What would happen if you got a jumpstart on your vision casting and goal setting for the new year?

How would it feel if instead of just dreams you actually had a plan and a strategy to make them come true?

I truly believe that life is something that we don’t just allow to happen to us.

Not only are we supposed to be active participants but also effective decision makers and planners towards those dreams and goals.

So if you’re one of the thousands of people who set goals every year that they never achieve, if you find yourself starting over January after January writing down the same old things maybe what needs to change more than you is how you set about creating your goals in the first place.

So what does this look like?

First of all you should divide your life into some chunky sections to evaluate. I like to use spiritual, physical, intellectual and finally emotional/relational. You need to choose the areas that reflect what your life is focused around.

I have found that these four areas encompass most of the goals I am trying to achieve. For example most people have some sort of physical goal they would like to pursue. Whether it be a new plan of eating, working out or maybe something more competitive like running a marathon.

And in the intellectual section I place anything from business goals to my desire to read more books. In the emotional and relational section I have noticed people leaning towards one extreme or the other. If they are in a dating season of life marriage goals may be a priority ( relationships also fall in to the emotional category) however people frequently neglect intentionally pursuing friendship goals such as taking time for lunch or coffee dates to nurture these necessary relationships. You can see how this should be a critical area on anyone’s list.

After you identify these chunky areas rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10.

For example, What does a healthy spiritual life look like? If an 8 is good for you and that is where you are great! But if you’d like to be an 8 or above and you rate a 4, then this is an area that you should set a goal in. The same goes for physical, relational and you could even throw in financial and self-care goals.

If you are under a five in any area ask yourself what a 10 looks like. For example if you’re unhappy with your eating/health habits what would a healthy lifestyle look like? Eating keto? Or more vegetables and less fast food? Would it look like gaining more muscle, better cardio capacity?

This is the time you need to get very specific.

It’s OK to dream big and write out what your ideal state would be in all of these areas.

If you don’t shoot for the stars you probably won’t get very far.

The next step would be to jot down a couple of goals to get from point A to point B. If you aren’t happy about where you are physically joining a gym or getting a trainer maybe a practical first step. Goals should include a timeline process. Example: For the next three months I am going to the gym three times a week.

After you come up with 3 to 5 goals across the board in the areas that you chose to work on in your life now is the time to get more specific.

How are you going to go about this? If your first goal was to join a gym – which gym? And if you’re going to work out three times a week – which days? At what time?

When you finish this exercise in each area you should have something like this – starting January 2 I am going to join “XYZ” gym for one year. I’m going to work out Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 AM. (Then make sure you are ready to go with workout gear, etc.)  OR I am going to write a 40,000 word book by March 31. I will write 500 words a day in Microsoft Word Monday through Friday on my lunch break.

You get the idea. And then put these goals, with all the steps included into your favorite planning system- paper or digital.

Set alarms and reminders in order to set yourself up for success.

Finally, get an accountability partner (or two) to run through this same process . Share your goals and dreams to hold each other accountable.

Now you are set up to have a successful jumpstart into the new year with a great launch into accomplishing your dreams and goals.

You’re welcome!