We often enter each new year with high hopes of success and progress. It’s an opportunity for a clean slate and fresh start to shoot for our dreams and goals. However, as the year progresses, maintaining that excitement and aggressive momentum for the year wanes.
Goal setting is so, so very important. I once heard someone say, “If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time”.
One of the best decisions I made between being separated and divorced was learning to set practical goals to move forward. I don’t believe I would have been able to see beyond the issues surrounding me or overcome the feelings of defeat without solid goals and a plan to grow. At the end of this post, I have listed my top 3 tips for successful goal setting.
No Man’s An Island
I must admit that I have some really talented friends in business and I needed good feedback about my business goals for 2018. Talking to each of them separately is always so enlightening and I discovered they also wanted good feedback for the upcoming year. So, to helps us start the year out strong and maintain a steady momentum, I arranged a 2018 planning and round table event at my home.
The objective was to team up to face our fears, address persistent road blocks and leave with a practical plan to excel. Most of all, this event was about building a support system among like-minded women to master any obstacles we may face in 2018.
I have said this before and will say it again, surrounding yourself with the right people cheering you on is absolutely CRITICAL. You may have heard the old saying “no man is an island” and it’s very true. We need others on this journey.
To plan your own goal setting party, call on 5 friends that are focused on their craft and supportive. You can ask everyone to bring a dish making it fun and collaborative. I even scheduled a special speaker on taxes and financial planning.
Build in enough time to go into details on pain points, share what went well, things to change and things you should start doing.
As promised, Here are my top 3 tips for setting effective goals to be successful in 2018:
- Identify your top 10 goals for the year. These goals are specific, and includes a completion date.
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An ineffective goal: Loose weight
- A good goal: Loose 20 lbs. by 11/15/18
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- Review your goals on a regular basis. Otherwise, out of sight out of mind. These goals are with me almost daily and I created a habit of writing all ten goals daily for at least 30 days.
- Get a goal mentor: find someone that teaches goal setting and do what you learn.