Want to Achieve Your 2023 Goals? Then, Gather These 3 Types of Support Now.

This Week: Document and share your 2023 goals, intentions, and resolutions. Confirm you have the mentorship, support, and motivation to achieve them.

It's no coincidence that National Mentoring Month is in January. It provides the perfect prompt to ensure the relationships we carry forward are aligned with our goals, intentions and resolutions for the year ahead.

Once you have nailed down those declarations for 2023, grab your phone! Confirm the folks you most frequently communicate with know about this year's goals, and support the current and future you. If there's hesitation to communicate the "New Year, New You" vision, then perhaps it is time to develop new relationships.

Here are three relationships to invest in to achieve those 2023 goals:

Peer Support

The path to growth can be lonely. Find travel companions.

Our first instinct when looking for a mentor is to look up. But in reality, it is the company we keep on a daily basis that either hinders or facilitates our growth. Look for those who are traveling a parallel path with similar goals and commit to holding each other accountable for small progress every day.

A great way to get the creative juices flowing after the holidays is to schedule weekly execution sprints with 3-4 peers weekly throughout January. Virtually check in with each other at the beginning of the day, verbalize the New Year's goals or intentions, commit to making progress during the day, and then show the day's work among your peers.

Remember also to bring your life partners along on this new leg of your professional journey. Ambitious leaders often set lofty goals for themselves and their teams, but forget to communicate them at home. Then, when the number of hours or work schedules change, it causes work-life stress and guilt. Work-life balance & integration begins with work-life communication---especially goals, ambitions, and paths forward.

Mentorship

Mentorship is simply learning from someone else's experience.

Too often, we seek mentors to help us determine the next steps in our careers. However, when we choose the mentor before determining our own goals, we are put on the mentor's path for us. Instead, get clear on your goals, and then find someone who has already accomplished them.

Find folks who have already achieved the goals you have set for yourself, or masters at the skills you want to improve. Ask them about their development. Consider using this approach to initiate a conversation with a new connection on LinkedIn:

My 2023 goal is ___________________. I noticed that you have already achieved it (or you have mastered this skill) because _____________________. I would love to connect and learn more about your expertise. Looking forward to learning from you!

The first sentence personalizes the connection request. The second & third demonstrate that you've done some research and value the contact's experience. The last is an invitation a good mentor never refuses!

The mentorship you need is only one bold "ask" away.

Pilot Lights

Two layers below the "why" lives the spark that ignites it.

Odds are that you have felt the need for this year's goal, habit, or skill for a while. Why now? How will you ensure that this milestone is reached this year? Simon Sinek offers powerful insight when inspiring action in others by starting with the "why", but how do we find the daily motivation needed to take action for ourselves? Consider starting with your "why", and then going two layers deeper to find the source of ignition.

First, Answer: "Why did I choose this goal or intention in 2023?" Perhaps it's for improved health or well-being? Maybe stronger partnerships or deeper connections? Or for a promotion opportunity or salary increase? Or something else?

Then, Go Deeper: "Why do I want this result?"

And Finally, Consider: "How will this result change my life or the lives of those I serve and/or love?" Keep this pilot light nearby.

I found that my pilot light, when launching Pink Mentor Network six years ago, was meeting someone who longed for mentorship. Every time I met a stranger who communicated a need that I knew how to solve, I was recharged. The conversation reignited my passion and commitment for this work.

That spark still lives today. If you need help finding peers, mentorship, or pilots lights to accomplish your 2023 goals, schedule an intro call with me. I hold space on my calendar for pilot lights, and always welcome the spark.

Carry Forward: This Week

Yes! Write out those 2023 goals and intentions. Yes! Plant visible reminders throughout your work & living spaces. But also, tell the folks who support you...both the current and future version, about your plans for the New Year.

I've never met a successful person who achieved greatness alone.