The start of a new year means new beginnings. You have the opportunity at the start of the year to determine what those new beginnings will be. That’s exciting, right?
One of my practices at this time of the year is to reflect on how I went with my plans for the year. Some have been achieved, some will have turned out differently to how I originally planned, and some I will not have achieved…
But it is important to my planning for the new year that I complete this review to establish a starting point for my new plans. My new beginnings.
Once you complete your review of the past year, you are ready to start planning your goals for 2018. If you didn’t set any goals for 2017, that’s fine, you can start fresh for 2018.
Let’s have a look at how to identify and create your goals for 2018.
Before we do though, I want to highlight the importance of having goals, especially when it comes to your money and investing.
One of the biggest lessons I learned in my time studying successful and wealthy people, was how diligent they were at knowing where they were going…
You know what it is like when you need to travel somewhere that you have never been before. In order to arrive at your destination, you need a map and a plan. Without this map, even if it is google maps, you are unlikely to arrive at your destination…
Your money is the same. Without a map or a plan, it is highly unlikely that you will achieve the goals and dreams you have.
This is where your goals come into play. First, you need to identify where you want to be in the next twelve months, and then set the plans in place to get there, that is, your goals.
New Beginnings: How to Get Started
To get started, ask yourself:
“What do I want my life to look like 12 months from now?”
Here is an opportunity to have some fun, because you get to dream BIG and really stretch yourself.
What will get your juices flowing, get you leaping out of bed each day and take you to where you want to be at the end of 2018?
An important step in this process is the need to write your goals down. This step is often overlooked or ignored as not necessary…
However, there is research done by Dominican University that discovered that by simply writing your goals down, you drastically increase the chances of accomplishing your goals…
So make sure you spend the time to write your goals down, get it out of your head and onto paper. Try to keep these goals in a place that you can refer to them on a regular basis. I review my annual goals weekly, just saying…
The Reality Test
I suggested that you should spend the time to dream big in the process to get started. Now I want to refine that suggestion with a word of caution…
While I totally support your desire to dream big. These big goals are the ones that drive you forward and get you out of bed.
However, these big goals are likely to take more than twelve months to achieve, so you need to ensure that in planning for 2018, that you don’t fall into the trap of trying to achieve too much, or set yourself too big a goal.
This trap can lead to disappointment and worse, to abandoning your dreams…
Be mindful of this trap so your plans and goals are achievable. It is fine to have some stretch goals, and you should have them, but not all of your goals should be stretch goals. You need to build momentum with some success. This is crucial to your money mindset.
Goal Setting Guide
Here is a quick guide for setting your goals to transform your life in 2018 with new beginnings.
- Identify your goals
- Write them down
- Identify why your goals are important to you – what are your motivations.
- Create a plan to review them regularly
Successful people make decisions and stick to them. Well, the fourth step in this quick guide is crucial for your success.
You need to ensure you create a habit of reviewing your goals on a regular basis. I’ve already suggested that you review them weekly at least. This habit is a key component of your success.
The more you repeat your goals, reflect on them and share them with others, the more the universe will work to deliver them to you. It’s the theory of law of attraction in practice.
I’ve also included your motivations as an important step in this quick guide process.
You know how much I believe in knowing your WHY…
Well, each goal needs a few motivations. Why do you want the goal, how will it transform your life?
The motivations are what will drive your performance and achievement, so don’t skip this step, it’s just as important as writing the goals down.
Your Success Assured
The good news about goals is that those that actually set goals are 10 times more likely to be successful in achieving them than those that don’t…
I highly recommend you take the time to plan your year ahead. Understand what you want to achieve with your money and plan how you are going to make it happen…
What new beginnings are you going to achieve in 2018?
It can be your gift to yourself this festive season.
Now my challenge for you is to share your goals. Leave a comment with one of your goals in the box below. This can be the first step in telling the universe what you want.
If you are looking for a way to get your year off to a quick start, have a look at my recently released new program, “5 Steps to Financial Freedom”. It could be the best money decision you make this year.