Goal and Intention Setting for the New Year

We all need time to set the tone for the year ahead, without the pressure of old-fashioned New Year’s resolutions. Start by deciding what you want. Is there a specific goal you’d like to achieve? Or is it less a goal and more a state of being you’d like to cultivate? Here are some ways to make it happen.

1. Know the value of a SMART goal

A SMART goal keeps things simple and improves your chances of success. Take the goal you’d like to achieve and work through each element:

• Specific: what exactly do I want to achieve?
• Measurable: how will I know when I’ve achieved it?
• Achievable: what action steps are needed, and are they within reach?
• Relevant: does this goal matter to me right now, and do I have the resources?
• Time-bound: when will I achieve it, and what are the key milestones?

Stay flexible and re-evaluate as you go. Every good idea starts with a plan, and this framework may be just what you need.

2. Focus on a word or intention for the year

Sometimes a goal-driven approach isn’t what we need. Instead, it can be a chance to grow by choosing a word or state of being to use as a filter for everything we do. Your word might be “joy”. As you go through your day, you can run whatever you’re doing through the filter: “Am I doing this joyfully?” Over time, your mindset shifts towards that state, whether you’re dancing at a party or doing the dishes.

The trick is to remind yourself of the word often. Put a print of it on your mirror, make it your phone or computer wallpaper, or find another reminder that works for you. Make it your own and let it guide you through the year.

3. Don’t forget to rest

We all want to enter the new year feeling refreshed and renewed. Rest gives ideas room to bubble up and lets creativity flow, and for many people that takes well into January. Plenty of people feel the year really starts in February, once holidays are over and school is back. Giving yourself January to rest and reset, even while juggling work and home, might be the permission you were looking for. Some ways to truly rest:

• sleep
• spend time at home
• go for a slow, gentle walk
• listen to music, or read or listen to a book
• meditate, stretch gently or do some yoga
• laugh
• play with kids or pets, or spend time completely alone
• play a board or card game.

4. Know where your support will come from

Think about what support really looks like for you. If you’ve set a SMART goal, who will help when you fall off track? If you’ve chosen a word for the year, who is a great role model for it, and how can you connect with them? No one is meant to carry the weight of the world alone. Finding the right support can take effort, but it’s worth it.

Bringing goal setting to your team

The same principles work for teams. A vision board workshop helps a team agree on shared goals for the year ahead and leave with a visual reminder of where it is heading. Workshops run onsite across Australia or online. Call 1300 889 073 or enquire online. We respond to all enquiries within 12 business hours.