Setting Your 2017 Goals And Increasing Your Chances Of Success

Posted: 18th January 2017

Setting Your 2017 Goals And Increasing Your Chances Of Success

 

Most of us are creatures of habit, and so view the New Year as the time to reinvent ourselves or set new goals.  Unfortunately, research suggests that almost half of us making New Year’s Resolutions will have infrequent success. A further quarter will have no success at all. I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t set ourselves goals for 2017; just be a little kinder to ourselves and more realistic in our expectations.

I hope 2016 was a year filled with magic for you personally, and your business. Before setting your 2017 goals think about what the highlights of 2016 were for you. Did your business grow? Or perhaps you launched your business in 2016. Did you overcome a personal or business challenge?

Whatever your successes were – recognise them. Say “well done” and give yourself a virtual pat on the back. This is one of the best ways to inspire you to greater success this year. It’s also a great way to give your self-confidence and self-esteem a boost. We all need to keep our self-confidence and self-esteem as high as possible if we’re going to successfully achieve our goals.

At the start of January many of us launch ourselves into creating our New Year’s resolutions. For some these are forgotten by February. Does this sound familiar? If so, why not take a different approach in 2017…

Here’s an approach I launched with my own clients a few years ago. So far this method has delivered better results. I hope it works for you too.

  1. What are your proudest achievements from 2016? These can be personal or business related
  2. Spend a little time (as long as you wish) savouring your achievements. Feel the pride or excitement these achievements gave you. Keep reflecting until you start to feel a sense of pride and achievement. When you’re feeling very positive tell yourself that you can do even better in 2017
  3. Now it’s time to think about your 2017 goals. Before you go any further – consider your current level of self-confidence and self-esteem. Just give yourself a score between 1 (exceptionally low) and 10 (very high). Don’t judge or analyse what you’ve written. You’re simply putting a marker in the sand
  4. Choose the goal setting tool you want to use for 2017. Note: I’ve made some suggestions towards the end of this blog post
  5. Spend 15-30 minutes thinking about anything and everything you would like to achieve in 2017. Don’t analyse them; just make a note for now. Your goals can be business related or personal (or a combination of both). You may even decide that tackling your self-confidence issues is one of your goals
  6. When you’ve run out of ideas stop and review what you’ve written. Now score each goal 0 – 10. This score represents your motivation level
  7. Discard any goals that scored less than eight as your chances of success are limited. This is fine so don’t beat yourself up
  8. Now choose your big goal for 2017. Only choose one big goal
  9. Your ‘big’ goal may not be finalised in 2017. This is fine – just remember to review your progress at the end of the year
  10. Now select some mini goals. It’s up to you how many mini goals you set, but don’t be tempted to overload yourself. Set a target date for each mini goal
  11. Next, decide what your rewards are going to be. Choose small rewards for mini goals and a more significant reward for your massive goal. For example mini rewards could be a bar of your favourite chocolate, a candlelit perfumed bath, a new book etc. Your reward for achieving your massive goal should be more significant. For example – a celebration lunch, a spa day, or anything else that feels indulgent to you
  12. Now plot your goals into your chosen goal setting tool then tell someone what your goals are. It’s been proven that our chances of success are greater is we tell someone else as we don’t want to let them down
  13. It’s important to review your progress regularly as this will help provide the motivation to succeed. You can either do a short review at the end of each month or on the target date. As part of each review reflect on how your self-confidence is growing too
  14. At the end of 2017 remember to schedule an end of year review. Ask yourself the following questions: Did I achieve all my 2017 goals? If not, why not? What is my proudest achievement from 2017?
  15. As part of this final review reflect on your self-confidence. Score your self-confidence 1 (exceptionally low) and 10 (very high). As yourself “what was it that changed my self-confidence in 2017?”

There are lots of goal setting tools and methods available, and one-size doesn’t fit all. It’s important to select the goal setting tool that feels right for you. I’ve spent some time reviewing the goal setting tools that my clients have selected most often in recent years, and listed them below. If you would like a free template and instructions for any of these goal setting tools please get in touch and I’ll email the relevant document to you. My contact details are listed below.

 

  • Bucket list
  • Vision board/prosperity wheel
  • Goal setting ladder
  • Cosmic ordering
  • 100 steps to greater success
  • My future
  • Mini goal setting exercise
  • The goal planner

In case you’re interested I publish a free self-confidence blog three times a week. Please visit my website for further details (http://www.shepherdcreativelearning.co.uk).

If you would like a no-obligation chat please just give me a call (07879 434056), email me (liz@shepherdcreativelearning.co.uk) or connect on LinkedIn or Twitter (liztucker03)

I wish you a very successful 2017. And remember, your idea of success is unique to you so don’t compare yourself or your results.

Liz Tucker (Self-confidence Coach)