To finalize this month’s blog theme on Starting 2021 Off Right, let’s dig a little deeper into goal setting. We’ve discussed time management, de-cluttering your workspace and getting in the right mindset for 2021. These are all great ways to get you ready to take on new challenges. So let’s get started on those New Year’s Resolutions!
Set Your Goals
It is first necessary to take a step back and determine what is important to you. If you cannot articulate why a goal is important, then you are much less likely to actually achieve that goal. In order to stay committed to your goals, it is important to know what you want and why it is important. The point of connecting your goal with an underlying motivation is that it will sustain you when the temptation comes to just quit.
Some aspects to consider while making your goals:
- Values – What matters most to you and what do you want to prioritize in 2021?
- Passions – What do you really love doing? What excites and engages you?
- Strengths – What are the strengths that empower you to achieve your goals, advance in your career, or help you build relationships?
Make Your Goals Actionable
Make both long and short term goals reasonable, measurable and time specific. Write down both the goals and interim steps to getting there in a visible planner or calendar so you can track your progress.
Make your goals S.M.A.R.T. – You may already be familiar with this acronym, but if not S.M.A.R.T stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. By making sure that your goals have all five of these important elements in them, you are giving yourself the best chance at success. Instead of just vague dreams, SMART goals are suddenly achievable.
Finally make the first steps towards your goal small enough that you are sure to get there. Getting yourself to first base can really build your confidence, and ultimately help you meet the more daunting goals later on.
Stay Focused
Review your goals and progress regularly (say at the end of each work week). During these reviews, evaluate your success and make any revisions necessary to move forward.
Share your goals with a family member or friends and ask them to help you meet them. By telling someone else your goals, you hold yourself accountable to them. It is harder to quit on a goal that you have publically announced, than one that is a secret.
With a strategy behind your New Year’s Resolutions you are setting yourself up to finally reach those goals you have set for yourself. Here’s to an amazing 2021!
SOURCES:
5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Start 2021 Off Right
Day Designer Blog Post
How To Start Out The New Year Right
By Paul McCoy
Seven steps for making your New Year’s resolutions stick
Harvard Health Publishing
Start 2021 on the Right Foot and put your Goals into Action
By Sandra Mohr
By Ann Condon, Marketing Manager
Ann Condon has been with Dion for 16 years, working in Dion’s Marketing and Business Development Department. Although this was her first position with a jewelry manufacturer, she has learned a lot over the years. Ann enjoys getting involved in “All Things Dion” from volunteering at the Dion Golf Tournament to being a part of the Dion Diamonds Relay for Life Team. She has quite a number of Dion event t-shirts to show for it!
