January is a time for reflection. What went well for you last year? What could you improve upon? What should you do going forward?
You could be reading this and be in a number of different places. Perhaps you are ecstatic because your industry boomed during Covid-19 and you are battling to keep abreast of orders. You could be cautious since Covid-19 has taken the wind from your sails and you are just treading water, waiting for life to get back to normal. Or maybe you are terrified since debts have piled up and there seems to be nowhere to go.
Whatever place you find yourself in, there is one thing that is certain – decisions need to be taken. This can be difficult. You could be busy fighting fires and know what needs to be done, but just don’t have the time to do it; or you could be frozen, not knowing what to do or which way to go. To help with your decision making, take some time out to ask yourself the following questions:
What things are currently causing me the most stress?
Do I know what actions I need to take in order to reduce this stress?
If you do know what actions you need to take, then write them down. Next to them, write what date they need to be completed by and stick to this timeframe. If you are unsure of what actions you need to take, then write down a person that you could discuss this with and get help from. Often just discussing an issue can open the mind to different solutions.
Once you have addressed your stress points, you can then begin to set your personal goals. The five main areas to consider for personal goal setting include: financial, mental development, physical health, social, and spiritual / values. You should only set a few goals per area and measure each goal against a time so that it can be ticked off. The most important part of achieving goals is to recognise when they have been or are being achieved. Celebrate the small wins, even just by ticking them off each time you achieve one!
Financial goals could cover both your private finances plus your career plans or business finances. Mental development goals could include wanting to further your education, or maybe getting a business coach to hold you accountable and improve your business skills. Physical health goals should be realistic, measurable and follow a timeline, e.g. aiming to do 1 hour of exercise 3 times a week. Social goals could be aiming to spend quality time with the most important people in your life, or increasing your relationship networks by joining a club – be it in sport, community volunteering, academic interests or artistic talents. Spiritual / values goals could be setting aside a set amount of time per week for only yourself – everyone needs quiet time in order to explore their values and beliefs and experience spiritual growth.
A great tip for personal goal setting is to find a picture that summarises the end result you want, and stick this somewhere you will frequently see it. For example, one of your financial goals could be to buy a bigger house or car – so put a picture of your ideal house or car where you can see it. A social goal could be to have a family get together – so put a picture of when you last did that up to remind you that this is your goal. You could want to travel to a particular place (when we eventually can) – so stick a picture of your dream destination on your wall!
If you would like some help with setting your goals – or be held accountable in achieving them – at Eagle Vision we run monthly or weekly sessions to provide this. Please just give us a call to discuss your strategy for the coming year. It is always helpful to bounce your ideas off of someone!
