As another year comes to a close, that predictable human need to start afresh and set new goals ignites within us. “New year, new me” captions will soon fill our social media feeds, gym memberships will peak and thousands of people will inevitably fail at dry January, despite good intention. Maybe that last one was a little pessimistic, but with over 4 million people predicted to give up alcohol during January 2020 in the UK, statistically a large number will fail. So how can you avoid tearing up your list of New Year’s resolutions two weeks into the year, and instead absolutely smash your 2020 goals?
Read on for some top tips before writing your epic list of 2020 goals!
Your New Year’s Resolutions are YOURS
In todays world, it it hard not to be influenced by other people, by their goals and aspirational lifestyles. But the internet is rose tainted, it’s very rarely a portrayal of real, raw, honest life. The most important thing to remember when deciding your 2020 goals, is that they are yours and yours only. The next three tips will help you to choose personal, unique goals for you and your life.
What matters most to you
We all probably have a utopian idea of what goals we should have. If you’re like me, those are: eat a healthy nutritional diet, exercise daily, meditate daily and use social media less. At one time those were all on my list of New Year’s resolutions. It’s not that they are wrong or bad goals to have, but they aren’t authentically mine or reflective of what matters most to me.
Start by writing a list of things that truly matter the most to you and think about the reasons why. Don’t just write eat a healthier diet, think about why that is so important to you? Once I tried this exercise, I realised it wasn’t about losing weight, improving my health or having cute avocado dishes to post on instagram. I wanted to feel that everything I ate had purpose, to really enjoy food as something nurturing and strengthening for my body and mind. Similarly, I wanted to exercise daily but I hadn’t really delved into why I set that goal. Was it to lose weight, get lean and post ab snaps? Actually, no. I wanted to keep my mind clear through exercise, to learn to appreciate what my body is capable of, to connect to my body and find new ways to spend my free time.
Set realistic achievable goals
Once you know what your priorities are, what truly matters to you at your very core, you can start to construct those aspirations into achievable goals. ‘Achievable’ is key. If your goals aren’t achievable through your lifestyle and circumstances, you are setting yourself up to fail. This post is about keeping your goals… absolutely smashing them in fact!
For example, exercising every day, cutting out junk food, travelling the world, buying a house, doubling your salary, whilst good ambitions to have, might be unrealistic. How many hours do you truly have free each week to dedicate to your goals such as exercise? Everyday might not be realistic, but setting a goal to practice some sort of physical exercise 4 times a week might be. Is it fair or realistic to forbid yourself junk food? There are going to be birthdays, BBQs, holidays or just bad days where you might find yourself reaching for cake, wine or cheese (or all of the above)! Cutting down on something instead of all together may be more achievable but just as beneficial. Want to double your salary? Fine, but is there potential for that? More importantly, is that within your control?
Be disciplined, but give yourself room to grow, to be human and a chance to succeed.
Set measurable goals
Once you know what is achievable, set your goals in a way that can be measured. Too ambiguous and vague, and you won’t get the satisfaction of knowing you 100% smashed that goal.
How are you going to measure them? A wellness planner, a fitness app, a diary or photographing progress. Whatever your goals are, make sure you know what the bench mark is for success and how you can recognise when that is met.
This year I set myself the goal to increase my salary. If I got a 1% pay rise, would that count? I would have technically achieved my goal, but my ambition was greater than that. So I set a specific target figure in mind, not outrageously high, but something that gave me the motivation and need to work harder and reach higher. A goal I could categorically 100% know I had achieved.
Write down your New Year’s Resolutions
One of the most important tips of the post. Write down your goals! Clear and concise. Once you have materialised these abstract thoughts into tangible ink on a page, you are accountable. You have put your aspirations out into the real world and a self-assigned responsibility to achieve them is born!
I like to write mine down in the notes app on my phone. That way, they are always at hand just a tap away. Something I find quite comforting. A useful reminder that no day is wasted, every day is spent working towards a bigger goal. Ideal for those “what am I doing with my life” moments of panic. We all have them.
Revisit your list regularly
I wonder how many people write down their goals for the year on January 1st and never look at them again.
A lot can change in a week, a month, a year. Go back to your list. See how you are progressing towards your goals. Are they still in reach? Are they still a priority for you? Have you been over ambitious and put too much pressure on yourself?
It is ok to tweak and readdress your goals. Just be sure that is the right choice for you. Sometimes it is easier to give up and run away whilst not the best decision. But sometimes, giving up is the hardest but best thing to do for yourself!
Don’t freak if you fail
It’s December 31st, your eyes skim past the horizontal lines blazoned across your page of year old resolutions, and head straight to the letters untarnished. The failed resolutions. These are just as important! Write a list of reasons why you didn’t achieve those goals (note there I said reasons, not excuses). Maybe your priorities changed and what you thought was important to you in January simply isn’t anymore. Or maybe you didn’t put the time in and you can admit you could have done better and will next year.
Be honest with yourself, and use this insight into your own life to guide your New Year’s resolutions for the brand new shiny year ahead.
So now it’s time to stick the kettle on. Get comfy with a cup of tea, a notepad, pen, and a heart full of ambition and aspiration! Good luck!
If you need some inspiration to prove you can achieve anything, read Positive Female Role Models of Today.
I will be celebrating the holidays and bringing in the new year with my family in Germany. In the interest of soaking up every minute with them, I’ll be taking a short break from the blog. Follow @sistablisstribe on Instagram to be spammed with Christmas market, gingerbread and snowy sledging pics! I wish you a 2020 full of love, laughter and friendship.
Happy Holidays. Rosie
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