Don't Make Resolutions But Set Goals, Aim High But Start Small

12 Tips on how to set SMART goals & achieve them!

Happy New Year Y’all!

And no, NO New Year New Me, or NO New Year Same Old Me jazz either,

But, a NEW YEAR A BETTER ME!

That is the attitude I like to roll with…

Unlike my usual self,

I won’t go into a mile-long back-story but will get straight to the point with this blog post…

P.S: Follow along on my Instagram and Instagram Stories as I have started sharing a lot more about this side of life over there to cheer each other on and to help each other succeed.

Cuz I am just as passionate about this aspect of life as I am about traveling (you’d already know that if you have been following my blogging journey from the start).

P.P.S: I have also linked a few planners below per your DM requests (after my recent IG stories).

It is another brand New Year, and you have heard (and also maybe said it yourself) that this is an opportunity for a fresh start (that, and a lot more, which, again, reiterates the same thing, one way or another), at least about a gazillion times in the last few days!

But my take on it?

It is that January 1st is actually no different, it is in fact just like any other day of the year, to start a new ‘whatever the heck you want’ (insert new life, new job, a new hobby, new passion project, etc., etc.)!

A New Year just gives us that much-needed extra push to do so (maybe), but it also means that when that feeling of a New Year and its vibes wear off, plomp goes your goals, dreams, and everything else related to it right down the drains, and before you know it you are back to the same old you.

I say that because I have been there, done that, and now I speak from my own experience!

It is exactly why I don’t believe in resolutions either, haven’t for many years now.

Cuz the thing about resolutions is that they only last a day, a week, or utmost a month (or 2) but what happens after that!?

What was your last year’s resolution?

Do you even remember it?

Did you see through it?

How far did you get?

I have a strong feeling that a good percent of you don’t even remotely remember what your resolutions were, and I don’t blame you, because resolutions don’t have a roadmap or a clear strategy. They just seem and sound cool.

It is also exactly why I strongly believe in setting goals (S.M.A.R.T goals at that, google it if you don’t know what that means)!!

Goals can be as small or as big as you want them to be. Goals can be as few or as many as you want them to be. And goals can be those that bring you success every.single.day or every.single.week. As long as they are sensible, and you have a game plan for it, and you are tracking your progress regularly.

It is also why I say AIM HIGH, BUT START SMALL!

It’s the only way to make sure your entire year is a success,

not just Day 1/Week 1/Month 1 of a brand New Year!

Having a huge list of things to do and wanting to do them all right away and making big changes all at once is nothing but setting yourself up for failure!

Baby steps go a really long way, I said the same 3 years ago, and still swear by it (I can’t stress enough about everything I said in that post, wow, looks like I was just as smart 3 years ago too hehe).

Again, I have been there, done that, and hence, I know better now!

I am one who usually has all these grand plans, and dreams, and whatnot, but if you’d ask how I would achieve those dreams I wouldn’t have an answer, or I’d be very vague about it. But not anymore, cuz I am also one who learns from my own mistakes and (generally) don’t repeat them.

Sharing below 12 goal setting tips & how to achieve them!

So here is what we are going to do differently this year…

1. Reflect upon the year that you just bid goodbye to. Write down all the highs and all the lows. Be true to yourself while penning them down. Here is mine to get you started.

2. Turn your lows and failures from last year into your goals for this year. It is only logical, and it is a great strategy to begin with.

3. Add more goals to that list if you want to, but don’t overdo it. Remember, you have to start small.

4. Now pick the TOP 5 goals from your list, these should be achievable with some amount of effort and work. Now pick 3 more from that list, these are stretch goals.

5. Categorize them as personal, professional, and other.

6. Take a big white cardboard and write these down in big, bold, letters. And put the board in your study area/fridge/or wherever it is most visible to you day in and day out.

7. I am damn serious about the above step, so don’t laugh it off but do it! Trust me, the more you see your goals before your eyes, the more you will work towards them. Make an inspiration/mood board too if you want.

8. Share your goals with someone to hold you accountable. Heck, go ahead and share it with me even. I would love to be your buddy on this.

9. Create a game plan on how you will achieve your goals. But keep it simple!

10. Start working towards your goals little by little, every.single.day. If you fail today, start over again tomorrow, and don’t wait until next year comes around.

11. Track progress regularly (as I was telling you in my recent Instagram stories, get a planner) and revisit your goals every week, month, quarter, and adjust it based on your current priorities. It is totally OK if you have to update or completely change your goal whenever!

12. And live each day and work towards each goal as if it is Day 1 (LOVE this motto by Amazon).

That’s it! See, that isn’t too hard when you break it down.

If you hit your goals then add new ones as you make progress through your list (now that is a really good, no, no, great place to be!).

On that note, good luck to both you and I!

Let’s do this and make this our bestest year yet!!!

Linking a few planners below per your DM requests (after my recent IG stories)

*affiliate links

And stay tuned as I will be sharing a whole lot to inspire each other to make this a successful year for us all.

Next up -> 1. I will share my word(s) for the year and tell you why that it isn’t just a word for the year but a goal for life. 2. I will also share 3 things I did in the last 3 months which have been a total game-changer for me!!! 3. The hashtag I came up with on January 1st (as ironic and as contradicting to what I said at the beginning of this post) to make it easy for me to achieve my goals this year, and hopefully, it will help you too.

AND MUCH MUCH MORE, SO STAY TUNED!

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

xoxo,

Kusum