Hi friends!

I can hardly believe that we are almost at the end of 2019, but here we are! With a new year right around the corner, I thought this would be a good time to talk about setting intentional resolutions and goals for the new year!

I personally don’t set new year resolutions, but I DO set intentional goals for my personal life and business throughout the year. Whether you set new year resolutions or not, the new year is the perfect time to set some intentional goals for yourself.

Today I want to break down how you can set your own goals and how to follow through with them!

Whenever I sit down to set goals or brainstorm, I find it is extremely important to first create an environment for you to get your creative juices flowing. For me, this means being in a quiet and comfortable space, with my favorite drink, and with no distractions. Before you start the goal setting process, make sure you create an environment that will support you in setting goals- whatever that looks like for you!

When it comes to goal setting, I love using the SMART acronym because it’s easy to remember and it helps you to create really intentional goals. If you’ve never created SMART goals before, let me walk you through the process!

SMART Goals are:

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Sensitive.
So, why are these specific terms important? Each of these components of the SMART goal acronym has an intentional purpose and will help you to set purposeful goals.

Let’s talk a little bit about what each of these guidelines mean!

Specific. We want our goals to be specific. “I want success” isn’t a specific goal. We need to ask ourselves- what exactly do I want to achieve? Be as specific as you can. Ask yourself the who, what, when, where, why, and fill in the blanks.

Measurable. We want our goals to be measurable. If they aren’t measurable, how will you know you’ve achieved the goal or that you’re making progress? Do you want to reach a certain number of sales by a certain time? Earn a specific promotion? Do you want to have a specific amount of debt paid off in 6 months? Ask yourself: How much? How many? How will I know when I achieve this? Include some sort of measurement.

Attainable. Is your goal attainable? This is important because we want our goals to fall somewhere between attainable and challenging. We want our goals to push us out of comfort zones and force us to try new things. But we also want them to be realistic. Not necessarily easy, but realistic. For example, if you are wanting to buy your first home, then your goal will relate to buying a home within your budget. Your goal will likely be to buy some sort of starter home that is attainable for you, not a mansion that is outside of your budget.

Relevant. Next, is your goal relevant? This is really important because your goal must be relevant to you and your life in order for you to stay motivated. We all need support in our goals from time to time, but we have to be our own internal motivation. YOU are responsible for achieving your goal. Ask yourself: Am I excited to achieve this goal? What will my life look like when I meet this goal? How important is this goal to me? Is the timing right for me to work toward this goal?

Time-Sensitive.  Last, is your goal time-sensitive? Meaning, do you have a deadline for this goal? If you don’t, you need one! It is extremely important that we give ourselves deadlines with time sensitive goals so that we don’t lose sight of what we want to achieve in the long run. If you are having trouble making your goal time-sensitive, ask yourself:

When do I want to achieve this?
Where do I want to be one month from now?
Where do I want to be six months from now?
What about in one year?
What can I do this week to work toward this goal?

Now let’s talk about follow through for a minute. We can set the most intentional goals ever, but if we don’t stay consistent and follow through, it won’t do us any good. The best thing you can do is figure out a system that is going to help you stay focused and dedicated. Some things you can do to follow through on your goals:

Use a planner.
Plan out your month and weeks.
Break down your goal into smaller tasks to achieve each week and month.
Set aside specific time to work on tasks each week.
At the beginning of every month, have a brain dump/brainstorm session with yourself to get all your ideas out on paper.
At the end of every month, have a review session with yourself where you look at what worked and what didn’t. Then figure out how you can tweak things and improve going forward.

I hope this helps you to create some awesome new year goals for 2020! What are some of your goals for the new year?