With the festivities over, you feel rested and recharged and ready for the year ahead, pen in hand and a blank piece of paper you sit pondering what goals you should be striving for in 2016. It can seem quite daunting … what should they look like, how do you plan for them and why should you even have them?
Setting goals gives you focus, it ensures your actions are aligned to achieve the outcome you want whether it be for personal or for business. Having goals gives you purpose, it gives you direction and it ensures greater productivity. A goal is something you want to achieve, it is something you wouldn’t necessarily accomplish if you didn’t plan for it. Most importantly, goals need to be specific, measurable and actionable.
Procrastination is our worst enemy, it happens to the best of us, and it happens when we haven’t got clearly defined goals and strategies in place. When we identify what we want to accomplish and commit to it, we align our conscious with our subconscious and are on the path to achieving results.
3 step plan to getting started:
1. Write each goal down
Writing your goals down creates a feeling of commitment and becomes a constant reminder of something you need to accomplish, it enables you to hold yourself accountable.
2. Start small
Writing your goals down allows you to analyze how realistic your expectations are. Don’t set unrealistic goals that you are unlikely to accomplish, start with smaller achievable tasks that create momentum to work toward your ideal. If you set tasks that are too difficult to achieve you are setting yourself up to fail.
3. Share your goals
Telling people what you have planned makes you commit to it even more because it’s no longer just a passing thought or a dream, it becomes real as other people expect to see change and therefore also hold you accountable. Just remember, new year resolutions are all about self improvement; along with the goals you set yourself enter the new year with an optimistic outlook and a positive mindset. Be grateful, gracious and appreciate who you are and what you are capable of.
Susan Stevens is the founder of New Zealand-based Meme & Co, a jewelry and accessories company with an innovative, woman-centered business model. She has over 18 years experience in sales, marketing and advertising, she climbed the corporate ladder and was committed to her career but her priorities changed when she had her children. Life became a struggle, trying to find a balance between wanting to retain her worth and independence in the workforce without compromising her ability to be a present and attentive mother.
Then, Susan made a terrifying leap – leaving a six figure income to no job and a big mortgage. With a very strong resolve never to go back to the corporate world, and through commitment, perseverance and a passion to succeed, she found as one door closed other doors opened. It was this journey that gave her the motivation and the drive to create an opportunity for other women who want to be in control, who value their independence, who want to be empowered. Her drive to keep a balance between work and family life ultimately resulted in `taking a leap’ into the unknown and embarking on a personal journey of self reflection, new challenges and growth.
Meet Susan here… www.memeandco.com, and on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram
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