Goal Setting

Start 2021 Off Right: 5 Tips for Goal Setting

One thing that almost all of us share as human beings is the desire to grow and progress in life. While some may be resistant to change and desire the status quo in some areas of their lives, two thing are certain. Change is evitable and the desire for growth is in our nature.

As we look back on the year 2020 and prepare for the upcoming New Year, the new calendar year presents us an opportunity to set goals to help us focus our efforts of growth and progress in a very intentional way. We know that on December 31, 2021 we will have undoubtedly changed in some way, shape, or form. You and your kids will be a year older, you will have worked another year at your job, or maybe changed jobs, or perhaps stopped working all together, and your body will be different.

Goal setting allows us to determine how we want to change this year. It provides a framework for you to focus your efforts so you are happy with the change that occurs.

I encourage you to take some time to think strategically about how you want to change this year and how this upcoming year can be a year where you moved the needle on key areas of your life. Here are 5 tips to help guide your goal setting process:

Taking Inventory on Your Year

As I write this we are wrapping up the year 2020. While undoubtedly this year has brought unforeseen challenges for you and your family (hello, global pandemic), there may have been silver linings in your life as well. I love goal setting and thinking about how I want to create a bigger future for me and my family, but I also believe that there is tremendous value in looking back and reflecting on what you learned over the past year. Reflection is a great teacher, and so I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the year 2020 before setting goals for the year 2021.

One great way to reflect on the past year is to think about your greatest accomplishments over the past year and what you are most proud of. Think about three areas of your life: your professional life, your personal life, and your relationships. What happened this year in each of those areas that you are most proud of? Why do you think you were able to move the needle in those areas? What did you learn from those experiences?

Do you fear you won't reach your goals?

I recently had a coaching session with a client where I asked her to set ambitious goals for the year 2021. We’ve been working on one work-related goal through coaching and she’s made great progress on that goal, but I wanted her to be outside her comfort zone a little bit and set additional goals for the upcoming year.

My client was a little hesitant to set more goals, as she wondered what would happen if she didn’t reach them. This is a completely normal fear/feeling to have, and I told her that not reaching an ambitious goal has definitely crossed my mind before, too.

Watch this 2-minute video to learn what I told my client and what you should do if you ever have this limiting belief about yourself and you're worrying about possibly not reaching an ambitious goal.

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What a Difference a Year Makes

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What a difference a year makes. I came across this April 2019 professional headshot and forgot how much different I look today. I’ve lost weight before, but I always ended up gaining it back.

In April 2019 I was the heaviest I had ever been, and while other areas of my life were going well, I knew I had to start a health journey and find a way to lose the weight and keep it off for good.