Reach your goals in 2018
What are you aiming to achieve this year?
Goals and New Year’s resolutions are not the same thing. With New Year’s resolutions we may have the best intentions, but most of them don’t make it past Valentine’s Day. Goals are more concrete and may take years to achieve. Resolutions are often set with the decision to live a better life, or make improvements to health or happiness. In many cases they are made in the spirit of a New Year but lack substance.
Goals are important if you want to achieve in life. You may have a dream but if you don’t put measures in place to realise that dream you are unlikely to achieve it. You wouldn’t get in a car for a long journey without a GPS, or at least a map or directions of some kind. Goals can be seen as your life’s GPS. Without them you aren’t going to get very far.
Steps to goal setting
Step 1: Define.
What do you want to achieve? You may want to set a personal goal, career goal, a fitness or weight loss goal, a goal for your family or a financial goal. You goal should be meaningful and important to you.
Step 2: Dissect.
How can you achieve this goal? Break down your goal into smaller goals. For example, you can’t run the Comrades Marathon in 2019 if you aren’t in shape. Smaller goals will be to start a fitness programme, then enter a 5km run, then later a 10km run. You may even need to do a few things before you take the first step. For example, to buy yourself a pair of quality running shoes.
Step 3: Drill down.
When will your smaller goals be reached? Write down the smaller goals and why you need to achieve them. If things need to be put in place, action these first. Set time limits to the smaller goals and aim to achieve them within seven days. If you can’t make it within seven days, drill down further.
Step 4: Deliberate.
Why have you failed on other goals in the past? Take a step back from your current goals and reflect on why you didn’t achieve those goals. Many people set unrealistic goals in an unrealistic time frame. Don’t set yourself up for failure. If you tend to lose focus or your determination on a goal, find ways to keep challenging yourself along the way.
Step 5: Determine.
How will you measure your goals? Some goals are easy to measure. If you are saving for a trip overseas, your bank balance will be an indication of how well you are doing. The same with weight loss. If you’re steadily losing weight every week, you’re on the right track. Some goals will require a daily input and you can easily see that the mini goal for that day was achieved. Some goals can’t be measured so easily. For example, working on putting past regrets behind you. Use a journal to record your thoughts and feelings. Look back over the entries to see how well you are doing.
Step 6. Don’t give up.
Will you cope with setbacks? There will be times when you don’t achieve a smaller goal in the time frame. Don’t let this get you down. Consider why you failed, then refocus and move forward. Don’t let one small setback derail your whole project.
A focus on finances
We mentioned in Step 1 that it is important to define goals for various areas of your life. Let’s take a look at finances and see how you can focus on achieving your financial goals in 2018.
- Assess where you are. This can be stressful, particularly if you overspent over the holiday period but it is a crucial step for you to see exactly where you are financially.
- Consider your debts. Have a look at smaller accounts that you need to payoff and close. Start with the smallest account first.
- If you don’t have one, draw up a budget. This will give you a good idea as to where your money goes every month. Consider reducing unnecessary expenses and using this extra money to pay off debt.
- Consider retirement. Are you putting money away? If you aren’t sure if you are putting away enough, approach a financial advisor for assistance. You must take retirement planning seriously.
- Start an emergency fund. Budget for an amount of money to use every month for unforeseen expenses. This will help you not to have to rely on credit when something unexpected happens. Build up this account to at least three months’ expenses.
Creating financial goals for 2018
How can you set your financial goals for this year? Use the steps outlined above to create a goal for your emergency fund, to pay off debt or save for a holiday at the end of year. Let’s use the following guide:
- Define. The goal is to pay off two store clothing accounts and a credit card.
- Dissect. Is the goal realistic? How much can you afford to pay off on the account every month? Can you increase this amount? If you decide to take lunch to work instead of buying lunch, how much can you save? If you eat out three times per month, can you drop this to one and pay the extra money into the account?
- Drill-down. With the additional savings, how much can you pay off on the first account every month? How long will it take to pay off? Put down a date to pay off and close the account. Write it in your diary. Consider how long the next two accounts will take to pay off and date them.
- Deliberate. Have you set financial goals in the past and not achieved them? What contributed to the failure? How can you prevent this from happening again?
- Determine. Do a weekly check on how much you are saving. Monthly, check the account you have already paid off and how much you still owe. Check the ‘pay off date’ to see that you are still on track.
- Don’t give up. Life happens and you may experience a setback. Don’t allow this to derail your goal. Deal with the crisis, then get back on track next month.
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