Set Goals That Matter

Last month I talked about Goal Setting for your teams and classes. This month I wanted to focus on helping you set goals for yourself in 2022. There are many different strategies when it comes to setting goals. I am going to share three of my personal favorites with you in hopes that one will resonate with you and help you set yourself up for success in 2022.

Before I started using these methods I would sit for hours and

not know where to begin to set goals that really mattered. I would make more of a resolution that would last a few weeks to a few months that didn’t really matter. Once I started using these methods, it helped me come up with meaningful goals that I cared about and helped me live my best life. I revisit these goals weekly and recalibrate them as needed.

Year in Review

Before I set new goals for the year, I like to do a year in review. I do this by reviewing both my calendar and my photos. I use Google for both, so it is easy to do the review. Step 1: I start with the photos in  January and scroll through all of the pictures that I have taken throughout the year and notate any meaningful things I come across. I get a piece of paper and make column headings of trips, accomplishments, education, struggles, and family gatherings. I then write down things related to each column. It usually takes me about 90 minutes to go through all of the photos. (I like to take photos) After I am done I read over each list and reflect on each item. This gives me great insight into the past year and helps me decide what I want more or less of in the coming year. I make notes of these things and then move on to step 2.

Step 2 is a Google Calendar Review. Again, I start in January and review events, gatherings, training, meetings, and vacations. I have improved this step over the years by color-coding each of these items in my calendar for ease in the review process. After listening to a Rachel Hollis podcast, I decided to add a

JOY calendar to my life. This is where I put things that bring me joy. I color it my favorite color so it is easy and pleasant to see in my sea of calendars. As I am going through the audit of the year I track how much joy I had in the year. This is an eye-opener for sure. I am sure we will all agree that we need more JOY time in our lives. My suggestion is to start adding one each week. This could be as simple as a cup of coffee with a friend or as extravagant as a vacation. It doesn’t matter how fancy, what matters is that you add JOY into your life regularly.

After I have reviewed and reflected on both my photos and my calendars, I make a list of things that I want to do more of and a list of things I want to avoid.

Wheel of Life

Another great way to set goals for the year is doing a Wheel of Life exercise. There are many free tools online that you can use to do this. I use Darren Hardy’s Living Your Best Year Ever to do this exercise and goal setting, but there are many resources that you can use to do this assessment. The Wheel of Life assessment asks you questions about all areas of your life and then you rate yourself by answering questions. After you are done rating, you enter your answers into the wheel of life. This shows you where you are strong and where you need improvement. By using this method, you are ensuring that you are setting goals for your life in areas where you need improvement.

You can use these methods for personal or professional goals. I spend quite a bit of time doing this each year for both my personal and professional life and have seen much success. I hope that you are able to take away an idea to help you discover and reach goals that matter in 2022. I am happy to chat with you if you have questions or want any further explanation. You can email me at pamsimpson5678@gmail.com.