2020 has been one heck of a year for everyone, and even in the best of years, there are those of us who struggle to goal set, looking for a fresh start.
2020 has you feeling anxious, overwhelmed, lost, angry, unsure of your path right now...Don’t hesitate, but instead take some time to yourself, and set some goals to make 2021 a great fresh start. Maybe you’re worried starting fresh is going to change you, but hey, isn't change the goal?
Not sure how to begin? We’ve got 3 steps to guide you here:
1. Take an Honest Inventory-
Taking an inventory of your life is important to goal-setting (and often the most difficult to do, isn’t it? ) We are quick to formulate our goals/future success on the basis of “idols” or what those around us are doing. While having a foundation or blueprint is key to measuring and achieving goals, it is paramount that the foundation comes from an honest look inside ourselves, and this can often be scary.
Feel free to use the items discussed below to guide you, but take a deep dive into your heart & your life, allowing any emotions that result to assist you in pursuit of your goals.
Do not dwell on the negative, and reserve judgment- sit in the emotions as long as is needed, as they are honest responses that will make your goals and path clear.
Two main thoughts to “sit” with to help you start the process…
Fear (and How it Holds You Back)
It may sound cliché these days, but writing down your honest thoughts and emotions during this process is beneficial when learning to control your emotions, especially when it comes to Fear. Fear is natural (sometimes healthy)- everyone deals with it at some point in their lives, and it is often a huge factor in determining whether someone does (or does not) pursue anything- goal, dream, or otherwise.
Writing down your emotions, funny as it may sound, takes the emotions out of your head and makes them a “physical” or “real” thing you can hold, see, and work on.
Think on What Got You Here
A true fresh start requires true reflection on who/what/how we got here: determining what works, what needs improvement, and what you may need to let go, in pursuit of your goal. Again, emotions give you an honest answer here, but it also important to learn to (i.e. believe you can) control your emotions…
2. Define What’s Important to You & Set Your Goal
Goals (usually) are meant to improve or build on a particular area in your life. Whether it's your relationships, your business, your health (physical or mental), your financials…Take what we just self-discovered and ask yourself what is most important. Once you’ve determined the most important area(s), it's time to set a goal.
Let’s use Volunteer Work as an example Goal…Feel free to create your own goal framework, but we have found that “SMART” goals have the best chance of success:
Specific- Clear, simple, sensible. Most folks miss the mark here and go too broad when goal setting, making the other categories difficult or impossible. “Helping other people more”, while noble, is a broad goal. “Volunteering at the Soup Kitchen once a week, every week” however, hits all five categories…
Measurable- Goals must be recorded and tracked for future review & insight. We can use a calendar in our example to both record and track progress.
Attainable/Achievable- For true goal-setting purposes, this is defined as something possible to complete, while stretching our limitations. The main point here, though, is the goal must be realistic. In our example, once a week is definitely possible, but every week requires some management and care.
Relevant- Simply put, the area and goal need to matter enough to you to complete, or why do it in the first place? We can only speak for ourselves here, but positively impacting the community and world around us is something relevant to our team.
Time-Bound- Every goal needs a target, and in most cases that is (or includes) a deadline to complete the goal. A time-bound goal also makes it easier to break the goal down into smaller, more achievable “milestones” or markers to further assist in tracking your progress. In our example, although there is no target (or end) date, the 7-day week can be used as your time-bound deadline to complete your goal every week.
3. Get to It, and Check-In Consistently!
Both M and T in the SMART acronym above allude to this, but once the plan is in place and you’ve started to work on your goal, you need to periodically review your progress.
Real-Life changes constantly, and things certainly can get messy sometimes. So, it is important to review how you are doing and make adjustments as things happen, especially as you learn more information as it relates to your goal. You learn more as you go, as is the case with just about anything in life, so take the time to process that information, and determine if your goal requires updating.
If Real Estate is one of your goals for 2021, feel free to browse our website while you are here! We have our own exclusive featured listings, plus access to much more via our MLS-integrated search page!