Setting Goals for the New Year

As you think about the New Year, resolutions and new goals, here's a template to help you be more clear, concise and thorough with your goal-setting and your goal-getting (no sense in setting them if you can't "get them", right?!!).

Start with the eight primary areas of your life and answer the corresponding questions from each area, and then add your own questions to formulate your goals.

Remember to make your goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Oriented.

Here are the eight primary areas of your life to start with:

SOCIAL NETWORK AND FRIENDS

• How are your friendships?
• How is your support network?
• How do you feel about your interpersonal skills?

FAMILY AND YOUR INNER CIRCLE

• How are your relationships with your parents, siblings, children, spouse and extended family?  
• How is your "chosen" family; your inner circle?

VOCATIONAL, WORK AND VOLUNTEER INVOLVEMENT

• How satisfied are you with your current career?
• What would you rather be doing?
• What type of work has brought you the most satisfaction in the past?
• What do you do to "give back"?

PHYSICAL AND HEALTH

• How are your eating habits?
• How is your regular exercise program?
• How are your sleeping patterns?
• How is your weight? 
• How often do you see your medical professionals?

RECREATIONAL, HOBBIES AND VACATIONS

• What do you do in your leisure time?
• How do you relax and have fun?
• What creative outlets do you have?

FINANCIAL AND CASH FLOW

• What is your debt level?
• What are you doing to plan for the future?
• How do you want your financial future to be different?

SPIRITUAL AND PERSONAL GROWTH

• How is your spirituality?
• How do you release your emotions?
• What do you do with emotional overload?
• What do you engage in (books, audios, workshops, etc.) to promote your personal growth?

RELATIONAL, ROMANCE AND SIGNIFICANT OTHER

• How is your love life?
• What do you do to keep the passion alive?
• How well do you communicate about the more difficult issues?
• How are your conflict resolution skills?
• If you're single, how is the dating going?
• What do you want to be different here?

Then go a bit deeper into the core of your life (I dare you!!) and answer the following:

LIFE PURPOSE AND VISION

• Do you know what your life purpose is?
• Have you written your life purpose?
• Do you say it aloud daily?
• Do you have a vision for your life?
• Have you written your vision and/or created a vision map?
• Do you review your vision on a regular basis?

Now you may ask, why go to all this effort?

First of all, as the old saying goes, "No one plans to fail; people just fail to plan."

And second, if you don't have a personalized guidance system, some rules, some guidelines or some kind of tailored compass, you're bound to get lost, feel confused and have an overall unproductive experience.

Create a plan for this New Year, and for your life, and you're much more likely to achieve and experience everything you desire, and you're much more likely to be happy, healthy, wealthy and very, very wise!