My Goal-Setting Process

Whether you’re looking for goal-setting tips for the new year, a new month, or you just need a life refresh, you’re in the right place!

This blog post is all about beginning again. New beginnings are so magical because they give you a blank canvas and a portal to go after your big dreams. While most of us associate new beginnings with the new year, any time is a good time for a fresh start! 

Now let’s dive into my process for starting fresh and setting goals that inspire me.

Step 1: Reflect

In order to know where we’re heading, it’s helpful to know where we’ve been. Reflecting on your past experiences can give you so much clarity around what you want your new goals to look like. 

When I’m setting goals for a new year, I like to take stock of what happened in the previous year. If you’re looking for a mid-year refresh, it can be helpful to look back at the past month or past quarter so it doesn’t feel like such a daunting process.

Next, I make a list of notable events in my life both positive and negative.

For the list of positives, consider things that went well, things you accomplished, things you’re proud of, and other positive experiences. Think back on good things both big and small. Everything from landing your dream client to a simple dinner party filled with laughter to amazing concerts you attended to late night drive thru runs with your best friend can go on this list. It will help you remember just how far you’ve already come. This also helps you reflect on things you enjoyed about your past experiences so you can bring more of them into your life moving forward! 

I also make a list of the not-so-great things that happened. It’s not always easy to do this, but remember that even our negative experiences transform our lives and make us who we are. They really shape our lives in ways we don’t expect. Remembering these will help you recall what you’ve grown through. 

Once you have your lists of both positives and negatives, you’ll have a lot more clarity about what you want to keep and what new things you want to bring into your life! 

Step 2: Choose your word

I love to choose a word of the year when I’m setting new year’s goals. If you’re doing this in the middle of the year, use it as a reminder to refocus on your current word or choose a new one. There are no rules! Do what feels right for you! 

I like choosing a word over setting a new year’s resolution because a word is more overarching and can be infused into every area of my life.

For example, my word for 2023 is “Fun.” My goal is to seek the fun in every area of my life whether that’s personally or professionally. I find that when I focus on what feels fun to me, everything flows naturally. 

Use what came up in your reflection to help choose your word. And most importantly, make sure it’s authentic to you. Choose a word that excites you and lights you up. If you pick a word that doesn’t resonate, it will be more difficult to keep it top of mind as you move into the next phase of your life. 

Step 3: Goal Setting

Now it’s time to set some specific goals! 

Categorize your goals

When I’m setting goals for a new year or new month, I like to break them down into categories. My main categories are travel, work, personal, and health. If you’re not sure what categories to choose, start by making a list of all of your goals and see what categories naturally come up. Putting your goals into categories breaks things up so that achieving them feels less overwhelming. 

Set specific goals

It’s also helpful to set specific, achievable goals. The specificity gives you a clearer roadmap of how to actually make the goal a reality! 

For example, instead of saying that your goal is to start a YouTube channel, the more specific goal could be that you want to film, edit, and upload YouTube content once a month. This gives you a more specific timeframe and it also will help you start thinking of what you need to do to prepare for filming that content. 

Saying you want to film, edit, and upload makes the goal measurable and clear. Saying you’re starting a YouTube channel is fairly arbitrary. There’s no real way to measure whether or not you accomplished the goal. Starting a YouTube channel could mean signing up for a YouTube account and making the channel. Or it could mean posting a new video every day for a year. See the difference? Picking something actionable like filming once a month will make accomplishing the goal clearer and more achievable. You’ll set yourself up for success this way, and the more goals you cross off, the more confidence you gain in yourself!

Make your goals fun

One of the most important things with goal setting is to set as many fun goals as possible! For example, I like to read as many books as my age each year. I also like to choose new travel locations as part of my travel goal-setting – because travel is one of my life priorities and joys. Your priorities and joys could be different. Sprinkling in fun goals will keep you motivated to move forward and will make your difficult goals easier to achieve as a result. It will also help you achieve that ever elusive work-life balance if your goals are not just tedious work and life tasks, but also things that contribute to the dream life you have for yourself.

Write it down

My last tip? Write your goals down on paper! There’s something magical about actually writing down what you want to accomplish that sets things in motion. And it’s great to have to refer back to when you’re feeling discouraged or stuck. 

I hope that this post helps you reflect, refresh, and dive into the next phase of your life with excitement. I’m cheering you on!!