Why You Should Set Goals, Not Resolutions This Year
By Ashira Prossack
As the new year rolls around, it’s a great time to set new goals and start the year off on the right foot. While resolutions are at the forefront of everyone’s mind, setting goals will be far more beneficial, whether you’re setting them for business or your personal life.
The reason that goals are more beneficial than resolutions is that goals are more specific and action oriented than resolutions, which makes it easier to create a plan to achieve them.
Here’s how to set goals that will set you up for success in the new year:
Be specific.
The best goals are incredibly specific, with clear steps to take you from where you are now to getting the results you want to achieve. The more specific you can be when breaking down your goals, the more likely you’ll accomplish them. When goals are broken down into manageable and measurable pieces, you’ll be able to track your progress and stay focused. This helps to ensure that you’ll keep working on the goal until you accomplish it.
Keep your goals someplace visible.
You’ll be more likely to keep working towards your goals when they’re literally sitting in front of you. Write your goals on a sticky note and keep it on the side of your monitor, or keep them in a note on your phone’s home screen. Keep a document on your computer where you can keep track of your progress and physically check off the boxes as you make progress. The more time you spend seeing your goals, the easier it will be keep up the progress you’re making with accomplishing them.
Turn your resolution into a goal.
Start with something broad, like increasing your income, and think about how you can make that more specific. Are you looking to increase your salary? Raise your rates? Bring in money from a side hustle or turn your side hustle into you main source of income? Once you’ve narrowed this down, set it as your main goal, then create a series of smaller milestone goals that will help you achieve your big goal. Get as specific as possible and outline all of the smaller steps you’ll need to take to reach your full goal. This is the key to success.
Choose no more than three goals to work on at a time.
The fewer goals you’re working on at once, the better. If you try to do too much at once you’ll end up getting overwhelmed which can hinder your progress. This in turn can lead to feelings of frustration and decreased motivation, and ultimately can lead to you abandoning the goals you’ve set because you aren’t seeing any progress.
Working towards just one or two goals is optimal, because it’s easier to maintain your focus. You’ll see more tangible results, which will increase your motivation to keep going and working until you’ve turned those goals into achievements.
