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We are nearly at the end of 2022 and, chances are, you are starting to do your annual review of your work and home situation with a view to setting some new goals for 2023.
Unfortunately, a common mistake we tend to make, is to only work on ourselves once a year. We seem to be on that treadmill of life and rarely get off to take a good look at whether we could change anything for the better.
In this article, we take you through some key stages to setting life goals and how to stick to them!
VALUES
Before you start to list a set of 2023 goals to create your New Year New You ethos, you need to make sure you are clear what your beliefs or ideals are.
Take a good look at how you currently use your time and is your time aligned to your VALUES?
When we talked about this in the office, we found our top three VALUES were:
HEALTH | FAMILY | POSITIVITY
Which we further defined as looking after our health and well being through eating well and exercising. Spending time with family and friends and creating a positive happy working environment.
goal SETTING
Goals are the broad main outcomes that you want to achieve. Goal setting is the first step of successful goal achievement. It marks your first point toward success.
Goals should not just be 1 year. Think 3, 5 and 10 years to truly take control of your life and your aspirations long term.
Top-performers, world-class athletes and successful business entrepreneurs all set goals. Goals stop you sleepwalking through life and allows you to take charge of your future.
However, just writing down your list of goals isn’t enough, you have to make sure any goals you have remain relevant and front of mind.
reflection
Goals are useful motivators. However, you need to build a reflective habit and mindset to bring your goals to fruition.
Regular reflection allows you to own and steer your progress. For example, some people find it helpful to add structure to their reflective habit by deciding they will always reflect on their day, week or month keeping a daily diary or the use of a monthly planner.
Another positive way to create a habit is to create a set of prompts that you use to evaluate your goals.
For example:
- General reflection – what has been my biggest challenges and highlights in January? Have I used my time well?
- Specific reflection – have I made a positive impact on those around me? Where have I used my critical thinking to achieve a positive outcome?
DREAM BIG
Some would argue that chasing ‘stretch goals’ and dreaming big may do more harm than good – after all, what happens if we don’t meet them?
However, there is clear value in going after big goals beyond actually achieving them. When we set a big goal we build a bottom-up plan to achieve it. It forces us to really focus on how we are going to get there.
Like Microsoft’s mission statement “A computer on every desk and in every home” was wildly ambitious, if not impossible at the time Gates was quoted saying this in the 1980s. However, it forced Microsoft to ‘think big’ and change the overall trajectory of their business.
Of course, we are not all Bill Gates, but stretch goals can really help if you are looking to completely change your life style. It may be a goal to compete in a marathon which needs dedicated and regular training. Or, you might want to completely change your job maybe you want to retrain to become a teacher or a nurse. These bigger goals take a bit more planning, time and concentration however, the reward is much much greater go on DREAM BIG!
CHANGE YOUR MINDSET
If you view your life as a plant, that needs to be watered and fed to grow and bloom, it will change your perspective from living passively waiting for something to happen, to being an active creator of your situation and ultimately your overall happiness.
It means you can literally write your own story. In fact, that is what your goals are doing. You are writing your own destiny as you are underpinning your desires with a clear path of action.
Even when you do not know the expected outcome, by creating a cycle of looking ahead and specifying what you hope to achieve and REFLECT on it regularly, you are giving yourself the chance to craft a life that meets your VALUES changes your MINDSET and allows your to DREAM BIG.
To help you start crafting your New Year New You ethos, here are some of the team’s favourite books to help you answer big questions about yourself, your goals and becoming a successful achiever in all parts of your life.
Edward L. Deci is a legend in the study of motivation. This is one of his early books and offers a really good introduction to self-motivation. He challenges traditional thinking of how to motivate people from your children to work colleagues. Moving from a reward and punishment strategy to finding a condition in which people will motivate themselves!
In this groundbreaking book, Give and Take, Adam M Grant, a Wharton professor, shows how giving at work can lead to greater happiness and success. It looks specifically at why our interactions with others hold the key to success. Praised by social scientists, business theorists, and corporate leaders it provides an approach to work, interactions and productivity that is revolutionary.
Byron Morrison's latest book Think like a CEO is an absolute masterpiece. Discover how to master the mental game needed to become a highly effective CEO. This book literally puts you back in control of your role, so that you maximise your time, lead with confidence and grow a business without losing your sanity.
FINAL THOUGHT
When you really think about it, setting goals is really about stating what you are passionate about. By understanding your own values and idealisms, you can create a life that does not stagnate into a mundane routine. You are at the helm, you can drive your own future for a happy and fulfilled life.
I wonder why it is then that only 3% of the UK population actually admit to setting and reviewing personal goals each year. With the ongoing uncertainty of living within a pandemic, I personally believe it is even more important today to look positively towards the future. It keeps us in good mental health and breeds optimism and hope.
As I do every year on the run up to Christmas, I am about to sit down and review my 2022 goals. However, one of my goals moving into 2023, after writing this article, is to take my own advice and align my goals with my values and then regularly review them!
Hope you’ve enjoyed the read!
Joanna Noble, Managing Director, Proud Mum of 4 Girls, Top Goal Setter!
