Let’s figure out together what your goals are. Goals are a roadmap that will lead to your desired future.
Imagine a life where you wake up every day and do whatever is available for you to do. You do not care where you are headed. As long as you are alive and have everything you need to keep going.
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Your daily steps are not directed towards any particular targets; a perfect definition of ‘going nowhere fast’. It does not matter how much money you make. Or how many friends you have. Or how supportive your family and people around you are.
Define your goals
If you do not have personal goals, you are bound to get to a point in life where you look back and feel you have lost time, opportunities, and direction. You might even start regretting the life you have enjoyed. What felt like support from your loved ones will start to feel differently.
Goals guide us to our destination. Fitzhugh Dodson illustrates it better when he says; “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.”
It is easy to imagine what we can think of as the perfect life for us. However, if we do not purpose in our hearts to follow the path that leads to that kind of life, we will find ourselves anywhere and everywhere the wind blows. We would be very lucky if we land where we dreamed to be.
It is important to note though, that when we say goals guide us to our desired destination we do not mean that we stop moving and dreaming when we reach the set goals. Rather, goals take us as far as our sight and dreams can reach. And along the way or when we get there, we work towards doing more.
Thus, we never stop dreaming and setting goals for as long as we still have the brains. And the ability to do more with the life and strength we have been given.
The benefits of setting goals include identifying the right path to the desired life. This prevents going back and forth. Or taking the longer route. Get an idea as to what needs to be done or avoided.
What to consider when setting goals that will lead to your desired future
1. Know who you really are – this helps you set goals that are suited for your personality. It also helps you to know the level of personal growth required for you to be the person you want to be.
2. Be yourself – staying true to ourselves is the best gift we can ever get. We are more likely to struggle and be miserable when we do things to please others. Instead of doing what keeps us happy and fulfilled. Set your own standards and live by them.
3. Align goals and beliefs – beliefs for us what is good or bad, important, and petty. To make our journey easier, we need to ensure that our goals and beliefs do not clash to avoid confusion. And also to keep our conscience clear.
Beliefs help us set a strong foundation and define boundaries. If your standards and goals are determined by your beliefs about your life, what you can live with, or without, there are greater chances that you will stick to them.
4. Dream big but do not be scared or ashamed to start small – it is important that we dream big regardless of our current situation. It challenges us to do more than just what we think we can afford.
However, as you dream big, you should remember that big achievement is sometimes a result of small steps taken with commitment and determination. If you keep waiting to start big, you may never start. A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
5. Define what you want for your future and devise possible ways to get you there – this is where you write down or set in your mind where you go from where you are and the route you want to take.
However, be mindful of the fact that along the way you can still find other ways to reach your goals other than the ones you had in mind when you started. It is, therefore, important to keep looking for more opportunities and ways to improve your strategies. Remember to stay in your lane.
6. Set strategies to monitor your progress – you should be able to identify along the way what is working and what is not working. Adjustments are necessary when the latter is the case or else you will get stuck or not make much progress. Also, monitor your daily habits and develop habits that move you towards your goals.
7. Be ready to face setbacks – based on your chosen strategy, identify weaknesses and possible threats, and prepare yourself for dealing with obstacles along the way.
8. Define how you would involve others in your journey – no man is an island. How will you set your strategies in a way that accommodates your loved ones? Your plans are incomplete if you leave out those who matter to you or your future family.
Check out the following FREE Goal Planner Worksheets. It will help you achieve your Ultimate Goals for the New Year 2021
