5 Pro Tips for Achieving your Goals in 2022

Leaders,

As we ride out the remaining weeks of this year, have you thought about what you want to achieve in 2022?

I wanted to share with you the importance of setting goals, both personally and professionally. One of the main reasons goals are so important is that they give you a target, where am I actually going?

When you've got clearly set and well-defined goals, they remove decision fatigue and things become easier. Is what I am working on helping me towards my goal?

Whatever you focus on, expands.

Once you’re aligned on what’s important and remove the rest, you gain clarity.

Here are 5 things that will help you achieve a higher level of success when setting goals.

1) Why - you need to have a why and purpose behind why this goal is important to you. If you want to run a sub 20min 5k, why? Get to the root cause of your reason. Ask yourself why until you get to it. If it’s just because you want to, then you’re probably not going to put the required level of effort over a sustained period. But if your why is by running more often and quicker you are maintaining the health of your body and mind for years to come, which will help you lead a more fulfilling lifestyle and see your children grow up, then this type of why will help you to come back for more. A why keeps you going through adversity and set back. Know why you do what you do. If the why is not strong enough, drop the goal and find something you feel stronger about.

2) Priority - hopefully by knowing your why it will allow you to prune some of your less important goals. Identifying the critical goals you want and removing the rest is refreshing. Be realistic with the number of goals but ambiguous with those few goals you choose to pursue. There is a lot of evidence around goal setting that if you have too many you end up getting distracted and not achieving anything. It’s better to focus your time and energy on taking 10 steps in one direction, rather than one step in 10 directions.

Lesser important goals become a distraction, delete them off your list and focus on the things you are most hungry for and that you have a strong why behind. It’s hard but it’s critical. Ambitious goals need your 100% focus and energy, this creates momentum and a compounding effect.

3) Plan - goals are great as they give you a target to focus your attention on. But goals alone aren’t enough. You need a plan, what are the 10 steps that you need to take to hit your goal this year? They can be rough for now, but write them down and get started. Be flexible and constantly evaluate. If things are not working as expected, don’t be afraid to try something different. You’ll be amazed at how much you learn just by turning up and taking action. Your newfound perspective from taking action helps you recognise your original plan is no longer serving you and you need a new one.

4) Accountability Partner - it can be really hard and require a huge level of discipline to continue to action your smaller tasks which help you achieve your bigger goals. Having an accountability partner will really help you succeed. This could be a Mentor, a Coach, a Partner, or a Leader at work. Having someone you regularly check in with on your goals, who can encourage you and hold you accountable to your next steps on your plan can have a profound impact and really ensure you’re actioning what you agree to.

5) S.M.A.R.T - When setting your goals, be super clear so you can narrow your focus. Set SMART goals. “I want to be a better leader” is not a SMART goal, goals should be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Try “I want to achieve an Employee Satisfaction score of 97% by 31st March 2022.” Your starting point might be 80% as an example.

All successful people and organisations have goals. Without them, it’s difficult to have a defined purpose and something to strive for, you’ll begin to stagnate and struggle for meaningful accomplishments.

Working towards a goal allows us to go on a journey of growth and development. All humans feel a sense of fulfillment when they have progress, growth, and a sense of accomplishment.

As you take stock of your performance both professionally and personally for 2021, what ambitious goals can you set and begin working on as we enter 2022?

All the best

David

Resources Of The Week

• App - Notion - I originally started with Google Docs but found it difficult to file and systematically keep things in order. Where the game changed is when I started using Notion. Notion allows you to effectively store and file notes. It’s perfect for tracking your goals. It also has loads of great templates to help with Digital Notes, Task Lists, Journaling, and Tracking Habits. It’s your Second Brain.

• YouTube - Evan Carmichael Confidence Series- Evan put together a series of daily confidence-building videos from celebrities to motivational speakers delivered via YouTube directly to your inbox every day. 254 days to Unstoppable Confidence.

• Book - Eat That Frog by Brian Tracey - a great book with 21 ideas on how to overcome procrastination and get more things done. Stop procrastinating on your lesser goals and start taking difficult action to achieve your meaningful goals.

Quote of the Week

If you’re finding this newsletter valuable, consider sharing it with colleagues, or subscribing if you haven’t already.