Most people write down new year’s resolutions at the start of each year but most of those resolutions get broken by the middle of January. This happens due to the lack of positive mindset to achieve those goals. Having a positive mindset is the best way to make sure that you achieve everything you want in the following year because it outlines how you are going to manage yourself throughout the year.
Following are three simple strategies that will help you kick-start your year and achieve your goals:
- Let go of last year
The beginning of the year is the right time to realize that it’s time to move on. What happened last year has gone and its now in the past, so let it go. While the last year will certainly play an imperative role in what you achieve in the new year, you should concentrate on your future and don’t let the past stand in the way of your future achievements.
Take these actions:
Take a journal or notebook and write down everything that you achieved last year as well as what you did to make those achievements possible. Now write down all the things that you couldn’t achieve and what you didn’t do that ultimately prevented you from achieving those goals.
- Create a vision for this year
The entire year is like a journey, for which you need to know where you are heading. You don’t want to go on a journey without a map, compass, or any idea of where you are heading. Without them, how will know that you are heading in the right direction?
Human mind loves to concentrate on something big, so make sure that your vision is challenging so that all the efforts to achieve your goals are worth it.
Take these actions:
In that same journal or notebook, write a description of where you want to be at the end of the year with regards to both in your personal life and in your business life. Pay attention to how you will know that you have achieved that vision and how it will feel and look like to reach that point.
- Write a goal diary
We all achieve some of our goals at some point in our lives. The real key however, is to achieve all of your goals consistently. In order to do this, it is recommended that you keep a goal diary.
Take these actions:
In the same journal or notebook, write down all the goals that you want to achieve in this new year. Also, write down what they will mean to you when you have successfully achieved them.
To help break these goals into daily tasks, another approach, which works for me, is to use the 5 minute journal as created by Alex Ikonn and UK Ramdas. It comes in the form of a diary or an app (http://app.fiveminutejournal.com) and covers off 3 questions that help you start the day the right way and then 2 questions at the end of the day to recap what you have accomplished. These questions cover:
- Question 1: what are you grateful for?
- Question 2: What would make today great?
- Question 3: Daily affirmation
At the end of each day after dinner or before bed, you can review the day:
- Question 4: Amazing things that happened today?
- Question 5: How could I have made today even better?
I find this helps me focus on being productive and also serves as a reminder to be thankful for what I have
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is, your goals have an added necessity and importance at the beginning of the year and its only you and you alone that can achieve them. Having a positive mindset is critical and will contribute a lot to your future success. Attack them each day!