Saying Yes to Goals and No to New Year's Resolutions

As we wind down 2022 and prepare for reset in 2023, it’s important to think about your personal goals. Most people don’t think about their New Year’s Resolutions as goals. Instead they see them as something they need to put together on the fly on December 31 and then by February 1 of the new year, research tells us that most people have let go of their resolutions because they could not achieve them.  

What if you could look at resolutions differently this year and see them as your goals?

What if you could start planning now for what you want to achieve instead of waiting until Dec 31 and hurriedly writing something down due to peer pressure?

What if you could create goals that stick based on who you are and your mission?

Four Tips To  Create Goals That Stick:

1. Get clear on who you are - I recommend CliftonStrengths® as a great tool to know your unique talents. The problem is most people that learn their unique talents do not realize how special they are and they fail to practice them each day.  Did you know that you are 1 in 33 million? That means that you would be hard-pressed to find someone with your same top 5 talents in the same order as you. So why not spend time working on you and practicing using your unique talents rather than spending energy on comparing yourself to someone else? You are created with unique talents and once you start using them daily, you will become more energized, more confident and more productive. That is why I created The Strengths Journal®.

2. Outline your plan for the year based on your strengths, core values, mission and goals - Once you know your unique talents it’s time to create a list of your core values. Everything builds on one another… Here is a simple assessment you can take to determine your core values - https://personalvalu.es/. Next, start matching your core values to your strengths. You will see a natural connection there. As you review your strengths and core values, it’s time to write a personal mission/purpose statement. There are all kinds of ways to do this. Here are three simple guidelines:

a. Be brief. One sentence should be enough to describe your personal mission. By focusing only on  what matters most, we will be able to achieve the most. Write down five words that describe who you are and your purpose to help you identify it. You can use that list of five words to describe yourself and your purpose by choosing two of them. Then think of one word. Be sure to write it down. Make your personal mission statement as short as possible by  using these words as inspiration.

b. Embrace your true self. What is your greatest passion and what is your long-term purpose according to your mission statement? I tell everyone to write their mission in pencil and keep looking at it and refining it. 

c. Start sharing with others. Let your family and friends know what your personal mission  statement is. A statement can be improved by gaining valuable insight from them.

3. Recruit an accountability partner -  Don’t keep your goals a secret. An accountability partner can be likened to a partnership where you mutually consent to mentor each other and offer feedback on an agreed timeframe. Feedback could be shared daily or weekly. Here are some tips in selecting your accountability partner:

a. Honesty - Do pick someone whom you respect; someone that will be brutally honest with you. It’s a good idea not to pick a family member or a close friend who might not want to tell you the truth and hurt your feelings… As a result, you will not receive the tough love you need and could also take feedback personally depending on your history. 

b. Shared Goals -  It would be best if you had a buddy who shared your goals and you help motivate each other.

c. Responsible - Pick someone you know you can count on, that does not overpromise and  under deliver. This will leave you feeling frustrated and it’s hard to back out if they are not living up  to their bargain.

d. Agreement -  Set clarifying guidelines for your partnership at the beginning…  This includes a plan for a time that you will connect each day or each week over text, Slack, or Zoom. Also, the duration of the time, and agreement that you will be on time and be committed. Create a 90 day window to test it out and see if it’s working. If it’s not working, you have the opportunity to say you want to try something different.

4. Win at wellbeing - Gallup studied wellbeing with leading economists, psychologists and other scientists, in more than 98% of the world's population. The five common elements that people need to be thriving involve aspects of life that you can do something about.  

According to Gallup here are the five areas of wellbeing you need in order to thrive:

As you plan your goals for 2023 and work your plan, it will be important to keep a weekly measurement on your wellbeing and see how you are doing and adjust  your goals as needed. Here is a simple measurement tool you can use:  

Wellbeing Assessment 

Once you have done these four steps, you should be ready to set your goals and grow. If you need help, we have created a six-week bootcamp based on this formula and have helped many difference makers like you create their goals based on their unique talents and make an impact. If you want to join us we have limited space available in our upcoming bootcamp - Jan. 10, 2023 - The Difference Maker's Blueprint: A bootcamp for creating lasting change. 

How do you plan to achieve your goals in the New Year? We would love to hear from you at [email protected].