Setting Goals For The New Year That Last Beyond January 31st
For many of us, New Year’s goals are easily set and more
easily sacrificed for those matters we deem more pressing.
Whether it’s reconnecting with old contacts, improving your
financial situation or improving sales in your firm, New
Year’s goals can be very difficult to keep. By working on
the goals you set now, future goals will be easier to
attain. Besides, learning new things or the possibility of
new revenues, reaching goals often leads to improved
self-esteem and confidence.
The following tips can help you set and work towards
reaching your goals, past January 31st:
Believe in Yourself: Realize the New Year is a great excuse
for a fresh start and to review the past year, a bit more
objectively. Be excited at the opportunities that come your
way and see how you can become a catalyst to get things
moving.
Sharpen your Pencils: In order to achieve goals, it helps to
put them in writing. This action allows you to be
accountable to yourself and lets you see what you need to do
when things look harder than they seem. Believe it or not,
writing things down makes goals more achievable than when
there is a jumble of thoughts bouncing around in your head.
Review Last Year’s Goals: Take an objective look at the
business and personal goals you made last year. Evaluate
what you were able to achieve and move forward; learn to let
go of lower level priorities that may be holding you back.
Set Realistic Goals & Objectives: When you think about new
goals and objectives, make sure they’re within your reach.
Be mindful of your time, energy, commitments and resources.
Many people forget that life continues, even when you set
new goals. If you don’t take this into consideration now, it
will lead to unrealistic goal setting.
Develop a Plan: Think about a plan for reaching your goals.
Create a timeline with steps. Set deadlines for each step
and cross them off as you go. Schedule and update meetings
with yourself in a monthly calendar to ensure you are
reviewing and adjusting these steps as it relates to your
life.
Be Flexible: Remember, life is full of change, and as such,
changes will need to be made. Don’t get discouraged. Stay
focused, as long as you are working toward your goals,
things are moving in the right direction.
Celebrate: It’s very important that you reward yourself.
Goal setting and goal reaching is not easy. The fact that
you are considering these steps means you are serious about
bettering your career and even your life. Go out and
celebrate! Celebrations can include going to Starbucks,
getting a manicure or spending time with friends.
The start of the New Year does not have to be the only time
to set and achieve new goals. Whether you are setting
personal, financial or business goals, I wish you all
success on your journey.
Beth Silver has been providing marketing and business strategies (http://www.doubetllc.com/services) to entrepreneurs and small business owner for over 10 years. For more great tips and to sign up for Doubet’s free monthly newsletter, The Target Advocate (http://www.doubetllc.com/newsroom), please visit http://www.doubetllc.com
