How to set your goals for 2022 and achieve them

 

Tired of setting New Years resolutions that you never achieve? Setting goals is the easy part - achieving them is a whole other story. Follow our 10 top tips to achieve your goals and smash 2022!

When we set goals we create purpose, a sense of direction and motivation for ourselves. But in order for this to happen, the goals have to be ambitious and challenging enough, which makes them inherently more difficult to achieve. So how exactly do we set our goals so that we can achieve them?…

Get clear about your goals

1. Align your goals with your future vision of yourself

Where do you see yourself in 1 year? What do you want to have achieved? How do you want to feel? We need to be clear on what we want to achieve and our goals need to be aligned with this ensuring there is no conflict between our goals and where we want to be.

2. Know your why

Not only do we need to know what we want to achieve, we need to know why we want to achieve these goals. Make it personal! Knowing your why and having a personal reason to succeed will help you stay on track even on the most difficult of days.

3. What are you willing to sacrifice?

This one is key! If your goals are ambitious and challenging enough, they will take time and energy. You will have to say no to other things and prioritise these above all else. Any other smaller or secondary goals should take a complete back seat until your priority goals are achieved. You will have to make sacrifices - the level to which you are willing to go will almost certainly determine the success of your goals. Our best advice - be minimalistic when setting your goals. Have 5 priority goals maximum!

4. Make them SMART

You’ve got to get very detailed and specific about your goals, knowing how you will measure them and setting a timeline for achieving them. Write down your goal in great detail and outline how and when you will achieve it.

Make your goals actionable and accountable

5. Break them down into sub-goals

Big lofty and ambitious goals are great! But they can be overwhelming and mean we never achieve them because we can’t even get started on them. If you break your big goals into smaller sub-goals and create weekly and daily habits to achieving them you are far more likely to succeed.

6. Write them down

We’ve already covered this one but it’s so important we are giving it a point on it’s own. Write down your goals! When you write them down they become more real and they are visible. Keep them where you can see them everyday and read them often to remind yourself and stay on track.

7. Tell others about your goals

There is no better accountability than telling others about your goals. Human nature means we naturally care about what others think. Don’t underestimate the power of making your goals known to those around you - it will not only hold you accountable but motivate you. Even better if you can get a goal-buddy who will check-in with you frequently on how you are progressing - this could be your friend, parent, spouse etc. Don’t be afraid to share your goals no matter how lofty or ambitious they may seem to you and others - that’s the idea!

8. Visualise them

We love a good vision board! Nothing motivates us more than being able to visualise and see what we are trying to achieve. There are lots of resources online to help you on this one - simply take pictures/ words/ sayings etc that relate to your goals and pop them on a board - this can be physical or virtual. Canva is a great tool for this!

Assess your progress and stay on track

9. Reflect and adjust

Every week, plan times when you will check-in on your goals. Find times that work for you personally. A good suggestion is to do a weekly reflection at the weekend - Sunday morning/ evening tend to work well for most to get a head start on the week a head. A mid-week check-in is essential! Wednesday evening is generally a good time for this with 3 days of the week gone, if you are off-course you can make adjustments to get back on track for the rest of the week.

10. Reward yourself

Lastly (and in our opinion, most importantly!) remember to reward yourself for your achievements! Whether it’s a task or habit you have done or maintained, a sub-goal you have achieved or the big ambitious goal you have smashed - rewarding yourself is key to positively reinforce the behaviour to continue to succeed and achieve!

We hope these top tips will help you set and achieve all your goals and smash 2022!!