Happy New Year! New year, better you! This is the year to achieve the goals that you have set out for yourself. This is the year that you will be successful, abundant, and fulfilled. I want to help you achieve the goals you have set for yourself by using this blog as your cheerleader.
So many people set out with the best intentions at the beginning of a new year when they set their resolutions. They set really high expectations and lofty goals for themselves and within a couple of weeks or a couple of months, those expectations and goals fall away because they are just too hard to maintain. I believe that the main reason that New Year’s resolutions fail is because we don’t know the “why” behind the resolution. Perhaps, we set these goals because they sound good or maybe these goals are what we think we want for ourselves. Some of us even set goals because it is what society tells us we want for ourselves. And there are those of us who set goals that we really do want but we just don’t know how to achieve them. Well the struggle stops here.
First things first, you should only be setting goals that you yourself want to achieve. This is the year that you are going to stop living for other people and start living for yourself. Why? Because when you focus your energy and love on yourself, everything and everybody in your life will feel the positive effects of that energy. When you put yourself first place, you will start living life now. No more waiting for “someday”. Your “someday” is today. Start living now because you matter. You are the only person who has to fully live with your actions, decisions, and thoughts. Make the most of this year and that starts with you. Once you have decided to start living for you the next step is finding out what you really want.
The best way to figure out what you really want in life is to ask yourself “What do I want?” What do you want from your life, your family, your career, your body, your relationships, your finances, etc. Be specific. That is another reason that New Year’s resolutions fail, people are not specific. I am sure many of you have heard of SMART goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Once you start to get answers to some of these questions about what you want out of life, start setting SMART goals. For example if you want to go back to school you SMART goals would look like this: I will be attending a Masters level program in my field of study at a Virginia University by the Fall of 2018. By April 2018 I will have applied to four different Virginia Universities; George Mason, James Madison, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia. I will apply for student loans no later than June 2018. These goals are very specific and are also a great way to hold yourself accountable. By having a timely end date, you know when you have to accomplish what in order to make your goal happen.
The second question you want to ask yourself is “Why”? Why is this my resolution? Why is this my goal? Sometimes you have to ask yourself “why” several times in order to get to the heart of the real why behind your goal. Dig deep and find out the true reason and push behind your goals. Once you understand the “why”, you will begin to understand why some of your goals have failed and you will be able to understand the real fuel behind some of your desired goals.
The third question you want to ask yourself when setting goals is “How”. How will I achieve this goal? Do I have the money, the resources, the support system, the time, etc. The “how” is where the rubber meets the road. The “how” is when you get to see what you are really made of. Do you really want this goal? If the “how” isn’t coming easily, ask for help? If you find yourself placing hurdles in front of yourself you may need to go back to your “why” to see if this goal is one that you really want to accomplish.
So many people think that they have weak will power or that they are just not strong enough to achieve their goals. Nothing could be further from the truth. We all have the power to acheive what we want to achieve. Maybe your inability to achieve a goal is your inner voice telling you that this isn’t really what you want.
What do you want for yourself in 2018? How do you want to start living your life? What goals can you set for yourself and how are you going to hold yourself accountable to achieving them?
You got this!