2021: Goalsetting for the New Year.

I remember how excited and enthusiastic I was this time 2019 about 2020; I had plans & goals & targets & milestones. Everything written in ink, cast in stone & plastered into the foundations of the New Year. But what happened in the end?

Looking back at the year 2020, it's been a roller coaster of events; the good, the bad & most certainly the ugly. While majority of these events have been generalistic in nature and not directly affecting you, there are some which you & I felt it's effects personally & it changed the course of the year for you.

Some of these events definitely had to do with goals and plans you might have had. Perhaps all your plans came through, or maybe they fell through or maybe you were able to achieve just a little percentage of it, nothing (and definitely no one) says you can't spill them over into the new year.

It's another 365 days, another opportunity to review current goal, reshuffle unachieved goals and create new ones ahead of time. 

When setting goals, you should set goals for both the long term and the short term, reflect on past mistakes and check the appropriate changes to be made. It's only difficult to achieve when you don't set clear & realistic goals and plans. 

Here's how I feel you could set your goals in 2021: 

?? Understand the need to be SPECIFIC

You need to know what you really want, instead of saying "I want to be very rich at the end of year", say "I want to make $100 at the end of every month". That way you'd be able to walk towards this plan and eradicate every problem you might encounter in achieving it. 

One specific goal I'm entering 2021 with having at least $3000 worth of investment by the end of 2021. And there's a plan in place already towards that. What's yours?

?? Set MEASURABLE goals

Break your goals into bits and parts. Create daily, weekly and monthly steps to take; e.g if you have to pay a debt of #100,000, you can pay #25,000 at the end of every week/month to clear this. When you complete a task, focus on the next one. 

?? Make your goals ACHIEVABLE 

To be successful, your goals need to be achievable. It should be something that is possible, though tasking. You should be able to identify past challenges and work towards realistic ways of crossing it. 

?? RELEVANT goals

Does your goal matter to you? Is it relevant to your field or other goals? Is it worth your time? Does your current economic situation support this goal? These are some of the many questions a relevant goal answers.

?? Work with TIME.

As the popular saying goes "time waits for nobody"; this means that you need to do whatever you have to do in time. That's why you need to set a target and create timelines and deadlines for your goals. Setting deadlines lets you focus on relevant goals and it prevents everyday tasks from taking priority over your long term goals. 

These five steps are not the holy Grail of goal setting but they are absolutely crucial in setting any type of goals you wish to achieve. In turn, setting goals is very important on the road to success. Irrespective of how 2020 is ending for you (either good or bad), here's your shot to ensuring 2021 doesn't catch you unawares.

Happy New Year to you & yours,

With affectionate love from

Gómínà Dáfídì & team.