Creating Goals to Make Your Year Successful

In last week’s blog, I spoke about why having a New Year’s Resolution might not be the best way to go about producing self-improvement habits. I also mentioned how setting yearly goals for yourself and revisiting them on a monthly basis is a better way to gain good habits and get rid of bad ones. I want to dive a little deeper into HOW to set up your goals as well as how to make sure you maintain them.

Splitting Goals into Categories

I suggest splitting your goals into the ‘Categories of Life’. This will help you realize what is important as well as help you decide what goals you want to accomplish in the new year. The Eight Dimensions of Wellness breaks up what is important and necessary for humans to flourish into 8 categories: Emotional/Mental, Financial, Environmental, Social, Occupational, Physical, and Spiritual. For the sake of creating SMART goals, we can combine and condense these into 4 categories:

1. Spiritual
2. Relational / Community
3. Financial / Career
4. Physical / Mental

I will talk a little bit about why each category is important and what it represents, as well as some examples you can set in each category. I will also share with you my personal 2021 goals that I have set for myself at the end of this post.

Before We Begin…

• If this is your first time creating a list of goals for the new year, I recommend you keep your list short, with 4-6 goals max. It is better to set a few goals and accomplish them than to set too many, feel overwhelmed, and give up.
  
  
• As the year goes on some goals will change. Certain things on your list might no longer be relevant, while other things will become imperative to accomplish. This is totally fine and it does not mean you failed if your list needs some tweaking, as long as the reason is legitimate and not a cop-out.
  
  
• The examples I use are suggestions for goals that you should elaborate on based on your current situation. Remember, SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Below is an example of a general goal and how you can evolve it into a SMART Goal:

Goal: Exercise More

SMART Goal: Go to the gym 3-5x a week for at least 45 minutes each session

Spiritual Goals

“Spiritual wellness is being connected to something greater than yourself and having a set of values, principles, morals and beliefs that provide a sense of purpose and meaning to life, then using those principles to guide your actions.”

–Emily Smith

To me, spirituality has become one of the prime factors of my life, which is why I have it listed first out of the four categories. The path to spirituality is not an easy one. In a world that is constantly fast-paced and always moving, it can be extremely difficult to live in the present moment and focus on the now. Spirituality is very important to help one become centered and to give you a sense of meaning. It can also be an eye-opening experience and allow you to think more clearly.

Spirituality Goal Examples:

• Meditation
• Personal reflection via journaling or otherwise
• Taking time each day to be in the ‘now’
• Prayer via religion or on your own
• Quiet time alone
• Community service
• Yoga
• Visualization

Relational and Community Goals

Relational and Community Goals, can also be classified as Societal Goals. This is where your goals should be centered around the purpose of improving your personal and overall relationships with others. If you are introverted like me, it is especially easy to isolate yourself from friends and family and spend time alone. This is necessary sometimes, especially if one of your spiritual goals is quiet time. However, we also need positive relationships in our lives to help us feel fulfilled. I connected this goal with Community because being an active member of your community will help you to build new relationships within your neighborhood and find that same sense of purpose.

Relational and Community Goal Examples:

• Improve relationships with friends this year
• Improve your relationship with your parents
• Volunteer
• Network
• Create new friendships
• Go on dates
• Donate to charity

Financial and Career Goals

While these can technically be two separate categories, I paired them together since our career decisions are almost always directly affected by our financial situation, and vice versa. When setting financial and career objectives, it is important to remember that these are goals you want to achieve by the end of 2021. It is great if you have long-term goals set such as a 5-year plan, but that does not belong here. Rather, use these goals to help accomplish your long-term goals. Be realistic but optimistic about what you can achieve by the end of 2021.

Financial and Career Goal Examples:

• Pay off debt
• Get a raise
• Get a promotion
• Start my own business
• Buy a house
• Have x amount of dollars in Savings by December 2021
• Buy/Lease a car
• Create a weekly/monthly budget plan
• Start a new career in the field you are passionate about
• Get straight A’s this semester (if you are a student, that right now is your career)

Physical and Mental Goals

Originally, I had this category only set as physical. Upon further reflection, I decided to include mental as well. Setting goals and reminders to take care of your mental health and sharpen your mind is just as important as taking care of your physical health and strengthening your body. A strong mind combined together with a strong body is a recipe for success. It will make you feel better about yourself and help you build confidence, among numerous other positive outcomes.

Physical and Mental Goal Examples:

• Exercise
• Lose weight
• Yoga
• Eat healthier
• Read books
• Learn a new hobby/skill/trade
• Take a walk every day
• Bike to work

How to Maintain Goals

Take the time to reflect on what you want out of the year and write down your SMART goals for each category. Once you do this, it is common to be excited in the moment but forget about your goals as life gets busy. After all, these goals are long-term so they won’t always be top of mind. This is why I suggest finding time, at least once a month, to sit down by yourself for 15 minutes and review your goals. Add it to your calendar as a recurring event. Constantly checking up on your goals list will help you realize where you are with your progress and what you need to improve upon.

Connect With Me

If you need help deciding what goals are important for you in 2021 or how to create SMART goals, feel free to reach out to me at eric@ericgolban.com or connect with me on LinkedIn or even message me on Twitter and I will do my best to assist you in creating a great list of goals for your 2021, completely for free.

Best,

Eric

Eric’s 2021 Goals List