Goal Setting Like A Ninja - How I Plan Out & Set Up My New Year Goals For A Win
“Hope is not a strategy” - Rachel Hollis
How many new years resolutions have you kept? Any? I’m pretty sure that up until a couple of years ago I’d never kept a single one. Shocker right? lol.
What changed? I was sick of being ambitious, having dreams and goals but not moving towards any of them. I knew what I wanted but was struggling to follow through. So I approached my goals in a new way and continue to do so to this day. It’s put me on the path of a growing business, healthy personal life and a constant forwards motion towards achieving my dreams. I now get pumped at the idea of spending time at the end of December planning out my next year, heck the reality is that I’m already starting to think about it before December 1st comes around.
I think that’s pretty cool and I want that for you too. I want you to walk into 2020 with motivation and a sense of knowing that you will be able to follow through for once. So if you are full of goals but always failing to reach them grab a nice cuppa or glass of vino and delve into this blog, it’s for you my friend!
You Have To Break It Down
The quote at the head of this blog is probably the most impacting statement I had ever heard when it came to my goals. When I heard it it hit me like a punch in the gut because I realized that’s exactly how I had been walking into my new years resolutions and overall life/business goals.
Tell me if this sounds like you, ‘My goal for next year is to be debt free’. This is such a common new years resolution along with ‘This year I will get fit’. They are great goals to set, in fact maybe the two best ones to set if you are struggling with them. BUT that’s all they were, statements made aloud to the world, like wishes, believing if you say them aloud or write them down that miraculously you will figure it out and pull it off, but guess what, you didn’t.
Wanna know how to get debt free next year? BREAK IT DOWN. You have to get more specific than just a general statement. I want you to grab a pad and pen or write in your Mac notes. Put the heading ‘DEBT FREE’ and then work out your total debt and write it next to the title. Scary I know but do it.
Next work out all your expenses each month and get super specific. If you need help with this step there are so many great resources for budgeting you can find online. This one’s pretty straight forward and easy to use BUDGET PLANNER.
Now you can work out what is realistic. Knowing what you earn and putting it against what you owe you can see if it is realistic to set the goal to be completely debt free. Are you already setting yourself up for failure? Is it more realistic to set up the goal for a 24 month period? I don’t know what it looks like for you but you get my point, you have to make the goal achievable. You have to break it down and work out how you are going to practically pay it off rather than ‘hoping’.
The same goes for weight loss, fitness improvements, revenue goals, relationship and personal growth.
2. You Have To Face It
Ignoring the situation won’t make it go away. I know you already know that but I want to make it super transparent. Don’t avoid the goals you should be setting because you are scared to face them. Ignoring them is not a strategy.
If you want to get fit but feel hopeless, not knowing where to start or believe it’s too big a feat, ignoring it will only make the reality of achieving it that much harder. The same goes for debt, rebuilding your marriage, a broken friendship or launching your dream business. Waiting is never the answer and nor is pretending it doesn’t exist.
So pop on your big girl pants and hit that sucker right in the face. Own it, physically write it down because for some reason that makes it more real. Don’t ask me why, it just does lol. Once you bring it out into the open you often find that something you thought was an enormous task is actually much smaller.
3. You Have To Have Accountability
This is such a hard one I know. I used to never tell anyone my goals because of the fear that I would fail and then that person would know and lord knows what they would think. Then I realized that without accountability my success rate plummets. Accountability has power and that power is a motivation to follow through. Accountability also brings with it support! Who doesn’t love someone championing them on, their own personal cheerleader? I know that I actually need it.
Even now I am terrified of telling people my goals, or at least some of them. Generally the ones I’m afraid to share are the ones that challenge me the most, the ones that push the boat out the most and may sometimes cause others to feel uncomfortable. Maybe it’s super ambitious? Maybe it’s something I’ve failed to do before and so I fear the judgement. Either way I can’t be scared, you can’t be scared. You need a cheerleader and if you don’t have anyone in your world I will be it for you! I will happily go in on your goals with you, keep you accountable and be a source of encouragement for you.
The key to sharing though is with whom you share them with. Wisdom is vital. The person or persons you share your goals with must be trustworthy and a positive influence in your life. If they are not already a cheerleader for you then they may not be the right fit. Often our dreams are bigger than those around us and that scares them so they’ll scoff and say that it’s not possible or bring you down. Find someone who will dream with you, who see’s an even bigger vision than you do for your life and if not then they at the very least believe in you.
Marc (my hubbie) has been the sounding board and recipient of many of my outlandish dreams over the years and not once has he ever told me that I can’t do it, that I can’t achieve it or that I’ll fail at reaching it ‘again’. I know I can dream big with him and he’ll help me find the belief in myself that it’s a real possibility, even if I’ve tried it before and failed. He’s never the ‘I told you so’ guy. That’s what you need to find and then share them, share your goals freely and ask your cheerleader to check in with you, encourage you and help you in any way they can.
4. You Have To Goal Set In Multiple Areas
I used to only set one or two goals for the year but that was before I realized that in order for me to get to the end of the year and feel like I’ve grown, achieved and been successful I had to set goals across the board. It wasn’t enough for me to have my business grow but my relationships stay the same or my health deteriorate. So I moved to a multi goal setting plan.
These are the areas I plan goals for…
- Business
- Financial
- Personal Development
- Mental Health
- Physical Health
- Family
And…I go into detail for every one.
This year for instance I have a revenue goal. That’s great but to achieve it I’ve broken down all my session costs, decided how much I am willing to work and then done the math on how many of each type of session from newborn to wedding that I need to book in order to reach my revenue goal. Then I’ve gone even deeper into breaking down how I will book that many of each. I have a practical plan for getting there and you should too because remember, ‘hope is not a strategy’.
So lets recap…
First you have to look at your goals, write them down and spend time breaking them down. Get specific, as specific as possible. Create practical plans that will help you to reach them.
Don’t just set the fun exciting goals. Let 2020 be the year that you also face the scary ones because those are usually the ones that’ll propel you forward the most.
Once you’ve got that set find a Mr or Mrs Motivator. Share your dreams and new goals with that individual and set up a way to remain accountable to some extent. Even if it’s just a monthly catch up over coffee where you don’t avoid those awkward questions about where you’re at and how it’s going.
Then remember to check that you’ve set up goals for all the different facets of your life. Aim to finish out 2020 with a sense of progress throughout your life.
My final thought would be that you HAVE to revisit your goals more frequently then annually. Get out your agenda (or diary as us Brit’s say) and write in a once a month appointment with yourself, heck, book yourself in with yourself every Sunday night if that works better and review how you are doing with moving towards those goals and adjust your plans accordingly.
Personally I love a weekly self-check in. It allows me to break my goals down into micro manageable parts. I plan something for that week that will move the needle forward and so can you. Make it bite size.
I hope this has helped you to line up a new way of goal setting before the clock strikes midnight on the 31st! But remember you don’t need a new years eve to set amazing goals to better your business, your life and your health. Every day is a fresh opportunity to move into your dreams and I believe you can make it happen. It’s not a walk in the park to achieve great goals but you CAN do it.
I’m praying your 2020 is a year of consistency and follow through. A year where you reach goals like never before.
Did you know that I send out regular nuggets of knowledge, behind the scenes advice, offers, promo’s and all the in-betweens for FREE! Yup, and I want you to be a part of it. Let me help you, let me serve you. Just click the link below to join the CopperRed Family and start receiving all the extra special content today!
x