Setting goals for the New Year is a great thing to do! First things first, though. Before we set new goals we should intentionally reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re at.
Both the reflecting and the goal setting are equally important.
Let’s start with goals for a second.
Goals are vital for accomplishing things. We’ve talked here about goals before and how they help us move toward what we want in life. Goals help us make plans and do more than otherwise possible.
We can use our goals and plans to turn our dreams into reality.
But how do we even know what we want? How do we narrow down the millions of possibilities in the world?
And how do we balance out our writing goals with the other aspects of our lives?
We need to stop and reflect on our priorities.
At the very least we should be taking our physical and mental health into consideration.
Taking time to reflect helps us identify how we’re doing. We need to know where we are so we can make a plan to get where we want to go.
Reflection Questions To Ask Yourself
So how are you doing today? There is no right or wrong answer to these questions- they are just for you to think about different aspects of your life and how they’re going these days.
Physical:
How am I doing physically? How are my eating, sleeping, and hygiene habits? Do I regularly feel healthy and full of energy?
Mental
How is my mental health these days? How are my levels of depression and anxiety? Is my emotional baseline in a good place? How is my mental load? Do I use positive self-talk and regularly recognize my own self-worth? What are the major stressors in my life? What are regular minor stressors?
Spiritually
Am I at peace with my worldview and beliefs surrounding it? Am I acting in ways that are consistent with my beliefs?
Relationally
How are my relationships with my friends? Family? Coworkers and neighbors? Enemies/frenemies/people who stress me out? Do I want more friends and people in my life? Do I have people who support and encourage me or are my relationships draining and negative?
Vocationally
Am I happy with my workplace, whatever that looks like? Do I feel fulfilled and find some enjoyment in the work I do? How am I improving and learning new things? Do I feel proud of the work I do? Do I have the support and resources I need?
Financially
Is my bank account in a healthy place? What does my budget look like? Do I follow through with my financial plans? Is my debt at a level I am okay with? How are my spending habits? How are my attitudes and emotions regarding money?
Kindness
Am I kind to the people I come into contact with? Am I generous to people in need and/or people around me? How aware am I regarding social justice and helping others?
Writing
How has my writing gone this year? How am I improving my writing skills? What does my writing habit look like and do I follow through with my plans? What does my writing community look like? How have I made progress with my projects?
Other
What else is a part of my life and how is it going?
There’s a lot here! It’s not meant to overwhelm us but to help us recognize we’re complex and multifaceted creatures with many aspects of our lives.
Feel free to add in anything I’ve missed as you evaluate where you are and where you want to be.
Do you feel good about where you’re at these days?
We’re never going to be 100% on every single one of these and that’s okay- it’s a constant process of ups and downs and different seasons of life.
Goals
Feeling ready to set some goals?
Look back at the earlier sections and see if there are a few areas you may want to improve.
Don’t get overwhelmed with creating a million goals. Just pick a few to focus on.
I’ve talked before about how to set SMART goals. Essentially we want to break our dreams into small, manageable steps and make a plan for how and when we can do those things.
Example: My Reading Goals
One of my goals for the year is to read outside of my comfort zone. If left to my own devices I tend to gravitate toward YA fantasy and stay there. Which is fun!
But I also know that reading other things will grow me both as a person and as a writer.
SO. My goal is to read 1-2 “stretch” books a month. These can be something from a different genre, some classics I’ve been meaning to read, and some nonfiction. I found a list of books related to diversity subjects that I’ll be starting with if you want to join me.
It’s a simple and achievable goal, and I’m kind of excited!
I’d love to hear about some of your goals and plans for the year as well! Let me know what you’ll be up to, what projects you’ll be tackling, what new things you’ll be reading. 🙂
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