4 Tips for Setting Effective Goals

As Christmas approaches, I'm starting to think about 2019. The new year brings a lot with it, doesn't it? It's exciting to have a fresh start. I get fired up about dreaming about what's to come and creating a killer vision board! Do you?

It wasn't always this way for me. Over the years, I learned three lessons that have helped me set meaningful goals and reach them:

#1 - Set "Stretch" Goals.

I used to dread the whole goal-setting process. Every year, I'd put pressure on myself to achieve unrealistic goals. You know, like I was going to exercise 45 minutes every single day (when the most I'd been doing was 2 times a week), eat perfectly clean (when I'd had Cokes every day for the last month)...In other words, setting myself up to feel like a complete failure!

What I learned? To set goals that require me to stretch but not stretch so far that there's no way I can get there. (Taking the exercise example above, I'd start with a goal of 45 minutes 4 days a week rather than every single day.)

#2 - Set the Number of Goals That Works for You.

The other challenge was that I tended to set too many new goals at once.

Remember that one size does not fit all.

Some people can take on a bunch of completely new challenges at once and be fine.

That's usually not the case for me. I'm usually more successful when I set two or three new challenges, reach them, and then set new ones.

#3 - Don't be Afraid to Experiment with Different Goal-Setting Approaches.

There are lots of great goal-setting tools and systems out there. I kept trying to find the one that would work for me. The problem was that one approach didn't fit every situation I found myself in. Now, I adjust my approach to suit my goals, mindset, and schedule at any given point in time.

Sometimes, I take a "deep dive" approach to goal-setting -- using worksheets and tools to set a number of goals at once. Other times, I take a big picture approach and set a few larger, less specific goals

---------------------

I hope you find the lessons I've learned helpful as you ponder what you want to see happen for you in 2019. Let me know what you're dreaming of!