Welcome to a new year with new challenges and probabilities.
Like so many people globally, you have set some new year’s resolutions and goals for both your personal life and professional career. But, as you almost certainly know by now, it’s not always that easy to keep to those resolutions and goals.
Statistics show that many people who are unhappy with their professional careers or eager to take up new challenges use the new year to make those changes.
Here are a few pointers on how you can take the stress (and disappointment if not reached) out of trying to achieve those resolutions and goals:
1. Keep it simple
We tend to set the bar very high and then when we don’t reach our goals, we chastise ourselves and feel very guilty for not keeping to that resolution or reaching that goal. Don’t. Keep it simple, so you won’t feel so bad when you don’t reach them.
2. Don’t overthink it
Your goals can be anything from spending more time on a specific project to getting to work earlier to ensure you finish your daily tasks.
3. Do ‘self-check-ups’ on a weekly or monthly basis
Now that you have set those goals, you must keep yourself accountable for reaching them. Take a step back and see if those goals you’ve set are realistic, and if so, what you have done to date to reach them. This way, you can track and motivate yourself to work harder to achieve them.
4. Are you flexible in changing that goal?
Sometimes we set goals that, if we are completely honest with ourselves, are just not reachable in the set timeframe or at that stage in your career. Don’t feel guilty if you have to re-evaluate, adjust or change that goal completely. It’s reported that in the second week of February, more than 80% of people who set goals for themselves have given up on reaching them. They might have set the bar too high, and instead of re-evaluating, they feel ashamed and throw in the towel.
5. Enjoy the journey!
We tend to be too serious and don’t realise we can enjoy the journey leading to achieving that goal. See it as an exciting adventure; without realising it, you might pick up some new useful skills along the way!
Happy 2023!
