I Failed at Most of My Goals in 2018 (And How 2019 Will be Different)
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We are already living in the final days of 2018. It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone.
I had some lofty goals at the start of this year. Here are a few of them:
- Release my new vocal warm-up project
- Write and self-publish two new books, one fiction and one nonfiction
- Write at least 6 new songs
All of the goals above have something in common: I didn’t achieve any of them.
It looks pretty cut and dry when I put it like that. And it’s the truth. However, upon closer inspection of my year, I realized that things are not as bleak as me utterly failing to reach most of my goals.
The fact that you’re reading this post is proof that even though I may not have released two new books in 2018, I did launch this blog. And that is something I’m pretty proud of.
As a teacher, I’m constantly asked to reflect on the lessons I’ve taught and ask myself what went well and what could be improved. So, I’ve become quite skilled at reflecting on my work. It’s a skill I’ve also begun to apply to the end of each year when it comes to my goals. I take a look at the goals I set at the beginning of the year and reflect on what went well and didn’t. And then I look for the lesson to guide me into the upcoming year.
I didn’t always take time to reflect at the end of the year. It was this awesome book that gave me the idea to do so.
Then, I read another awesome book on goal-setting (consequently by the same author) that also encouraged me to reflect on the past year, but gave me some great ideas on improving my goal-setting process for the upcoming year.
One major takeaway for me was realizing that the death of a family member this year colored my entire year. Can I blame the death as the reason I didn’t achieve most of my goals? Of course not. But it wasn’t until I seriously reflected on unexpected events that shaped 2018 that I realized how deeply this death affected the rest of the events in my life. It’s simply taken time to grieve, and I’ve given myself grace to grieve as I need to.
And now, moving forward, I can begin to focus on 2019 and how I want it to look.
From the book, Your Best Year Ever, I gathered some tips to lead me into setting my New Years goals. I hope they are useful to you as you think about 2019 and what you want to accomplish.
How to Set Goals You Actually Accomplish!
- Instead of making everything an arbitrary deadline of December 31st (as in, all goals should be completed THIS year), you should still set BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) but break them into quarterly pieces (aka. Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, and Oct-Dec).
- It’s okay and even beneficial to reshape or change a goal as the year progresses. No, really, give yourself permission to change a goal if it’s not working for you. Your goals are not written in concrete…unless you actually, ahem, wrote them in concrete!
- The goals that you set are of no use to you unless you write them down and put them somewhere you will see them every day. Otherwise, you’ll forget what it is you’re working toward because LIFE happens.
I’m really looking forward to 2019, and I hope you are too! I’ve set my goals for the year in 8 different areas: finance, personal, health and fitness, career, travel and leisure, family, relationships, and home. And I’ve already set my goals for the first quarter, covering January through March.
Give Your Goals a Jump-Start!
One thing I’m doing to jump-start my year is hosting a 15-day goal challenge, starting January 16th! For 15 days straight, I’m committing to a goal of practicing either yoga or pilates. I chose this particular goal because I recently got back into a yoga practice and I want to turn it into an engrained habit that I practice throughout 2019. I’d love it if you’d join me in the challenge by committing to a goal of your own choosing. It can be anything you’d commit to perform or work on for 15 days in a row. I’ll send you short inspirational tips during the challenge and we’ll all share our triumphs and trials at the end.
You’re probably wondering why I chose to start in the middle of January instead of at the beginning, right? Well, almost all goal challenges at the beginning of the year start on January 1st, and it’s usually around the middle of the month that our resolve starts weakening. So, I decided I would start the challenge in the middle of the month so by the time the end of January rolls around, I’ll feel like I have had a truly successful first month of 2019.
If you’d like to join me in the challenge, simply sign up below and I’ll send you a confirmation email as we get closer to the start date. You’ll immediately get access to my FREE printable, 15 Fun Ideas for Moms. Oh, and tell me in the comments below what one of your goals is for the New Year!
Here’s to an incredible 2019!!
Kristin
