It’s the start of a new year! Are you excited?

I certainly am. I’m most excited about the goals I have set for this year.

I write, post on social media, and coach my clients a lot on goal setting. Why? Because without clarity, without knowing what we want, motivation is unsustainable. You might have fits and spurts of inspiration, but you’re not clear on where to apply that inspiration- and so inspiration and motivation wanes.

Through trial and error, I have discovered exactly what doesn’t work when it comes to goal setting. The most common ‘pitfalls’ I see when it comes to goal setting are:

Goals are not INSPIRING. SMART goals have a place, but they are often not the ones that will fire you up and get you excited to get out of bed in the morning. Do this instead: Pick a goal that EXCITES you! It might not be specific. There may be no timeline, and that’s OK! Some of the most important goals are not measurable. For example, I have a goal to experience more joy, more fun, and be less stressed. And while there’s no clear external ‘measure’, I know that I’m achieving it based on how I feel every day: more joyful, more excited, and less stressed.

We don’t REMIND ourselves of our goals regularly. We might think about something or write it down at some point, but we don’t remember what our goals actually are. Do this instead: Read your goals and why your goals are important to you every single day. I coach my clients to make this a part of their morning routine.

We don’t ACT on our goals DAILY. While creating a vision, and putting your goal out into the universe is great, action is what drives results! Do this instead: Take action daily. When you plan your week and your day (you do plan your week and your day, right?), schedule your goal into your calendar. So often we set goals, but then get distracted or ‘life gets in the way’. Life didn’t get in the way; we didn’t PRIORITIZE the things that we want. Whatever you want more of in your life: health, fitness, happiness, connection, self-care, fun, adventure, dates, sex, building your business, or more time with the family, SCHEDULE IT into YOUR CALENDAR! Block time for the things that are important to you in your life; make appointments for living your best life!

We don’t celebrate our SUCCESSES. When we don’t celebrate our wins, we feel unfulfilled, unsatisfied and we lose motivation because we never FEEL how we hoped we would feel! Do this instead: At the end of each day, reflect on your specific wins for the day. Simply say ‘hey… good job today!’. Don’t wait to check off your goal as complete- celebrate each small step along the way.

What are your goals for 2023? I’d love to hear from you!

-Tanja