Setting realistic goals in 2018

Setting goals at the beginning of each year helps give direction in the year ahead. It provides clarity and helps you to know where to focus your attention and activities – what to say yes to and what to say no to. Goals shape your year, rather than having the year shape you.

Below are my 5 top tips for to achieving incredible goals in 2018.

 

  1. Review 2017

In order to set goals for the year ahead you need to be clear on where you are now by reflecting on the last year. So ask yourself:

  • How was your 2017?
  • What went well?
  • What didn’t go so well?
  • What did you achieve in 2017?
  • And what are you most proud of?

 

  1. Identify your top 3 goals

Imagine it’s the end of 2018, what would you like to have done or achieved? Where you would like to be in your career, business, relationships, health or wellness. Dream big and don’t limit yourself as this will help you to see what areas of your life are most important to you right now. From here select your top 3 goals (in order of importance) and outline specifically how the goals look like to you i.e. how will you know if you’ve achieved the goal?

 

  1. Action planning

Break-down your goals into each of the action steps you need to take and set a timeframe. Think about what resources or help from others you might need to achieve them and develop an action plan. Also consider whether all of the steps are achievable within the year. Staggering your action steps throughout the year will help you to work within your other commitments.

 

  1. Staying on track

Importantly, once you’ve set your goals you can set yourself up for success by thinking about what the biggest things that may get in the way or get you off track from your goals are? For example, imagine that at the end of 2018 you completely failed to achieve your goals – what was it that happened to led to your failure? And what can you build into your action plan to reduce the chance that this may happen?

Remember that any goals you choose are your goals and that you can change or update them at any point. It’s ok not to spend your time and energy pursuing goals which have become unrealistic because life happened. And it is also ok to pivot your goals as your priorities shift and change. The most important part of setting a goal isn’t always achieving them – it’s your decisions and the person you become that’s most important.

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Nicole Jade is a life coach who supports women who are feeling stressed, stuck and unsatisfied into living a life they love. ?For more information: www.instagram.com/Nicole_Jade_Coaching/?