At the start of 2020 I set out to accomplish a handful of goals by the year’s end.

Sound familiar? I’m sure it does because they’re called resolutions and there’s a good probability that you’ve made some yourself. While each year some of our goals may get forgotten about before the change of seasons, this year I was determined to accomplish as many of my goals as possible. The thought came about from reading a simple quote that read:

“Image where you could be this time next year, if you just decided to start today.”

That line alone resonated with me because it was such a true statement that if we really tried now that we could be so much closer to where and who we want to be in the days and months to follow. With that in my mind, I went after as many goals as possible and surprisingly I’ve checked off so many of them and the year isn’t even over yet. If you’re in a position where you have goals that you want to accomplish and need a little help in figuring out how to reach them, take a few of tips that helped me.

Decide What You Want
I think we often think of goals as big lofty things that sound monumental and while that’s true, those aren’t the only things to go after. It’s ok to have what seems like simple or even superficial goals in your list if they’re important to you. Whatever your goals are, no matter how big or small, decide what you want and go after them.

Some of my goals: get my hair to my collarbone, learn how to swim (um, ya see the pictures in this post right?), get over my fear of Chucky, launch the full rebrand of FMG.

 

Write Them Out
Whatever it is that you want to accomplish this year, write it out. Put it in a journal, on a Post It, or your notes app. Whatever you want to do, have it somewhere so you can see what your goals are. Having them in multiple places isn’t a bad idea either since it’ll help reinforce them throughout your day wherever you may be.

Where I have mine: I track my goals on a dry erase wall calendar in my room, my 2020 planner, and most importantly the notes app on my phone. This serves as a great reminder of what I’m working towards should I ever forget.

Get a Plan Going
Deciding on your goals and then seeing them in text or print is great, but very little comes to fruition without a plan. In order to work towards your goals, come up with a stragegy that you can actually stick to. A great way to do this is to create timelines. You can choose to hit certain milestones each month, quarter, or by the end of the year. You can also determine whether some of your goals require extra help like a friend or a class for to help you cross it off your list.

For instance, if you’re looking to lose weight put a feasible timeline to it. “I’d like to lose 15 pounds in the next 4 months.” If you’re wanting to learn another language then research the ways you can learn and how long it should take. “I could take a class at the city college, ask a friend to only talk to me in German, or download an app and get conversational in the next 6 months.”

What I did: I set monthly goals for myself that would help me get closer to them as the weeks changed. This way I didn’t put to much pressure on myself to hit a target in an unrealistic timeframe. Instead it allowed me to be honest with myself and say “I can foresee myself getting that done by next month”. Also, it even gave me the space to avoid my goal and procrastinate a bit and then finally hunker down on it. Because I know myself and that’s something I do very well.

Attack Said Plan, Consistently
A great way to fall off track when working towards your goals is to lose motivation or steam. To avoid that, you have to stick to your guns. Even when you don’t feel like it, make the effort and go after it. Granted, if you’re experiencing a difficult time – don’t force yourself to work on your goals if you’re really not up to it. Caught the flu? Maybe learning to swim isn’t ideal. But if you just want to sleep in or finish Schitt’s Creek on Netflix then you can get up and get back to your goals. The show is on demand for goodness sake.

How I did it: Anytime I wanted to quit, I would force myself to do it. Whether it was daily exercises or skipping a latte so I could save money for my renohome (another conversation), I would just do it. Remember, I also gave myself timelines so as long as I got a specific goal done within that time frame then I was fine.

Don’t Care About What Others Think
Some of the goals you and I have don’t get done because (let’s be honest) we’re scared of how we’ll look. I’m here to tell you to get that out of your head now because it doesn’t matter. As much as we may think someone is looking at us there’s a good chance that:

• They don’t see us,
• They see us and then forget about us,
• They see us and they congratulate us because they’ve been there too, or
• They see us and make fun of us (but honestly fuck them, we’ve got goals to get).

So if you’re worried about looking foolish when going after your goal you have to get past that. If that means you look the other way when someone crosses your path or you play my favorite game of Pretend They Don’t Exist, then do it.

That one time I looked really stupid: Learning how to swim was extremely difficult not only because I was afraid to drown slowly, but also because I was afraid to look stupid. Thankfully my friend Sara taught me how to swim. Sure I was intimidated and felt like I would look silly, but having her and even her supportive daughters who would cheer me on actually made it better.

Sometimes the people who you think will judge you as you go after your goals, will motivate you along the way.

Track Your Wins
The last thing you can do when it comes to getting your goals will be to track your goals. Tracking your progress is huge as it’ll help push you to go after the next goals on your list. Even more, it’s a great reminder to show you how far you’ve come. Seeing the goals you’ve accomplished in your journal or on your phone should make you feel very proud and most importantly should show you how powerful you are. Every time you return to your list and watch the things you’ve checked off grow will instill great confidence in you.

Personally: I’ve accomplished 19 things this year and each time I see it I’m like, “Danielle you fucking did that!?” and then I reply to myself like, “Oh my gosh I so did!” It feels really great and you deserve to feel that way too.

I know that going after your goals can be hard at first, but I promise that if you make a step towards them you’ll get through that fear and find yourself inching closer to where you want to be. Give yourself the chance to overcome your fears and even get in a better place by going after your goals. You honestly have the power to go after everything you want. Feel free to comment with what you want to accomplish so I can be here rooting you on.