Every January, I like to take a hiatus from social media to detox from the previous year and create and realign my goals for the new year. It’s amazing how much your life can change in a year, and 2019 has started off filled with promise. When I looked back over my goals from 2018, I realized almost each and every one of them had been crossed off the list. Further confirmation and validation that it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain. My prayer almost daily for 2018 was that God allowed it to be the best of many years to come and from my job promotion to releasing my third novel, HE continued to bestow favor, even though I know I am not always deserving.
Although, I roll my eyes every time someone says new year, new me, I still believe in starting off my new year with fresh goals. There is something about seeing your goals in print that makes you pray and work a little bit harder towards bringing them into fruition.
My 2018 goals were mostly personal, while the goals for 2019 seem to be more centered around professional growth. This past weekend, I even put on my hostess with the mostess cape, and threw a vision board party for a close group of friends. I’m an advocate for support systems and accountability partners, and between wine sipping and queso dipping, we put together some beautifully designed vision boards and put our dreams verbally out into the atmosphere.
One of my favorite quotes says, “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.” I’ve long moved away from goals that require God’s sole intervention on my new year plan, for example, meeting a tall, rich, and handsome husband, and tend to make my goals realistic and action oriented, for example, opening a private practice is at the top of my new list. My private practice goal won’t appear overnight, but through hard word, dedication, and a definitive action plan, it is a goal that can be achieved.
Below are some of the tips that I use to make goal setting effective and beneficial:
- Create goals that are attainable through your hard work and determination. While winning the lottery and marrying rich would be great additions to your life, neither of those things are usually achievable through your own hard work and determination. The purpose of goals is for you to achieve growth, whether personally, professionally, socially, etc. And there’s nothing like a goal that can be crossed off your list through you own sweat, blood, and tears.
- Write down your goals and the steps you plan to take that year to achieve them. This does not have to be an extensive, overly detailed plan, but it should be a guide you can refer back to periodically to check your progress.
- Place your goals somewhere visible. My goals sit on my nightstand, so that I have no choice but to see them daily, in conjunction with my vision board that’s on my bathroom counter. If it’s midyear and I’ve noticed that I’m not following my plans or moving in the right direction, those subtle reminders help me to get back on track.
- Create goals that hold you accountable for failure. Your goals are YOUR dreams, and it is up to you make them happen. When you create goals that will only manifest through your hard work and dedication, you have to own your failures and know when it’s time to make some improvements and/or adjustments.
- Keep pushing. Don’t allow yourself to become discouraged when things don’t work the way you pictured in your head or when you fall short. At the end of the day, we only have so much control, and some things only occur on HIS time in HIS way. I learned in 2016 that sometimes it is through failure that we learn skills that will be pivotal to our success. Closed doors and missed opportunities are sometimes the detours that will help us to develop the capacity and character needed to not only accomplish our goals but to maintain our goals. Never be afraid to dust yourself off and try again.
With Love and Sparkles,
