Get goal savvy

We all have things we want to be better at, do more of, and accomplish. It can be useful to spend time thinking about the things which are important in our lives, and focus more of our attention to doing them.

Once you’ve discovered what these things are, you can set some goals to help you achieve them.

What are your goals?

You don’t just have to think about your goals at 11.59pm on New Year’s Eve! Take some time to think about what you’d like to achieve. Here are some broad goal categories:

• Becoming healthier
• Advancing your career
• Improving your relationships
• Learning and education
• Travelling and discovering
• Supporting your community.

We’ve all got strengths – discovering your strengths can be a great help when it comes to goal setting. You can focus on getting better at using your highest level strengths, or conversely you can focus your attention on your lower level strengths. Either is great!

Click here to discover your strengths!

Make your goals SMART!

Once you know what you want to focus your attention on, make sure the resulting goal is clear and reachable. Goals should be:

• Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
• Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
• Achievable (agreed, attainable).
• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
• Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Get started!

When we face a daunting task, sometimes the hardest part is getting started. To set yourself up for success:

• Write down your goals or share them with your friends: This will boost your clarity and accountability, making you more likely to achieve them.
  
• Break each goal into small concrete steps you'll take, or habits you'll need to form.
• Visualise the steps you'll take along the way, to build confidence that you can do what's needed. Try some goal visualisation, now!
• Stay optimistic: Or... try to! While this can be easier said than done, keeping an optimistic mindset can help us deal with stress more effectively, cope with difficult life events, and recover more quickly from disappointments. As well as being good for us, looking on the bright side can play a massive part in helping us achieve our goals.