It’s that time of year when we all reflect on the past year and re-evaluate how to kickass even more this coming year.  Everyone has goals and dreams but not everyone focuses enough to achieve them. Because let’s face it, Instagram is a black hole of distractions, and sometimes life will punch you in the gut and send you on a detour. Other times we are just not honest with ourselves on the goals that we set to begin with.  This year for me has been a mixed bag of epic wins, and some major L’s. Although I had some big professional and financial goals, my biggest goal for myself was to start practicing radical self care, stop showing up for ‘ish that I hated, becoming a softer person and last but not least being more honest with myself by asking the following 3 questions before every decision…

“Do I REALLY want to do this?”
“Am I just trying to please someone by saying yes?”
“Will my future self be upset with the decision I’m making today?”

Throughout this year what I learned is that when I make my list of goals for 2020 not only am I writing a VERY specific list, but also listing the boundaries that I need to put in place to create a sacred space to protect my goals and plans, what are my triggers that will take me off course and how I will celebrate each milestone along the journey. Here are 5 more steps that I wanted to share with you as you start looking towards 2020.

Follow these 5 steps to help get you to your goals.

1. Setting specific goals allows you to laser focus on what you want. Instead of waking every morning with no idea what tasks to focus on, having your goals written down allows you to make a daily to do list with tasks leading toward your goal. No more “flying by the seat of your pants.” Instead, follow your action plan or checklist and focus on important tasks instead of just busy work. Also list out whats the best thing that can happen and the worst thing that can happen if I don’t move forward on my goals.

2. Keep those goals in sight and look at them daily. A quarterly plan hung in your office reminds you every day about your WHY…why are you working so hard? What do you want to accomplish and what are the exact stop to get there. Even if you write a simple goal list, keep that list posted right next to your desk so you can read it every day. Keeping a list hidden in your desk or in a file somewhere on your desktop doesn’t serve the same purpose; soon enough your list is forgotten and you’re off track.

3. Be prepared for life to punch you in the gut along the way. No one’s path is smooth, especially in your career or running a business. Usually these roadblocks show up just when you’re feeling confident that you know what you’re doing. Instead of allowing these to ruin your day, find a way to resolve the problem and get back on track toward your goals as soon as possible. Once you resolve the problem, write down the solution in case you experience another similar problem in the future. Having a list of possible solutions is much less stressful than not knowing what to do.

4. Find an accountability partner or group. Voicing your goals to a partner brings your goals to life and it forces you to do the work or risk the shame of telling your partner you didn’t meet your goals. An effective accountability partner will ask follow up questions and won’t be afraid to hold their partner’s “feet to the fire.” One way to make this partnership more fun is to make a consequence whenever someone doesn’t deliver on their weekly goals. Whether that’s paying for lunch or donating to a charity, it raises the bar a bit higher.

5. Know and understand the real purpose of your goals. This step requires digging a bit deeper into your life and your WHY. Why do you want to earn more money? So you can move your family to your dream home? To pay for trips around the world? To have more impact? To invest back into your business? So you can donate money to local charities? There are no right or wrong answers. Your answer will make these goals important to YOU.