Smash your Goals in 2019

Posted by Adam Jelic on January 29, 2019

One month ticked off in 2019 already – can you believe it? Neither can we. Now is the perfect time to do a little check in with yourself to see where you’re at and make changes to your routine if necessary to kick some serious career goals this year.

The hard facts show that we spend approximately one – third of our lives at work. Think about that alone. Does it make you shiver with disappointment, do you get a tinge of anxiety or are you already tapping out and wishing that you were on a beach in the Bahamas? If yes – then this is the PERFECT opportunity for a reboot.

All of the tips in the world aren’t going to help if you are choosing a career path that makes you want to go curl up in a hole instead of turning up each day.

A quote by Thomas Merton sums this up perfectly; “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.”

Make sure your career path is the one you want to be on.

In saying that, work is work. Unfortunately there are going to be some aspects that you don’t like. But keep these aspects within reason.

Ok great, so now we are in a career that satisfies us. What now?

1. Get Clear on what it is you want and why you want it

What is it that you want to achieve? It could be that you want to land three major clients, strengthen your relationship with coworkers, brush up on your public speaking or get a promotion. Whatever it is make it clear, concise, achievable and measurable.

On the other side of this – think about why you want to achieve this particular goal. Do you want to ‘climb the ladder’ because it will raise your social status and you will feel a level of superiority? OR do you want to further challenge yourself, take on more responsibility and feel accomplished with your hard work that has lead to career progression. Ensure you are setting goals because they make you feel proud of your hard work. Goals set for the validation from other people or for materialistic reasons may not be enough to set your passion on fire or to get you out of bed every morning.

Not sure if your goal is pointing you in the right direction? Ask yourself, 'Why do I want to achieve this goal?' three times. In doing this you will dig deeper and really get to the true crux of what you're doing why you are doing it. 

If you struggle to set goals - imagine yourself at the end of the year – what would make you proud? Also remember that you don’t always have to think HUGE. Keep in mind that from little things, big things grow (thanks Paul Kelly)

2. Write down your goals

 So you’ve had a think and you are confident that you know what you want.

Great.

What next?

WRITE THEM DOWN.

Studies show that writing down your goals dramatically increases your chances of meeting them. Studies also show that the average human being has on average 50,000 thoughts a day – declutter and write down the important stuff so you don’t lose it.

The whole point of goal setting is to help you gain clarity, focus and direction.

It will also make it easier to track your progress and reflect along the way.

Write it down – keep the focus. Simple as that.

3. Get a support network

Share your goals with someone that you trust. It keeps you accountable and equally provides you with an avenue for support.

It is easy to let things slide if you keep goals to yourself. Think of the gym as an example. If you book in with a personal trainer or agree to meet a friend, you know you have to show up to avoid a negative outcome (waste of money or letting a friend down). If you were to do it solo – what’s stopping you from smashing the snooze button? You also lose the potential bonus support during your session.

Organise with your accountability partner to check in on your progress for maximum results. 

4. Take consistent action

Ever heard the saying – “We are what we repeatedly do”. This could not be more accurate for goal setting. Habits are your new best friend and showing up every day to commit to your goal is essential.

Most people set set their goals, get super excited and take massive action in the beginning. This is great until an obstacle pops up and they give up or fall back to taking minimal action. The trick is to get into the habit of taking consistent action day-in day-out.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. And you probably won’t reach your goal in a day either. Keep showing up. Keep creating small wins. Keep hustling. Keep positive and do it every day.

5. Celebrate your wins

What’s the best part about goal setting and planning? The winning feeling when you accomplish your goals.

We are often too hard on ourselves in the process that we forget to celebrate the progress we've made. Remember to acknowledge big and small wins along the way – life is short and it's always much sweeter when you celebrate the journey.

Use the winning feeling as momentum for progression – keep craving the feeling of accomplishment and you will be unstoppable.