Everyone sets goals for themselves and sometimes you don’t achieve those goals. For example, if some time has passed before the New Year, it often happens that the optimistic, sometimes perhaps somewhat naive, good intentions for the year will have faded away. At times like this it is important to take a good look at what you want to achieve this year and set yourself realistic goals. In this manual I want to help you determine and achieve these goals.
Look back
Maybe at the beginning of this year you set yourself a few New Year’s resolutions. These can be intentions about your relationship, your work, but they can also be more abstract intentions, such as about your spiritual development. Now that we have moved on for a while, you may notice that things are not going exactly as you wanted, or you may find it difficult to pursue your resolutions. You can help yourself with this by putting all your good intentions or personal goals on a list. How do you view it now? Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I still want this?
- Do I still think this is feasible?
- Could my good intentions perhaps need some adjustment?
If you answer these questions honestly for yourself, you will gain much more insight into how you currently view the resolutions you have set for yourself. Only when you have this clear for yourself can you take the next steps. The essence of successfully setting and pursuing (and perhaps even achieving!) good intentions lies in pursuing things that you really want. That is why there is so much importance in knowing what you really want. If you find it difficult to determine this for yourself, it is smart to visualize your good intentions once you have achieved them. Would you feel like you’ve accomplished something, or would you feel like you’ve accomplished something you really, really want? It is important that you experience the latter. You should not set a goal simply for the sake of having a goal, but you should set a goal because you sincerely want to achieve something. Many people use New Year’s Eve as a situation to set goals for themselves again. There is nothing wrong with that in itself, but you often see that good intentions quickly expire because the somewhat ‘romantic’ atmosphere of the holidays has faded.
Do you want more, or something else?
Now that you have clearly stated for yourself what your goals were and which goals you would like to continue with, it is time to look at your goals substantively. Pay particular attention to feasibility and priority. Example list:
- Save more money
- Smoking less or quitting completely
- Travel more
- Getting better at my job
At first glance, these are very positive, good goals. Yet they are very difficult to pursue. This is because they are very abstract. To make these goals more achievable, it is important to define them. Because how exactly do you want to save more money? On which? And how exactly do you want to get better at your work? Because it is so abstract, you will never actually achieve your goals and you will never get satisfaction from it. A better list would be:
- Save money on groceries and free time and put it in a savings account
- Start smoking five to ten cigarettes a day. Or: quit smoking.
- Take a trip to Italy, France and Sweden.
- Get a certificate for my work.
How are you going to do it?
Now that you have a clear idea of what goals you want to pursue and what exactly you want to pursue, it is certainly important to also look at the practical aspects. As an example, again the list above.
Save money on groceries and free time and put it in a savings account
It is good that you know exactly what you are going to save on (in this case groceries) because you can then use targeted saving techniques. For example, choose a B brand, or go to the cheaper supermarket. For your own enjoyment, you can also write down your old monthly grocery expenses and see how you’re doing after implementing your savings techniques. This makes it clear to you exactly how much you are saving. In addition to knowing that you have achieved your goal, you will also get much more satisfaction from it.
Start smoking five to ten cigarettes a day. Or: quit smoking.
For this purpose, it is wise to choose to what extent you want to limit your smoking. Don’t keep it vague like ‘smoking less’. This allows you to cheat on your own conscience by telling yourself that you smoke less and that it is therefore good. In the long term you will not get any satisfaction from that. It is better to make your intention measurable, and therefore say ‘I am going to smoke ten cigarettes a day’ or ‘I am going to quit smoking’. Once you have decided that, you can look at how you want to approach it. There are many tools on the market and support centers available to make quitting smoking as feasible and bearable as possible.
Take a trip to Italy, France and Sweden
In an example like this, it is essential that you also look at the feasibility in terms of days off and budget. Your number of days off is easy to find out, so this should not cause any problems. Not enough days? Then just one less country! When it comes to financing your trip, it is wise to put in writing exactly what you think you will have to spend. Take into account matters such as transport to the destination country, accommodation, food and drinks and free time.
Get a certificate for my work
Obtaining a specific certificate for your work can be a very valuable addition to your resume. If you have a goal like this, you first have to choose exactly what kind of certificate you want to obtain. You then investigate the providers, where can you get this certificate? Your employer may contribute to the costs. With a goal like this, it is important that you do not leave it as a resolution but that you initiate the procedure as quickly as possible to actually do it.
And now?
Now that you have a clear idea of what goals you want to pursue, what exactly you want to pursue and how you are going to go about it, there is only one thing left. Doing! It benefits everyone to do what they want, and you will get a lot of satisfaction from it. In addition, you also develop yourself in many areas.
Good luck!