The new year is inching closer and there’s an undeniable desire for change.  This year I think we’re craving that more than ever before.

I’m going to share with you how to set goals and successfully meet them so you can make it your best year yet.

You can make 2021 your year, my friend!

But first, if you haven’t taken some time to reflect on the past year, start there. You can go back to my previous blog post to learn more about how to do that.  Starting with reflection helps you get really clear about where you are and where you want to go.

Now, let’s talk goal setting!

I think most people start the new year hoping to achieve something new.  They might call that hope a resolution or a goal but it’s not usually something more than a thought in their minds.  They might hope for what they want by thinking about it or wishing it to be true, but it doesn’t usually become more than that. So they continue to wish for the same thing over and over each year. But it doesn’t become their reality since it was never more than a hope or wish.

This is why goal setting is so important. I want you to think about setting goals as an intimate way of connecting with your current self and the future self you want to create. When you do this you’re building a relationship based on loving yourself.  Because when you do this you’re saying that you love yourself enough to create a plan that’ll help you learn, grow, and become the best version of yourself that you can be.

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Here’s how to get started:

1. Let yourself imagine and create your future.

Give yourself time to imagine what you want in your life and who you want to be.  Remember when you were younger and you used to dream about your future?  You’d dream about going to college, finding the man of your dreams, your ideal career, traveling, or the day when you’d have your own family.  But somewhere along your life path you stopped dreaming. 

Allow yourself time to dream again.  Think about what you love about your life right now and the things you’d love to add to your life.

The idea here isn’t to want something because it’s going to make your life better or make you happier.  Remember, the grass is not greener on the other side. 

2. Create your goal.

Your goal, for example, might be to change careers.  You appreciate your career now.  You’re so good at what you do and you love that you’ve been able to grow in your career.  You’ve also been given a salary that’s helped you and your family get out of debt.  But you know that you’re capable of more and you’d like to challenge yourself to change careers and realize your potential. This goal is a little scary but it’s exhilarating and so fun to consider.

3. Write down your goal!

This is such an important step.  Unfortunately it’s a step that many people skip.  When you write down your goal you tell yourself you’re committed.  When you write it down in a place where you see it daily you also get the daily reminder. This helps your brain focus and continually go to work on helping you accomplish your goal.

4. Let your emotions come along for the ride.

When you set goals, expect negative emotion to come up.  It’s normal and when it happens (and it most definitely will) I promise you that nothing has gone wrong.  This just means that your brain is doing its job.  Its job is to protect you from anything that’s new, scary, and potentially dangerous.  For your brain, that’s actually doing anything new.

So, when this happens just allow your emotions to be there.  Notice them, name them, write them down, and give yourself time to process them.  And sometimes, this might take a while.  Again, it’s not a problem.  Your emotions can come along for the ride.  Just make sure they’re in the back seat and not in charge of driving.

5. Allow your negative thoughts to be there.

Again, just as we talked about with your emotions, you’re going to have some negative thoughts come up about your goal.  Know that this is normal.  You can acknowledge those negative thoughts, write them down, and get curious about where they’re coming from. 

Then consider who you’ll need to be to follow through with this goal.  What thoughts will you need to think, what emotions will you want to feel, and how will you show up because of those thoughts and emotions?  Choose to regularly focus on those instead.

6. Create your action plan.  Then simplify it and write it down.

Often when we create new goals we don’t know what we need to do to meet our goals.  We tell ourselves that we don’t know how.  Usually when we say this it just means we haven’t made ourselves answer the question of how to figure it out.

In this step you’re going to figure out what you’ll need to do with each part of your goal so you can accomplish it.  Simplify this. Make it easy. Break each step down. Google what you need to.  Do whatever you need to do to figure it out.

7. Follow through with your plan.

Think about how many different actions you’re willing to try in order to accomplish your goal. When your first 3 actions fail, what will you do? Will you give up or will you get back up and try again or try a new way?

If you’re truly committed to your current self, your future self, and meeting this goal, then continue to take action. If you do, you’re bound to succeed.  You’re bound to become more of the woman you want to be.

And that, my friend, is true success!

One last note!

Are you ready to start your journey toward becoming the woman you want to be this year?  I can help you. Click this link https://katrinaklooster.com/work-with-me to sign up  for a complimentary 60 minute consultation call.  On this call I’ll help you see the thoughts you’re having that are holding you back from meeting your goals and you can learn how my 1:1 coaching program could help you.

Resources:

• 5 Steps to Reflect on 2020 (blog post)

• 3 Reasons Goal Setting is So Important (blog post)