Achieve More: 7 Powerful Goals to Set This Year

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One reason we enjoy the new year is the sense of a new start.  It’s a chance to start again.  Reset our goals. We can look back at the year before and look forward to the year ahead.  Setting goals for the year helps us have a focus and plan for the new year. You can achieve more when you have these 7 powerful goals set this year.

Goals give us a starting point.  They provide us with a guide and direction to follow in the future.  If you set clear goals, your goals can guide your decisions and how you spend your time.

As you set goals in each area below, I recommend breaking your goals into smaller goals, like 90-day or even 30-day goals.  You may find that 90-day goals are more achievable than annual goals.  Taking small steps toward a significant goal will help you succeed in the short term.

To motivate yourself, create a reward you will get for reaching each goal you set.

To get started, let’s look at 7 areas of life where you can set goals for the new year.

Note this post includes affiliate links.  Read my disclosure policy here.

7 Goals to Set Today

For each area of life below, set a goal you can achieve this year.  As you set each goal, be specific. For example, don’t say, spend more time with family.  Say, spend more time with family by having a family movie night 2 times a month.

Spiritual

What area of your spiritual life do you need to improve?  Have you placed God first in your life?  What one action can you take this year that will bring you closer to God and strengthen your spiritual life?

Here are a few ideas for spiritual goals this year:

• Add quiet time for reading and meditation every morning
• Read more books with spiritual insights to grow your faith
• Spend more time journaling or in prayer
• Memorize one Bible verse each week

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Family

Your family is always one of your top priorities.  As you think about your family, how can you grow your family’s relationships with each other?  For example, maybe your goal would be to have a family game night once a week or plan a family outing one Saturday or Sunday every month.

Maybe you want to set a goal to spend more quality time each day with your family.   You could read a book together aloud.  Reading together is a fun and a great way to share a memorable experience.

A few ideas include:

• Have family story time at least 5 nights a week
• Have family dinner together at the table (not electronics) 3 times a week
• Plan and take a family vacation
• Have a date night with your spouse once a week

Family goals can strengthen family relationships and create great memories.  

Children

This goal for your children is different from the family goal, which is a goal for the whole family. Specifically, think about each of your children and what they uniquely need from you.  Consider goals you can set for each of your children and how you can help them be successful.  Would you like to help them improve their grades in school?  Or do you want to spend time with each of them every day or have a special date night every month?

• Have all homework done by 8:00 pm each night
• Have a special activity day/night once a month with each child
• Have pizza and movie night a few times a month
• Cook dinner together

Create a unique goal for each of your children based on their special needs and how you can help them.

Health

How can you improve your health this year?  Whether your current health situation is good or needs improvement, you can always make a change to improve your health.  Should you eat healthier foods?  Should you limit desserts to once a week?  Should you add some exercise to every day?

Goal ideas:

• Exercise for 30 minutes 4 days a week
• Walk 10,000 steps a day
• Set a goal to lose 10 (or 20, or 30 pounds) this year, then break your goal into monthly goals
• Develop a healthy diet plan that works for you
• Reduce your blood pressure to a healthy level
• Spend time daily in meditation or breathing deeply (helps you relax)

Improving your health is not an easy change to make.  Don’t expect to make every health change all at once. Just start with one goal and improve slowly.  Then, add another step till you reach the complete goal. Many of us struggle with health and weight issues.  Start today with one small goal, and start making progress to better health.

Financial

How can you improve your finances this year?  Sometimes, the most straightforward changes make the most significant difference.  If you have no debt, maybe you can start saving for your children’s college tuition or early retirement.  If you still have debt, set goals to start paying off your debt (little by little, and step by step, you can make it happen).

Goals to consider:

• Reduce your current debt level by 50% (goal to have all debt paid off in 2 years except home mortgage and maybe cars)
• Save 3% of your income for retirement. If you already save 3%, increase to 5%. Most companies offer a 401K or other saving opportunity.
• Learn basic investing strategies to help grow your money

If money management is challenging, a book like Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover may help you follow a clear financial plan. This plan in this book works. I highly recommend it.

Education

What new things do you want to learn this year or in the next 90 days?  Are you taking any online classes and courses?  Maybe you enjoy reading books?  How will you continue to grow and learn new things this year?

If you are working on online courses, set a clear timeline to complete each course, or you will find the courses are not completed.

If you are reading books, don’t just say you will read 10 books this year.  Carefully select the books you plan to read and create a reading schedule.  Will you complete one book every week or every two weeks?

Goals for personal education and growth:

• Read one book a week in personal development or teaching you a new skill
• Take one online course a month. I like The Great Courses Plus. You can watch right on your smart TV.
• Take an in-person class like a cooking class or a community college class.

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Professional

You need to set professional goals for yourself.  Do you want to earn a raise or a promotion at work? How will you make this goal happen?  Create a goal and a plan that helps you know where you are going with your career, or you will drift.

Do you own your own business?  What business goals do you have this year? What can you do to increase your income?  Aside from income, what other goals and purposes do you have for your business?

Goals to consider:

• Get a new job
• Ask for a raise at your current job (be sure to ask for a specific amount)
• Start a side hustle
• Work toward a promotion and/or apply for new promotion opportunities this year

Now it’s time to write down your goals for your family, spiritual life, children, health, finances, education, and professional life.  We will all have unique goals within each category.  Your goals will help you focus your decisions about your children, your family, and how you spend your time.  Goals for each area will guide you to what is most important and what should require your attention right now.

Make Over Your Mornings

One way to get your goals started right is with the Make Over Your Mornings.  I completed this course at the beginning of 2016, and it helped me learn to focus my time and energy in the right places.

Some of the topics included in the course are:

• How to Successfully Plan Your Day
• Setting Goals
• Accountability Partners
• How to Create Your To-Do List
• A Morning Routine That Works
• And so much more…

Get your copy of Make Over Your Mornings here.

Final tip

Don’t forget, do a goal check-up in 90 days. Access your progress toward each goal. You can change or adjust your goals based on what is working and what is not working and what you think will help you be most successful this year.

This week, take some time to start planning your goals.

Your turn…

What goals are you setting for this year?  What will make this year successful for you?

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