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The new year has just begun. Everyone is full of new aspirations with hopes for a better future. We all set goals. But the harsh reality is that 4 out of 5 people, that’s 80%, will throw in the towel and admit defeat before the end of the year. More than half will quit before they make it through the first 90 days. Why?
Life happens. Shit happens. Priorities change. If you don’t want to fall within the 80% of fails, then here are a few tips that can help you smash your goals this year.
“Not all goals are meant to be achieved. Sometimes they are just a good place to start.”
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Determine Your Starting Point Using The Level 10 Life Method
Your starting point is where you are right now. Where you end up and how you get there is up to you.
You can’t get to where you want to go if you don’t know where you are currently at. To go from point A to point B you need know the location of both points. You can determine your starting point by defining your life levels.
Life levels is an easy way to determine where you are and to measure how far you have progressed. Starting off, decide which parts of your life you want to improve upon.
Level 10 Life Categories
- Health/Wellness
- Financial Stability
- Relationships
- Spirituality
- Marriage
- Parenting
- Home/Home Environment
- Self-Improvement
- Self-Awareness
- Emotional Health
- Gratitude
- Family Life
- Career
- Debt Management
- Family Life
- Social Status
- Standard of Living
Level 10 Life Assessment
Start off with 5-8 categories.
Grade yourself in each category from 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Note: none of your categories should be a 10 as these are areas you feel need improvement.
After grading each category, write out what level 10 in that category looks like to you.
For Example:
Category: Financial Stability
Current Grade: Level 2
What does level 10 look like?: No longer living pay check to paycheck with at least $1200 in savings.
By determining the level of the here and now, you have defined the point in which you are starting from (Point A).
Pinpoint Your Goals
You identified what level 10 looks like in each of the categories of your life where you want to improve. Now what?
Next, pinpoint your goals using the mind mapping method. Why mind mapping? It’s an uncomplicated way to organize your thoughts, connect the dots between your goals, and establish your first steps toward reaching your goal.
Take a piece of paper, draw a circle in the center and write the name of the category in the circle.
Brainstorm ideas for how you can take your goal from your current level to level 10.
Mind map your ideas for how you will take this category to level 10
Some categories may share the same concept for improvement (hence connecting the dots between goals).
For example:
Emotional Health and Gratitude
To reach a level 10 in emotional health, you can keep a gratitude journal. The journal will help you remember all the things you are thankful for. Likewise, if you want to increase your gratitude towards others, a gratitude journal could help you track you progress and measure your success.
Level 10 Life Categories That Could Have Connections:
- Emotional Health & Physical Health
- Financial Stability & Debt Management
- Family & Relationships
- Relationships & Emotional Health
Establish A Plan of Action
“A goal with no measure is nothing more than a hope or dream.”
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Now that you know what you need to do to improve in each category, you need develop a plan of action. What’s the point in going through all this trouble if you aren’t going to follow through?
Choose a tool to help you track your progress. I love using my bullet journal. It helps me keep my focus on what is most important. I use the Leuchtturm1917 journal for work. It has a pocket in the back for my sticky notes, is small enough to fit in my purse, and has a durable cover.
I started bullet journaling toward the end of 2018. Since then, my quality of life has drastically improved. I am noticeably happier and more productive than I have ever been.
If you would like to use a bullet journal to track your goals or if you want to learn more about how a bullet journal can improve your quality of life, check out Bullet Journal Lifestyle: Living One Bullet At A Time
Create Smart Goals
Take your top three goals and determine how you will measure your progress.
SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
For Example:
“I will be more grateful.“
This is not a goal. It is a want. It is not specific nor timely.
However, if you rephrase this:
“I will spend ten minutes every day and write three things in my gratitude journal.“
Now you have a goal!
Specific: Write in gratitude journal.
Measurable: three things
Attainable: 10 minutes per day
Realistic: 10 minutes per day is easy enough
Timely: Measured by day.
Record your progress either daily or weekly. If you don’t keep your goals at the forefront of your mind, their significance will decrease, and you will be more likely to join the 80% of fails.
If you are an avid journalista, like me, you can track your progress in your bullet journal.
List out what you plan to do each day, each week, each month and follow through on your plan.
Breaking your goals down into smaller manageable tasks will enable to you take consistent steps which in turn will bring you closer to your Point B (Your Level 10).
To do this, brain dump all the tasks you will need to complete and then sort them into months. Take your list for each month and sort it out by what you are going to complete each week. Do the same with your weekly list and create daily lists.
“It doesn’t matter who you used to be, what you’ve done or where you’ve been. All that matters is the here and now and the choices you make moving forward.”
In Summary
I hope you will smash your goals in 2020. Live the life you want to live. Meet new people. Try new things. Improve your level of existence one small step at a time. And work toward a brighter tomorrow.If you still need help pinpointing and narrowing down your goals, feel free to leave me a comment below.
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