This essay is about setting goals to help us design a better version of ourselves, the version we always wanted to be. Setting meaningful goals for the New Year involves a thoughtful and balanced approach. Empower yourself and take responsibility with zero excuses. Today, we will determine what truly matters, which helps us set our priorities. We only have so much time and energy, and by focusing on what is essential for our future self, we can allocate our time and energy as needed.
As you write your New Year’s Resolutions, remember these five concepts: Focus, Clarity, Consistency, Balance, and Moderation.
Focus is about directing your attention and efforts toward meaningful activities without getting distracted by a less important task. Learning to focus helps us find clarity.
Clarity means having a clear and detailed understanding of our goals and what we want to achieve. We will look at SMART goals as a method to capture the details.
Consistency is the key to reaching your goals; it refers to maintaining regular and persistent effort toward your goal. Develop habits and routines that support your goals. Small, consistent actions are the vehicle to reach your goals.
Balance involves ensuring that your goals are well-rounded and that you allocate time and energy to various aspects of your life. Pay attention to how you allocate your time, work-life balance, reflection time versus social time, and sedentary versus movement. As you set your goals, balance out your time and energy, which are your currency for self-growth.
Moderation means setting realistic and achievable goals without overburdening yourself. If you allocate all your time to working out at the gym, you have no time or energy left for other important areas of your life. Moderation is about setting goals that are challenging yet realistic and sustainable over a long period.
As we put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard to write New Year’s Resolutions, we seek our current knowledge, skills, and abilities, which we determine by a personal inventory. You also want to identify resources and time constraints. Identifying your resources means being aware of and leveraging various available assets, tools, and support systems to reach your goals. You want to set goals you can achieve but not overwhelm you.
What truly matters
If you are serious about setting goals that will change your life, take an inventory of where you are today, identify what truly matters, determine which goals you want to achieve this year and beyond, and then set SMART goals. If you write, “I want to lose weight,” you will not reach this goal as you have not identified the details, how much weight you plan to lose, what steps you will take, what lifestyle changes, and over what period.
The first set is to take a personal inventory; for more details on taking an inventory or conducting a self-assessment, refer to my essay on 2025 and Beyond, Mapping Your Present: What Truly Matters; and Why!
Health – Connections – Compassion – Authenticity – Time – Our impact; what is it that is most important?
- People (Connection, engagement & communication)
- Health (Physical, mental, emotional, social, psychological, spiritual, environmental, occupational, and financial)
- Wisdom (Education & lifelong learning)
- Philosophy (Personal philosophy & worldview)
- Finances (Quality of life)
- Mindfulness or spirituality
- Authenticity & Self-actualization (Finding your potential and your voice)
- Art (beauty)
- Music
- Writing (self-expression, communication, deep thought)
- Fun & pleasures (dancing, socializing, music, games, or sports)
When you start your day, always ask yourself what truly matters and why. Take time to answer that question for the day ahead. What activities can you complete that move you toward your goal?
Setting SMART Goals for 2025 and beyond!
If you are unhappy, start with the body. Nourish it. Rest it. Move it. If you are uninspired, start with the mind. Excite it. Expose it. Open it. If you are unmotivated, start with the heart. Find your why. Do something that matters. Be of service.
Vex King
I want to introduce SMART goals. I encourage you to use this goal-setting method as we move through this journey. SMART goals are a method of follow-through, answering all the questions about the goals.
George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham, in their 1981 article “There’s a smart way to write management goals and objectives developed SMART goals.” The same principles apply to an individual’s goal setting.
goal. To set a specific goal, you must answer the six “W” questions:
- Who: Who is involved?
- What: What do I want to accomplish?
- Where: Identify a location.
- When: Establish a time frame.
- Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
- Why: Specific reasons, purpose, or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” However, a specific goal would be to, “Join a health club and work out 3 days a week.”
For more on SMART Goals, check out UMass Dartmouth’s website – Creating SMART Goals | UMass Dartmouth.
Here are some past essays that will help you think about what matters and write your goals for 2025:
Finding Your True North: Setting Your Direction for 2025
What Truly Matters? Finding Meaning in a Chaotic World
Why Consistency is Key to Reaching Your Goals
Beyond the Eye: Philosophical Reflections on Perception and Reality
Quality of Life: Embracing Appreciation as a Lifestyle
Harnessing Your Inner Voice: The Secret Weapon for Achieving Your Goals
Cultivate Empowering Self-Talk
Conclusion
As you establish your New Year’s goals, consider a well-rounded approach incorporating focus, clarity, consistency, balance, and moderation. You may need to shift your thinking about how you live your life. It is not about individual goals, but about your lifestyle, habits, and how you look at the world. You choose whether you see a positive outcome or a negative one. You are responsible for you.
Get rid of statements like I can’t and replace them with I can. Trade, I will try to I will do it. Our self-dialogue can sabotage us; make sure what you tell yourself aligns with what you want. Opportunity does not knock on your door; get ready to go out into the world and conquer the opportunities of your choosing.
Setting and reaching your goals will increase the quality of your life, helping you to become the best version of yourself while achieving your hopes, dreams, and plans. Evaluate your progress and recognize your achievements along the way. This helps to motivate you and promotes a positive outlook.
Steps to Writing Your New Year’s Resolutions
Take inventory or conduct a self-assessment of where you are now. What skills, knowledge, and abilities do you possess? Are your basic needs met, a roof over your head, food in the frig, money in the bank? If not, this could be a starting place. As to our higher needs, of reaching our fullest potential. Where are you today, and where do you want to be tomorrow? This is what you set goals for, the many tomorrows to come. Who do you want to be? Dream Big as you write your New Year’s resolutions.
Recommended Reading
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, by Marshal Goldsmith, and Mark Reiter
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Peter Attia, and Bill Gifford
Goals: How to Get the Most out of Your Life, by Zig Ziglar
Citations
Photo by Bruno Leschi on Unsplash