How to Make 2017 Your Year

It’s the phrase many of us love to hate; “New Year, New Me” – the same people making resolutions and plans to become a better person in the year ahead. While most people are cynical when it comes to the ‘New Year New Me’ ethos, we think – why not? If you want to make some positive changes to your personal and professional life, it makes perfect sense to set yourself some goals.

Your goals may be big or small but why not start at the top and create a show stopping goal for 2017? Your overall goal needs to be challenging to achieve, this makes the journey more exciting and gives you more incentive to push hard to get there. Is 2017 going to be a bigger, better and brighter year for you? Start by thinking about what you really want, and then you can decide on how you are going to make it happen.

You can make achieving your goals simpler by setting smaller targets which act as stepping stones towards the final outcome. Every morning, make sure that you know exactly what you want to achieve for that day. After you have set your goal for the day you can break it down into more achievable sections. For example if you want to book ten sales appointments, you can make sure you have four by break, seven by lunch time and so on. By creating and reaching your mini targets, it will help you stay focused to continue – this can be applied to a number of different goals over different time frames. Imagine a whole year of feeling awesome, motivated and excited, simply by planning your own goals and hitting those targets.

We understand ‘not knowing where to start’ is a common obstacle for many people many people when setting new goals. Setting achievable targets towards a final, bigger goal helps to overcome this. Try and distance yourself from negative thoughts and allow yourself to have a positive mind set. Some people believe that keeping their goals to themselves will prevent the fear of failing – but this can also make it easier to drift back into old habits. If you feel comfortable to, share your goals with those close to you about your goals and they can help you get to where you want to be.

Happiness is an ultimate goal for all of us – there is no reason for anyone to feel they have to be stuck on an endless treadmill of self-improvement. It is important to invest in the now, enjoy your environment and keep a positive mind.

Here are some tips to help you set your goals and most importantly achieve them!

Keep your goals on course with your future

Think about where you want to be in life, whether it be in two, five or ten years and then set goals on how you can achieve it. It is important for your goals to be a part of that vision. If you have an idea in your mind of where you want your goals to ultimately take you, it will make it much easier to stick to them.

Ensure your goals add something to your life rather than taking away from it

Setting goals which negatively impact your life and those around you can leave you demotivated and without incentive. Make sure your goal is positively effecting you and making you happy whilst you thrive to achieve it. You may subconsciously feel deprived if you are taking away something you enjoy to make way for better things. An example of this is, instead of making your goal to ‘stop eating unhealthy food’, focus on ‘eating healthier food’. This will still have the same reward of accomplishing the goal, but without feeling as though you are losing out.

Creating habits

Now you have your goals and are ready to stick to them, keep them in constant view. List them in your diary, put them on your screensaver and post them in significant places around the house. Break these goals into smaller targets of which become habits which you can maintain. Address a time each day to practice these habits and you will start to feel rewarded each time you push closer to your final goal.

Rewards

Ensure to reward yourself when you reach each milestone. This will work as an incentive towards the goal and in time, your progress itself will be the reward.

Don’t forget that change doesn’t just happen overnight, but is something that needs to be worked at. As you start to develop what is important to you, change will come and last. This is a journey to a new lifestyle and will help you become a happier you. Also- you don’t need to wait for a New Year, new job or new home to start making improvements!

 

 

Tags: goals, inspiration, new year