3 Ways To Achieve Your Professional AND Personal Goals For 2017

Guess what? In case you weren’t paying attention, 2017 rolled in just a few days ago. And seriously, thank God that 2016 is finally over. While not everything that happened in 2016 was bad, the ushering in of a brand-new year is more than just a change on the calendar, it can be personal and professional. Yeah, you know what we are getting at… “New Year, New Me” and all of the other little new year phrases.But whether or not you believe in new year resolutions and goals doesn’t really matter… because you set them for yourself all the time. Just think about it, if you’re a business owner, you had to have a goal in mind, right? So, I really don’t know why people get so much flack for using January 1^st as a date to implement their goals and resolutions.There is, however, one thing that we can all agree on – following through on your goals and resolutions can be difficult, whether they be personal or professional. But all hope is not lost! Here are some tips to keep in mind to help accomplish your goals for the new year

1. Set a specific goal, rather than a vague one.

The best possible example we can give might be the most popular goal of them all: “I want to lose weight in the new year.” Cool! Let’s be honest, that is a good goal to set for yourself, especially if you want to do it in a healthy way. But there are some issues with setting such a large and vague goal for yourself.

• A goal that vague gives you a starting point but doesn’t give you any direction or guidance on how to accomplish the goal.

Lost on where to go from there? Set something more specific, like “I will lose 5 pounds every month” or “I will eat at least 2 fruits or vegetables every day this year.”You can also break one large goal down into small, specific goals with designated time frames. If you’re a business owner, think about these like any other deadline that you would set for yourself or for your employees. By setting specific goals, and breaking them down into smaller segments, you can better keep yourself on track to accomplishing anything you set your mind to. Just remember that above all else, willpower and determination will be your biggest motivating factors to reaching your goals.Quote to keep in mind:“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” –Michelangelo

2. Keep a journal or a log of your progress.

You might be actively working towards completing your goal, but how will you be able to see how far you’ve come by the end of the year? The only way to really see all of your progress is to document the journey. And no, you don’t really need to keep a paper journal in this day and age, you can use an app that lets you track your progress for personal or professional goals.Wouldn’t it be amazing to see all of the work you’ve done over the year? Especially for small or large business owners. For instance, if you are looking to bring on new clients, setting a large goal of bringing in at least 10 new clients in 2017 and keeping track of that success including what worked and what didn’t work will help your business to progress further in the following years. My preferred method of organizing and keeping track of this type of information? Excel spreadsheets. A little effort into creating a spreadsheet (for literally any purpose on earth) will go a long way if you continually update it with new and relevant information and notes.Quote to keep in mind:“Review your goals twice every day in order to be focused on achieving them.” –Les Brown

3. Set a goal that you actually care about, or one you’re interested in.

Far too often do people set goals for themselves and don’t achieve them for the simple reason that they aren’t motivated or interested enough to do so. While you can, in some way or another, trick your mind into making your goal seem interesting and worthwhile, the best and most effective way to achieve a goal is to be genuinely and passionately interested in what you aim to do. After all, it’s not like Steve Jobs said to himself “yeah, technology is great and all… so I’ll just help to rebuild computers and see where it goes.” I’ve never had the opportunity to speak with Jobs, but I’m pretty sure he never told himself or anyone else anything of that sort.It’s passion, it’s intention, and it’s the desire to grow professionally or personally that makes any goal an attainable one.As a final quote to keep in mind, here is one of my absolute favorites from a woman whose passion and determination changed the course of history:“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the starts to change the world.”–Harriet Tubman From everyone at Helix House, we hope you had a wonderful holidays and have a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year. Learn more about Phoenix SEO now and get your business rockin this year!