Goals are so important in our day-to-day life. If you are not working toward anything, what are you doing? I am not a fan of the word “resolution” because to me, it indicates the need for perfectionism. The actual definition is “a firm decision to do or not to do something.” I am not afraid of commitment, but I AM a recovering perfectionist. The problem with perfectionism is if you mess up once, you feel like a total failure and quit altogether. The word “goal” indicates a much more lenient approach. The definition of goal is “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” See what I mean? Much more room for error. I also like goals because they can evolve and change over time. You may set a goal for something and decide in the process to change directions. Resolutions are so….Resolute, Finite, Limited. I want to live a limitless life!
Every new year, I pick a few categories and write a goal for each category. Categories may include: Health, Financial, Career, Spiritual, Intellectual, Marriage, Family…just to name a few. The main thing to remember when setting goals is to make them S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-specific)
Here are some examples of goals using the categories listed above:
1. Health: I will take a walk for 1 hour a day, 3 days a week for the next 12 months (except when I’m on vacation).
2. Financial: I will save $500 per month into a Roth IRA account for the next 12 months.
3. Career: I will start a side business that will bring in $1,000 per month by the end of 2020.
4. Spiritual: I will read 3 chapters of the Bible per day in 2020.
5. Intellectual: I will read 1 non-fiction book per month for the next 12 months.
6. Marriage: I will have one date night with my spouse per month for the next 12 months.
7. Family: I will spend 3 hours playing with my kids without the TV on or my phone in hand every weekend in 2020.
I want to live a limitless life!
Goals don’t have to be complicated, but make sure they are realistic. It may be a good idea for you to cut your goal in half. Another key thing to remember once you start working towards your goal is if you miss it one week or one month, don’t give up! Give yourself grace and keep going. Don’t strive for perfection, strive for improvement. Think about this…you set a health goal and say you are only going to drink one soda per week for the whole year (that’s 52 sodas). Now let’s pretend you slipped up and couldn’t resist that ice-cold fizzy sweet goodness while checking out at the grocery store, but you already had your soda this week. So, you had more than one soda that week…don’t slip back into drinking soda every day because you feel like a failure, that’s not good for you. Remember why you created that goal in the first place? Maybe you want to lose weight, feel healthier, or simply cut back on caffeine and sugar. Those are all reasons to pick yourself back up and keep going! You’ve got this!
Schedule a call with me to see how you can get your Roth IRA set up so you can start saving for retirement with after-tax dollars and experience tax-free growth! Who doesn’t love free?
