Goals for the new year.
I was asked by a co-worker early-mid December what my new years resolutions were for 2017, if I had any. I gave him the honest answer, I wasn’t 100% positive because my focus was on finishing up my goals for 2016. My goals for 2016 were mostly financial and wouldn’t be completed until the very last paycheck of 2016 on 12/30. The biggest goal was paying off my student loans, which I did manage to accomplish. However, these big goals that took every last day of 2016 to accomplish were keeping me from determining “what’s next” due to the amount of focus needed on the current goals.
I’m also really nervous of jinxing my goals. Goals that I am extra determined to accomplished and are the hardest to accomplish. I like to keep them to myself. Usually these are my financial goals. The world is unpredictable and things generally seem to pop up for me. If I silently keep focused and stayed determined I am able to keep myself in the right (stubborn) determinated mindframe/mode to accomplish even the challenging-ist tasks.
It was really bothering me that I didn’t have anything specific set for goals, for the up coming year. I think it bothered me most because I was finishing up something amazing like paying off my student loans which made me feel like I had to do something equally amazing in the year following. This however wasn’t going to be possible, though. No matter what amazing financial goal I set for 2017 it would not be as great of an accomplishment as paying off my debt. I had to find something else that could make me feel as accomplished in the next year. When I was struggling with what to do in the new year I first thought maybe I would take the year off or only do something small but that didn’t feel right. I felt like I needed to get more stuff accomplished in my life. That’s just where I’m at right now, I guess. I decided that a few smaller-ish financial goals and maybe some personal life goals might be what I needed. When I finally stumbled on the right goals for 2017, I knew it instantly. It felt plausible and right. I knew it was what I wanted to work hard on to achieve in the new year.
I used to think that new years resolutions were stupid, but I have to say that I find them actually helpful because they increased my feelings of accomplishment. When I am able to look back on my year and easily say “I accomplished X this year!” it makes it easier to feel proud and grateful for the things achieved during the year. This year I found my goals differently than other years. How did I find the goal? -I worked backward. Why is this important? Well, maybe you are struggling with setting new years resolutions as well. No matter when you set the goals -before the new year, on New Year’s Eve, or after the new year begins the important part is to set them.
Typical Goal Setting
Set a goal for the new year. Then set a plan for how you will reach the goal, what your monthly and daily goals will be to reach the overall goal for the year. For instance, if you made your goal paying off x debt in the new year, you would start with the goal and set up a plan/budget as to how you could pay it off before the end of the year. If you wanted to remodel a room in your house you would start with the goal and lay out the steps you would need to take at certain timeframes throughout the year in order to complete the project before the year ended. This is typically the usual way to set goals. Decide, plan, accomplish. The most important is the plan and the follow through on the plan to accomplish your goal.
•Decided on your Goal(s) [Resolutions]
•Figure out the daily/monthly steps to reach the goal
•Create a calendar plan listing the daily/monthly goals
•Work throughout the year to achieve your goal
Reversed Goal Setting
Lay out your daily and monthly goals for the coming months. Review the calendar of events you created. What will you be able to achieve? What if you work a little harder to complete some of the goals? Will you be able to finish them within the new year? Realizing your true potential is the best way to motivate yourself, not to mention the best recipe for success. If you try to do something that is impossible in the timeframe you allotted you are setting yourself up for failure and loss of interest. For instance somethings are just mathematically impossible. If you only have $100 extra dollars in your budget each month you can’t save $500 in 2 months. If you only have 1 weekend a month free you can’t plan on finishing up a project in one month that will take 2 weekends to finish. You can only do what you can do. Find your goals and stick to them. There is also nothing wrong with setting goals that will take more than 1 year to accomplish just remind yourself how far you have come and keep working everyday to reach your goals.
For me this year I laid out the projects that we would be working on this year and what we needed to do to get them all done in 2017. I also crunched the numbers in the budget to see what was the next best step for us financially, this enabled me to make the best financial goals for 2017. Together they form my goals for 2017, something that I can work toward. I know that it is the right fit for me. Hopefully it all goes smoothly with a little hard work added in.
•List daily/monthly goals
•Figure out what projects goals you really want to achieve in the new year
•Decided on your Goal(s) [Resolutions]
•Create a calendar plan listing the daily/monthly goals
•Work throughout the year to achieve your goal
Determination, dedication, and hard work will be the most helpful in reaching your goals. Even if you don’t manage to complete them in the timeframe that you hoped the important thing is that you keep working toward your goals and the life you want to live. Never give up and you will get there someday.
Good Luck! I wish you the best 2017 possible!
Finding a Happy Medium 