For anyone that has been reading my blogs and newsletter for more than a year, you know that I am a big fan of goal setting for the new year. Just about the end of October, I begin to get excited thinking about what I want to create next year. It may be something physical that I can touch and then again, it may be some personal change or transformation I want to achieve.
You may remember from past blogs that 3 friends and I have a tradition each New Year’s Day to head to Lincoln Park in Chicago for lunch. It is now a routine on the way home to review the goals we set for ourselves from the previous year. We sometimes get a few laughs about it and other times we share our disappointment of not reaching it. Either way, it’s a good way to create a vision for our future.
We then take turns announcing our goal for that new year. I take notes in my phone so that we can remember them on the following New Year’s Day. I have a blast doing this! It’s one of my favorite things to do on January 1st! Yet, there’s a bit of resistance at times from my friends to set a goal and that’s their choice.
I don’t get it! I always thought that without a goal or a dream for the future, life would be very stagnant and ho-humm. Goals and dreams actually challenge me and my abilities. Setting a goal pushes me to learn, to explore, to be curious, get out of my comfort bubble and best of all… it allows me to be an improved version of myself. Having goals sparks my creative juices and gets me excited about what I could do and have! Who can I BE???
I have recently put into practice writing down my business and personal goals almost every day. If you have not tried this, you may want to take a few minutes each day for goal setting. Writing down your goals helps to remind your brain of what direction you want to head in. Putting pen to paper gives those goals energy, will energize your thoughts and that’s when ideas will begin to pop up. You may be in the middle of your shower and an idea comes to you. You may be shopping and you notice a sign that triggers a brilliant idea in your head. Not just any ideas, but thoughts of something that will take you one step closer to your goal.
Writing them down is much more productive than simply thinking about your goals. If you don’t give those goals energy, how can you expect to achieve them? They need to be charged up! They need energy moving around them! They need you to think about them and picture what it will be like when it is achieved! They need you to feel as though it’s already happened! They need you to express gratitude for reaching them, even though they haven’t been reached yet! It doesn’t matter!
“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.” Mark Victor Hansen
YES! Put your future in your own hands. Do not allow others to control your future. Set one or 2 goals for 2023 and challenge yourself. Become an improved version of yourself. If you do not reach those goals, do not judge yourself. Do a reboot for the following year and move forward. It’s possible that your direction needs to shift a bit or maybe your beliefs about the goal need to get stronger. Maybe you don’t have passion for that goal? Do you need to change those goals up to get the juices flowing?
Whatever the case, continue to set goals and take the time to write them down. Give them energy and look at that paper every day. One year from now you will thank yourself for putting your future in the best hands – your own.
