Think about goals. Do you think of a one and done event or is it an ongoing process? Do you wonder why your goals haven’t worked out before? A goal setting worksheet could be the answer to truly track your goals and watch your progress toward the target. My Dad loves goal setting. As a kid, I always thought goal setting was the biggest joke. Every year I saw my Dad working diligently on his goals and after that day, I never heard anything about it again. So I tried it one year. I worked to create these goals that I wanted to achieve, created some really good ones and then waited for them to magically come true. I didn’t realize that after you set the goals you needed to actually do something to achieve them. I didn’t see that part of the process. I didn’t see the part where you had to continually remind yourself of the goal and evaluate what progress you had made. I didn’t understand that after Dad made his goals, he worked to achieve them. Now that I’m older, I fully understand that goals don’t magically come true (that’s dreams), but there’s some work to set yourself up to succeed and achieve your goals.
With the start of the new year, people start thinking about setting new goals. Do you check them throughout the year to assess if you’re on target for achievement though? Do you review last year’s goals when you set next year’s to see if you reached them? The best way to be successful is to set the big yearly goal and then break it into smaller pieces. If you want to save $12,000, what do you need to do in January? Then take it even one step further. If you want to save $1,000 in January, how do you plan to succeed or what steps do you plan to take? Receive your free goal setting worksheet to break down your goals and post them somewhere you will see them often.
Goals are really important to give you something to work towards and to make sure you have a general idea where you’re heading and what you want to achieve. It’s important to remember that you aren’t trapped by your goals. You can create new goals at any time as your life changes and your targets change. Goals are made to help you succeed and help you see your progress as you move in the direction you want to head. Can you imagine how great it would feel to succeed? You can achieve it. You can make the choices to achieve your goals. When you post your goal setting worksheet somewhere that you can see it often, it will help you remember that your choices do impact how quickly you succeed.
How do you set a goal that you can achieve? You want one that is reasonably possible for you to achieve, but not one that is so easy that you could meet it without trying. You need to stretch yourself to dream big. Think about the thing you want most in the world. Then make it a little smaller and think about what steps you can take towards that big target so that it can be achieved within the year. If you think you have a safe target that you can meet in a year, add 10% more. Whether it’s money or anything else. Add another 10% difficulty to push yourself to be as great as you can truly be.
Once I set my goals, I like to schedule 4 times on my calendar throughout the year to remind myself to check back in on the goals. If you hold the time on your calendar now, it makes it much harder to forget and ignore it throughout the year. Then even if for some reason by the first meeting you haven’t made as much progress as you would hope to, you still have time to catch up and celebrate the win. During the check-in, I make sure to review my goal setting worksheet and track my progress.
What do you do when you succeed? For starters, smile and be proud of yourself. Know that you are amazing. Despite challenges, despite distractions, despite life getting in the way, you kept going, stayed true to yourself and won your challenge to yourself. That’s what a goal is after all, isn’t it? A challenge to yourself. A challenge that once you reach your goal you’ve proven to yourself that you are amazing. If you don’t set goals, where is the reminder that you are amazing?
Download your free goal setting worksheet as a reminder of your goals and everything you want to achieve this year. I like to print a new copy each month to break down my goals and reinforce my yearly goal by continuing to write it down and post it where I can see it. You could also bring the printed sheet to Staples, Office Depot, Fedex, or a similar store and pay to get it laminated (it cost me about $2) and then you can use a white board marker and reuse the same sheet each month. Set yourself a big goal, imagine how incredible you’ll feel once you achieve it, and keep going no matter what.
What goals are you setting for the new year? Comment below to share.