Setting Goals for 2021!

What a mess 2020 was, and thats why we need to hit 2021 running with a action plan that will set you up for success! The best way to start is to set some personal goals and ensure you are doing everything you can to ensure you have a great year! 

Step 1: Think about what you want
It is important you think about what you want. If you ultimately want a good life, then you should be able to pen down what a good life means to you. Once you can describe what a good life means to you, then it would be easy for you to build goals around it. Asking yourself these questions to help you narrow down what you want:

• What are the things that make me happy?
• Why do these things make me happy?
• What are the things that I can stop doing that will help me achieve ‘my happiness’?
• What are the things that I do already that make me happy? 
• How can I do more of the things that make me happy?

Step 2: Set 'Big Picture' goals or 'Life Time' goals 
Setting lifetime goals or big-picture goals gives you an idea of what you want to achieve in your future. It gives you an overall view of different aspects of your life. Consider the following:

• Education– Is there any other knowledge that you want to acquire, what do you need to achieve that goal.
• Career- What level do you want to get to in your career and what do you want to achieve
• Finance– How much do you want to earn, at what stage, is it related to your career goals
• Family– Do you look forward to being a parent, what do you need to achieve that goal. 
• Physical– Do you want to achieve physical fitness, what area of physical fitness do you want to concentrate on. 

Step 3: Set smaller goals 
To cut down your goals into smaller actionable ones, you can break it down into the following:

• A 5-year plan goal that will help you achieve the big-picture goal.
• A one-year plan goal.
• Create a six-month plan goal.
• One-month plan goal.
• Weekly goals.
• Daily to-do-list.

Step 4: Set ‘SMART’ Goals
‘SMART’ refers to Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Time-Bound.

• Set Specific Goals

Your goals should be specific, clear and well defined. Setting generalised goals will make it difficult for you to achieve success because the goals will be neither here nor there. 

• Set Measurable Goals

It is important for you to set timelines for the goals that you created so that you can measure the degree of your success.

• Set Attainable Goals

Don’t set unrealistic goals. You should make sure you set goals that are possible for you to achieve. If you set goals that are unrealistic and unattainable, you will end up feeling like you have failed at achieving success, and this can affect your confidence too.

• Set Relevant Goals

You should set goals that are relevant to the direction you want your life to go. Keeping your goals aligned with the direction that you want your life to go will help you stay focused on achieving the bigger picture. 

• Set Time-Bound Goals

When you are setting a goal, you should set time bounds or deadlines.

Step 5: Set Priorities

It is important that you set priorities when you set goals especially if you set multiple goals. You should give each goal a priority. 
Setting priorities for each goal will help you stay on top of all your goals and will prevent you from being overwhelmed by setting too many goals. It will also give you a sense of direction in your goals.

Step 6: Make an Action Plan
As much as it is important to set goals, it is also good for you to have an action plan that will help you achieve the goals that you set.

This is one of the most important aspects of setting goals. Many times, people are always focused on the outcome of their goals and not on the process that will lead to achievement. 

Writing out the individual steps that will lead to achieving the ultimate goal, and then crossing each step as you complete it will give you the direction you need to achieve your goals. 

If you set a big or demanding goal, it is important that you write down the steps so that you can re-visit it when you are confused. 

Step 7: Keep Track of Your Progress

Writing down your goals and the processes of achieving them will help you keep track of your progress. Re-visiting your goals and the processes will help you take note of particular successes. Knowing that you are progressing with your goals will encourage you to work harder.

Now get to it!!