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As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one to set a “New Year’s Resolution,” you might be, which is cool. As for me, I like to set small, achievable goals that will ultimately lead to something amazing.
For example, I wanted to start a website. Mainly to learn about the process, which ultimately became this blog and has led to me building around five altogether!
So today, I want to ask a fun question: Where Will You Be In 12 Months?
This could be anything from where you want to travel to, what you want to do for your business, losing weight, starting working out, etc.
Something Fun
As you can see, I’m not just making this about work or starting your own business. The point is to begin the process. Once you do, you can build upon it.
This should be something fun to do!
We will make whatever you want to go or be into a plan.
If you cannot think of anything, here is another way of looking at it: What Do You Want To Achieve In The Next Year?
Now is the time to write them all down on paper (or even a Google Doc).
As I’ve covered a lot recently, writing things down is important. I used to come up with something, and later, I am sad to report that I totally forgot about them.
Don’t Waste Your Time
I recently read a study about people who wanted to start their own “side hustle.”
This is interesting because I’m sure that is all of us.
The crazy part is this study said that people wanted to do it for many years (up to eight)! Guess what, and they haven’t started.
Maybe that is why I wanted to write this today.
I want to help all of us start down this path, but having a destination will help us from getting lost.
And if you’re interested too, let me know!
It’s one thing to dream about doing something (like starting your own business, taking a month off, or getting in better health).
It’s another actually to do it.
I’m sure you have heard this before, “You should be happy with having a job.” I agree with that statement, but I know we all want more.
We want more time, more family dinners, less time in traffic, less driving to work, and so on.
Remember, the one thing we cannot buy back is TIME. So, let’s start NOW and get this done!
An Example For You
I recently wrote a post about this, and you should check it out here.
I will give you a quick example of what I want to do now.
This is something that I have wanted to do for years. I mean YEARS.
Saving for retirement has been on my mind since high school. Guess what? I haven’t done anything I should have done.
So this year will be different. I will start a ROTH IRA and commit to putting money in it.
Here is where the goal-setting comes in.
Finding the account, how much I can afford to put in, and so on is overwhelming. But let’s break this goal down.
Opening an account isn’t hard. This can be done in a few hours, max. I already have two ideas of where I want to open it. So this will be completed this weekend.
The next step is financing and how much I can put into it each month.
As I’m sure you are, I am currently working and trying to start a business. This also means that I have a steady paycheck.
So, instead of investing $6,000 into this account, it is another overwhelming number to manage.
To help with this, I will set an auto payment of $50 every month because I still have a full-time job.
That might seem small to you, but I would be super happy if I had set this up twenty years ago.
This smaller number, $50, is called a baby step. And guess what I’m sure will happen, if I have more money available I can add without feeling guilty.
So there is my example; now that I have it written down, I know it will happen.
Update: I’ve increased the $50 to $300.
The ultimate goal is to put $583 (equal to the total amount a single person can contribute to a ROTH).
The main point is to take that first step, which will provide the momentum to continue.
Finding Your Motivation
I recently sat down to estimate how much money I have thrown away to develop a business. The list included training (that never helped), and the number made me sick to my stomach.
Then I started thinking if I put the money in the IRA, I never set up, oh well, I guess I shouldn’t dwell in the past.
I do not want you to throw away the money you worked so hard for, and I want to help make the path a little less rocky.
Today is the first step in learning and growing with what you want to achieve.
If you read this post, you know I use my perfect day as a motivator to keep going.
Deciding to document my steps with this site has helped me realize how important building a foundation is. Then, adding to that, the motivation makes you unstoppable.
Do you want another idea for setting a goal?
How about self-development?
You are already reading a fantastic blog. Thank you very much, but there are other things you can do to help achieve your goals.
Buy a book and start reading.
Two years ago, I started reading every day. I have found that I am learning a ton of new stuff and even things I want to learn more about (like SEO and coding).
Another way to improve is to surround yourself with like-minded people. Such as this community!
I might have started this by spending money on things that didn’t work out, but guess what? It helped me move forward to the person I am today.
We all need a reminder to stop dwelling on the past or what should have (could have) been. Focus on the now and start to pave the path to where you want to be!
Where Are You Going?
So there you have it. There is a lot to consider. But it all comes down to where are you going this year?
If you don’t want to set a New Year resolution, that’s okay.
It would be best if you still knew what you wanted to achieve.
Please take what you want to achieve (your goal) and break it down into smaller steps, as I’ve written about before.
The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time!
You could have small goals to an extensive plan. All you have to do is break them down into smaller bites.
Yet another example for you. I want to write more, and I want to get a freelance writing gig this year. As you can see, these both are very broad and not specific enough.
My solution was to make them more specific, write them down, and break them down into small achievable goals that will make them both a reality by the end of this year.
I want to know what are you going to do this year?
Let me know in the comments below!
I have learned the hard way what happens when you don’t write down your goals 🙂 since starting my own blog a year ago I now write down my short and long-term goals, this helps to keep me accountable and to stay on track. It definitely works and will help you to celebrate small successes.
Don’t dwell in the past if you start today you will be one step closer tomorrow!
Very well said, Lisa. Anything we can do to keep ourselves accountable is critical. Good luck with your continued success, and thanks for stopping by!