It is almost habitual for most of us to set New Year's resolutions in January only for the momentum to fall away by the end of the month. That's why some are cynical about the whole process of setting resolutions, which I can understand. However, if you set goals in the right way and develop the right mindset then you may find that you will be able to achieve amazing things in life! Here are some key steps to setting goals and achieving your ideal life.
1. Be True to Yourself. Think about the person that you are - the people, places, habits and things that are important to you. These are your foundations and your life, habits, decisions should be built around that - the person that you are.
2. Reflect and take stock of all areas of your life. Identify where you are not in alignment with the person that you are? Consider what you would need to do to resolve this.
3. Set your vision for the future. What does that look like for you? Go into as much detail as you can here. For example, if you want to move house where do you want to go? What will your house look like? What kind of area will you be in? How many rooms will the house have? etc. Do this for all areas of your life and get absolutely clear on what you want.
4. Ask yourself why your vision is important to you? If you ask yourself 'why is this important?' 5 times your answers will indicate how strong a sense of purpose you have. The stronger that 'why', the more likely it will be that you will take action and work to stay on track when things get more challenging.
5. Don't lose sight of the present. This might sound strange given I've just asked you to set your vision for the future, but don't obsess to the point of worry about the past or the future. Enjoy each present moment as it comes. Find gratitude every day for the positive things in your life as it is. This moment is really all that matters, when it comes down to it. All the while you can be working towards progressing your life.
6. Create your own success map. You don't create the life you truly want by sitting back waiting for it to happen. it is, therefore, important that you believe you can achieve it and want to take action. Start with your end goals in mind and map out the big milestones to get there, then break those milestones down into very basic actions. Focus on the first action, schedule time to complete it and get going. Momentum builds belief and confidence and reduces overwhelm.
7. Forgive yourself and others. Sometimes feelings of guilt or resentment can really hold us back. This can be either towards yourself or others. A common example being you telling yourself that you've failed before so will fail again. This is simply a limiting belief that you tell yourself, in fact, convince yourself of. The reality is that in many instances, failure is a great way to learn and grow. Forgive yourself, support yourself the way you would support others, learn from previous experiences and set out steps that will get you to where you want to be. None of us will live our lives without making any mistakes.
8. Create positive habits. This takes time, some say it ranges between 30-66 days to create and embed a new habit. What positive habits could you create that will help you to get closer to your goal? Do it every day, stay with it, keep scheduling and completing the habit and after 30 days it'll start to get easier and will eventually become a habit. You can then consider other positive habits that would help you to make progress.
9. Start to create momentum... now! Make sure your big goal, your milestones and small steps are all visible. It is important that you have sight of them every day in order to keep your mind focused. Do what you can every day to move you closer and closer to that life that you want.
10. Celebrate success! Acknowledge and reward the progress you make from the first small step you take, to achieving each milestone and then ultimately achieving the big goal or dream you've been working towards.
Take the time to work through each of these steps and with commitment and self-discipline, you will develop the mindset required to set goals, stay on track and achieve great things. If you feel like you would benefit from the support of a coach I'd be delighted to hear from you.
You CAN do it!
