It’s the New Year… can you believe it? With the new year many people make resolutions, only for them to be easily forgotten about. I am someone who loves creating goals, I am very goal-oriented and each year I take the time to reflect and build a goal system to help me create direction for the next year. I have found a system that works really well for me and I figured it may help someone else with structuring theirs too.
Reflect on Past Years’ Goals
The first thing I do is reflect on past years’ goals and determine if there are goals I want to keep into the next year, areas I want to focus on more this year, or if there are areas I feel I don’t need to have as much focus on. It is also a great time to reflect on any sort of growth or change that you have experienced. Take the time to pat yourself on the back for making it through the year in whatever capacity that you did. Remember to meet yourself wherever you are without judgement or criticism, but with an open mind and a graceful heart.
Choose a Word of the Year
Each year I try to find a word to help me create direction in my goal setting and way that I move through the year. I try to pick a word that resonates with me and the way I want to function. For example, last year I chose the word peace. This was a reminder for myself throughout the year to reflect on when it came to decision making and activities I engaged in. Choose a word that excites you, something that you can work on or towards.
Create a Statement of Intention
Something new that I am trying this year is to create a statement of intention with my goals. I learned this concept by practicing yoga. When practicing yoga, you often set an intention for your practice that day. It is something that you bring to the forefront of your thoughts and breathe through your being as you move. It can be something you are working towards or someone you want to become. For my goals, I am using this as a way to move through the year in a way that I am looking to live and as a reminder of the person I seek to become.
Breakdown Goals into Categories
I find that by breaking my goals into separate categories it helps to break down the areas that I want to focus on in my life, while remembering some of the areas I often forget. This helps me to work on many different areas of my life at the same time. These categories can look different from person to person, year to year. Whatever works for you in the time of life that you are in are the categories you can choose.
Here are my categories for this year:
- Financial
- Career
- Spiritual
- Physical
- Intellectual
- Other (any goals that don’t fit into the other categories)
- Word of the Year
Other category ideas:
- Social/Family
- Academic
- Personal Development
- Hobbies
- Bucket List
I hope this helps in creating your goals for the new year. Let me know if there is anything else you want to see when it comes to goal setting! Happy 2023!
