Forward Progress Requires Forward Thinking.

by Kathy Seaton

Start the year off resilient. Break down the barriers you have faced in the past few years and look forward to better. A fresh start to the year begins with goal setting, professional and personal. Goal setting is the way to get yourself into action, rather than reaction and procrastination. Establishing goals will get you away from living in fear due to past failures and future worries. Goal setting requires you to stay in the moment, right where you should be, to live a happy and fruitful life.

So, don’t hire a burnout coach just yet. Whether 2022 was a banner year or not, 2023 is going to be your year. Success is a state of mind after all, and great change comes down to the action of one person, YOU.

So here are three things to consider when setting your 2023 goals:

1.Get real.

Goal setting must be based on reality, your reality. What do you want to accomplish versus what just needs to get done? Here lies one of the planning pitfalls; the inability to create meaningful goals that are detail packed, that can be successfully reached, in a reasonable amount of time.

Here is a tip. Begin by setting broad goals and then narrow them down so that each goal is tied to a specific outcome. Prioritization is important. If you try to do too much on paper, then you won’t move the needle. This type of planning will allow you to see what’s important and know when to say “no” if a project or experience isn’t in sync with your plan.

How you spend your time defines who you are. And habits form who you want to become. Make short and long-term planning a habit and then dwell in possibility.

2. Change your mindset. Stop doing the same old thing and expecting different results.

Don’t let history continue to repeat itself. We are operating in a new norm, obviously requiring new and unconventional thinking. You need to define yourself personally and carry that into your career life. It’s important to prioritize yourself so that you can find your fit within your organization. This will guide you and help you behave “as if” rather than “I’ll fail.”

When you’re centered, ready, and willing for change, you will realize that you do matter. That you deserve to be heard and you make a contribution. This is why staff engagement has become so deeply engrained into recent corporate culture. You spend more than half your life working so you need to be happy doing your job. Raise your hand and don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. It’s not going to materialize if you don’t work for it.

When something is important enough, you should do it even if the odds aren’t in your favor. Striving for new will keep you from operating out of fear.

3.Make it Measurable.

Goal setting is connected with action. As you finalize your goals, set metrics for each so that you know if you are making progress. Ensure that you’re transparent in your personal and professional relationships, be accountable, and deliver on time. Use your metrics as a means of reflection so that you can understand what’s working and what isn’t so that you can adjust along the way. Reflection, adaptability, and change will allow you to become part of a force of everyday leaders.

Remember, aim for progress, not perfection.