Create Your Goals for the Coming Year

With guiding principles to help steer you in the right direction and a bold and audacious attitude, you are ready to establish the goals that will help you generate the life you desire and deserve.

We all have dreams and aspirations and many of us even have a vision for who we want to be. However, most people fall short when asked if they have a plan on how to get there. Investing the time to formally establish goals and create an action plan to achieve those goals provides us with:

• A road map to make our dreams and aspirations a reality
• A clear destination to guide and focus our actions
• Increased control over where we want to go in life
• An opportunity and challenge to grow personally and professionally
• A system to guide our decision making

As you begin to think about your goals for the coming year and beyond, try to break free of the status quo. Challenge yourself. Recognize that the only person who can tell you what you can or can’t achieve…is you.

So, the only question remaining is…how do you create your goals?

George Doran (1981) developed a simple format to guide people in developing their goal statements. His method is commonly known as SMART.

• Specific: Each goal should be written in a positive tone and should be as specific as possible.
• Measurable: Each goal should be precise, using dates, times, amounts, etc., so that you can measure your results and know exactly what you have achieved.
• Actionable: Goals should be written in the form of an action statement.
• Realistic: They should be achievable, but they should still stretch and challenge you. Take note of the obstacles, but do not limit yourself. Your goals should push you slightly out of your comfort zone. Do not let the fear of failure take over, and remember to embrace a bold and audacious attitude.
• Time-oriented: Every goal should have a target date assigned to it.

To make your goals even more impactful, I use the Results-Purpose-Priority™ (R-P-P) format. With the R-P-P format, each of your goals consists of a Results Statement, a Purpose Statement, and a Priority.

The Results Statement describes the result you want to achieve and should be written using the S.M.A.R.T technique.

The Purpose Statement is the reason why you are committed to achieving the goal. It starts with the phrase, “I am absolutely committed to making this happen because…” This statement should reflect your passion and excitement about achieving the goal, as it will serve as a source of direction and motivation throughout your journey.

Assigning a Priority to your goals will help make them more manageable and provide focus. After all, if everything is important, nothing is.

Here are a few examples to help you visualize what your R-P-P Goal should look like:

Poor example: This year I will save more money.

Good example: I will save $20,000 by December 31st, and my net worth will be $100,000. This goal is about tracking toward my financial freedom and creating the abundance that I deserve so that I can continue to live life on my own terms and spend my time how I choose and with whom I choose.

Now it’s your turn. Get started by creating about 3-6 personal goals and 3-6 professional goals. Get passionate about this part of the journey. Get excited about the reasons behind each of your goals, and get fired up to start tracking toward your desired destination.

Interested in a more guided approach to establishing your best year yet? Checkout the Ultimate Goal Setting Guide.