How To Set Goals For Your Best Year Ever
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While you may have set some goals for 2018, you don’t think they’re really going to happen do you? I mean, really. The one’s you set last year didn’t stick either…or did they.
When you set goals for this year it’s easy to get hung up on the one’s that didn’t come true from last year. Dwelling on this fact for too long can even cause a fair bit of “beatyourselfupedness.” But I can guarantee you that when you look back on last year you will see…something positive. And probably a lot positive if you give yourself some time.
Rarely do people keep a really good accounting of all that went right in the last year. Using an app like WinStreak can help you do that. Or just writing little wins in your calendar can help. But if you haven’t done that it may take you a bit to look back through the year and see all that went right, versus what you missed.
A goal I’ve had for a long time is to weigh 172 pounds which was what I weighed when I competed in the Olympics. It’s a number that’s been in my head for a long time and yet I tend to sabotage myself when I reach 185 pounds. The most I ever weighed was 208 when I was bobsledding!
So I wrote it down again for this year. “I am light and alive at 172!” says the goal. And yet when I wrote it down AGAIN for 2017, it kind of bummed me out. “Sure, yeah. You’ll make THAT happen.” But as I sat with that thought for a while I realized that what was getting me down was this thought, “Can I lose that much weight?”
By looking back on this past year I realized I CAN lose that weight. By using the Withings App on my phone and a Smart Scale that I picked up in the Apple store, I could see that earlier this year my weight crept up to 202 lbs! And today I weigh 187. That’s fifteen pounds!
So I could look back and get bummed and beat myself up and think, “You missed your goal again you idiot.” By looking back I could see that I am fully capable of losing 15 pounds. I did it before and I can do it again. And guess what losing fifteen pounds again means…I’d weigh 172!
If this sounds familiar, it’s time to have a look at all of the good things that happened last year BEFORE you set the goals for this year. Doing an annual review of all the good things that happened to you last year is critical to help you create momentum for the year ahead. Some people will tell you that it’s not good to look at the past. “The past is past!” they will say. But I disagree. By doing a quick review you can make adjustments to move forward. That’s what great athletes do and that’s what you can do too.
Create Your WinStreak List For Last Year
I teach my coaching clients to create a WinStreak list for the year. Ideally, you’ve been adding wins to your calendar, but if not…here’s a list of Trigger Quesetions to help you remember the wins you had this year.
- What projects did you finish this past year?
- What new projects did you think about to finish this year?
- What projects did you complete for others?
- What fun events did you go to or create this past year?
- What were some of the cool things you did with your family this year?
- What were some improvements you made in your home?
- What were some cool leisure activities you took part in this past year?
- What were some improvements you made in your health?
- What were some personal development achievements you made?
- What are some new clothes you purchased?
- If you have pets…what were some fun things you did with your pet(s) this year?
- What were some new things you learned this past year?
- What good things happened in any of the relationships you have? Family? Friends? Coworkers?
- What else can you think of?
Reduce “Goal Getting Molasses”
When you have negative thoughts about your goals from the past, it creates a very sluggish feeling to creating new goals for this year. By using this technique to pull all the good out of last year it will give you momentum heading into this year. By being grateful and happy about what you have achieved your more likely to be positive looking forward to new goals this coming year. Even the tough ones!
Set Goals In All Areas Of Your Life
Like a bicycle wheel your life needs to have some sort of balance. It’s ok to spend time focusing on your big goals for a while but not at the expense of other areas of your life. For example, it’s ok to start that new business but if you leave your relatiionships for too long they may fall apart. Same holds true for your health. So it’s important to set goals in all areas of your life and not neglect any one area for too long.
Here are 7 areas of your life that I want you to set goals in:
1. Set Goals For Your Health and Fitness
Your ability to reach all of your goals starts with a health and happy YOU!. There is no shortage of information to help you set goals to improve your health and fitness in 2018. As I mentioned above, my goal is to weigh 172 pounds by March 28. What’s yours?
2. Set Goals For Recreation
It may seem odd to start your goal setting with how many days you’re going to take off, but as Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach tells us, you have to have free days. How much time are you going to take off from your work and your career? Where will you go? What will you do? And with who?
3. Set Goals For Your Relationships
A recent study revealed that being married was no longer a recipe to being healthier or happier than being single. But we can all agree that having someone to hang out with and do fun things with helps make our work life that much more purposeful. Think of the ways you can improve your relationships with your friends, family or significant others.
4. Set Goals For Your Work and Career
These goals will be tied to your financial goals, but possibly not. What goals are you looking to achieve this year? A promotion? A raise? Recognition? What projects related to your work and your career are you looking to complete this year?
5. Set Goals For Your Financial Life
Many of my clients are looking to get their financial house in order. How much do you want to make in 2018? Do you need to create a side hustle to reach your goals? Take some time to get a solid picture of your financial situation and set goals to improve it.
6. Set Personal Goals
While you’re looking to achieve all of these great things in your life, it’s easy to forget about…you! What do you want to do this year just because you want to do it? What do you want to learn about yourself? Maybe you want to learn to play an instrument or a second language. It’s easy with Smartphones in our pockets do learn something cool. I’m looking to learn how to play the Ukulele. How about you?
Set One Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)
Once you’ve set goals in all areas of your life, there is usually one big goal that by achieving that one goal a bunch of other goals will fall into place behind it. We call it the B-HAG. It’s big. It might even scare you. But you know that once it’s done, then a lot of really great things will start to happen.
Tell me in the comments below, what is one big goal you’d like to achieve in 2018. It doesn’t have to be your BHAG, but if you want to share it go right ahead. Remember, all of your goals are possible.
To recap, take a look at everything you accomplished this past year. Give yourself a pat on the back no matter how big or small they may seem to you. Then go ahead and set goals for 2018 in all areas of your life. And finally, what’s that Big Hairy Audacious Goal you’ve been sitting on. The one you know if you made it come true would make things extraordinary.
