Tips to Achieving Your Best Possible Selves.
Setting and achieving more intentional goals in 2022 is a hope for many this New Year. You may have experienced amazing success in the past or struggled to meet your resolutions after only a few months. Either way, it’s important to know why you need to set goals, what kind of goals to set, and how to set goals with intentions to build the year you want.
Why Do You Need To Set Goals?
The reason you need to set goals is to bring focus, fulfillment, and even some fun to your life in your present and in the future. Whether it's in the workplace, your relationships, or your mental health, setting goals helps identify what you want out of your day, week, month, or year and gives back a sense of ownership to your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Living with intention helps you move forward in a fulfilling and purposeful way.
What Kind of Goals Should You Set?
The goals you set are based on what you need and want for your life. For example, if you have been struggling with burnout from your current job, you may have a goal to get a new one within a few months or make a career shift altogether. Sometimes, goal setting can be daunting, so let’s break it down into simple categories:
Physical (sleep, exercise, nutrition, health/fitness)
Mental (therapy, meditation, learning new skills)
Emotional (mindfulness, self-awareness, gratitude)
Relationships (connecting with loved ones, building new friendships)
Career (new job, entrepreneurship)
Financial (budgeting, investments)
Once you take time to identify what areas you would like to see significant progress and healing, you can write down your plan for success.
How To Set Intentional Goals
You want to keep it as simple and easy to follow as possible. This helps minimize overwhelming feelings of being rushed or like you aren’t making progress.
SMART Goals
The SMART Goal method is used to specify actionable steps to achieve goals, big or small. It stands for:
Specific - Make sure your goals are specific and clearly written.
Measurable - Be clear in how you will measure your success.
Achievable - Visualize practical goals you can complete within specific amounts of time.
Relevant - The reason behind your goal setting helps to achieve what matters to you.
Time-Bound - Identify when your goal begins and when it will end
A common goal for many is to reduce their stress and practice gratitude, though it can often be a struggle to achieve after the first few months. You can break this goal down using the SMART method:
Specific - I want to stress less and be more thankful for what I have.
Measurable - I will meditate for 15 minutes in the morning and journal for 15 minutes every night.
Achievable - I will schedule a time to meditate in the morning before work at 8 am and journal before bedtime before 11 pm.
Relevant - Meditation reduces my stress during the day and journaling helps me practice gratitude for the positive things in my life.
Time-Bound - I will make meditation and journaling a habit every day within 3 months.
SMART Goal Summary: I’m going to reduce stress by meditating for 15 minutes before 9 am every morning and practice gratitude by journaling for 15 minutes before 11 pm every night within 3 months.
Tips For Success In 2022
Don’t Compare Your Timeline To Others
You never win a race by looking at the person beside you. Work on your own goals and celebrate your personal wins for yourself, not for other people. Comparison is the thief of joy and progress.
Define What Success Means To You
Think about what you want out of your life for today, this week, next month, and by next year. Give yourself space to learn what success means to you, even if no one else knows about it.
Focus On What You Love
The only way to enjoy the final result is to make sure you love the journey. Focus on what you enjoy, not what others expect of you. Completing a goal will be so much more fulfilling, and you’ll be more likely to repeat success if you do.
We want to support your goals and help you learn how to be your best self. You can sign-up for journal prompts and get helpful tips from our KQH Mental Health Counseling newsletter. Contact us today to get started on your healing journey!