Goal Setting in the New Year

Goals.

One day I’d like to live like Oprah Winfrey; there, I said it.

Oprah Winfrey is the epitome of #goals.

I want to be so set that I vacation in Ibiza with my BFF and have no qualms about ordering room service or spending an extra day on our luxurious yacht. However, after a recent game-night of trivia, I learned that Oprah Winfrey became a news anchor at the inconceivable age of nine teen in Nashville, TN.

So, I won’t lie to you, Oprah and I might have slightly different ideas of success. In fact, I’m pretty sure Oprah’s dogs live a more extravagant lifestyle than me at this point.

Shoot for the moon and land among the stars.

Am I right? Since I am not actually delusional and do have some sense of reality, I realize it’s important to set a few more reasonable goals along the way, that I actually have the chance of attaining.

As we ring in a New Year, it’s the perfect time to evaluate where we’re at on our path to success and re-calibrate our means of getting there. I really dislike the term “New Year’s Resolution”, because I don’t think there has ever been a time that someone saw to it that they stuck to their ‘Resolution’ through the end of the year (if you happen to be that one person who has, hats off to you). Instead, I believe it’s more beneficial to decide where you’d like to be in five years, one year, or even six months in the future, and then make the necessary changes/steps to make it happen. Long-term goals are great, but it’s also important to set short-term goals that are achievable in the coming weeks and months. These smaller, more immediately feasible goals, help move us along to our more “big picture” goals. In an article on Mind Tools (https://www.mindtools.com/page6.html) they layout some excellent suggestions on how to decide on your goals and then stay-the-course to succeed in your journey.

Mindtools says it best, “Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation.” One suggestion Mindtools had for writing out goals, is to use the mnemonic “SMART”.

S- Specific (or Significant)
M –Measurable (or Meaningful)
A- Attainable (or Action-Oriented)
R- Relevant (or Rewarding)
T- Time-bound (or Trackable)

Writing down your goals helps you keep track of them and hold yourself accountable. Feeling stagnant or stuck-in-a-rut, can absolutely be a motivation killer.