A Comprehensive Guide to Setting and Achieving Your Goals in The New Year - Unwrap Your Vision

Mindset & MotivationProductivity & FocusFulfillment & Purpose

Dec 22

As we approach the end of the year, it's important to slow down, take a step back, and begin designing our vision for the coming year. The winter break is a great time for this because hopefully, you have some time scheduled to rest, relax, and give yourself a chance to recharge. It's also good to start planning before the new year starts because things can get busy quickly. Leaving you neck-deep in new things without a plan of your own.

Here are some insights on how to prepare for a fruitful new year that’s more than making a new to-do list, but that aligns with our personal values and goals. Studies show that individuals who set goals that align with their core values are 49% more likely to achieve them.

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado

Reflecting on the Past Year

Start by reviewing and reflecting on the past year. Ask yourself four key questions:

1. What was my biggest win?

Identify your few key moments from the past year, no matter how big or small. Maybe you overcame a fear, took opportunities to try new things, or landed a major client. These victories teach us what we're capable of when we push beyond our comfort zone.

2. What are my areas of opportunity?

Pinpoint areas where growth is possible. Our weaknesses aren't failures; they're opportunities to better ourselves.

3. What affected my goals the most?

Think about what factors, both internal and external, impacted your goals. Recognizing these influences helps us strategize for the future.

4. What would I like to improve?

Analyze the areas where you'd like to make improvements. Maybe it's communication skills or leadership capability. Be honest with yourself and, again, don't use this as an opportunity to beat yourself up.

These 4 questions serve as the groundwork for building our future. Remember to approach them with a positive mindset and view them as opportunities to grow.

Crafting Our Vision

As we move into designing our vision for the future, we need to develop a plan that aligns with our values, beliefs, and desired success. If our goals resemble keeping up with the Joneses or acquiescing to external pressures, we risk losing our sense of identity and motivation. It's about aligning your aspirations with personal values and beliefs while focusing on achievable successes.

It's important to note here that when I say achievable, I don’t mean all your goals should be "easy". While it's important to be realistic, over the years I've also seen a lot of people undermine opportunities for growth by setting goals that are so easy to achieve that they're not driven to stretch and improve. Instead of creating goals for growth, they settle on goals for mediocrity.

Instead, I've learned to create 2 types of goals: First, goals for developing mental resilience. That make it easy to feel happy and successful every day like recognizing and appreciating moments of joy and other good feelings, exercising, drinking water, or being a source of positivity in the life of those around me. Second, goals that stretch me to grow into the person I aspire to be like learning new skills or hitting key performance indicators (my target KPI's).

Here are some things to keep in mind to help you create a meaningful vision:

1. Be mindful of setting goals authentically connected to your desires.
Align your vision with your innermost convictions. When your goals resonate with your core values, you're more motivated to persevere.

2. Prioritize personal health, well-being, and family life in our plans.
As high achievers, sometimes we focus on setting career and professional goals but forget that that's only one aspect of our lives. This year, instead of treating personal and professional as mutually exclusive, see them as parts of a whole. Weave your personal health, well-being, and family life into your vision. Striking a balance between work and life enhances productivity and happiness.

3. Visualize a future free from limiting beliefs, imposter syndrome, and fear of failure.
Remember, we are our own harshest critics. Building a mindset that fights negative beliefs is instrumental in achieving our ambitions. Need more support in this area? See #4 below.

4. Cultivate a supportive network of genuine and empowering relationships with like-minded women.
A solid network of empowering relationships provides the support, vitality, and encouragement required to keep you uplifted on this journey. If you're a woman in a male-dominated industry, and you don't have a community like this, allow me to extend an invitation to the Baus Ladies Network where you can connect with other like-minded women to encourage and support each other. Join us for one of our upcoming events.

Turning Vision into Reality

Transforming our vision into reality consists of setting career and financial goals that advance our skill sets and overcome obstacles. Adopt the S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to break down your vision into manageable short-term and long-term goals.

By breaking down our vision into manageable steps, we can better focus on our goals and stay motivated. Moreover, a growth mindset fuels a readiness to celebrate milestones, regardless of their size, and helps in learning from setbacks.

Celebrating Progress & Embracing Challenges

Lastly, foster a growth mindset and readiness to celebrate every milestone–no matter how small. Use setbacks as stepping stones, not stumbling blocks, to keep moving forward.

Continue to carve out quiet time throughout the year to reflect, visualize, and plan. Start now, before the new year begins, and unwrap your vision for a new, fulfilling future.

This self-discovery journey allows us to reflect on the past, envision the future, and decide on the actionable steps to make our visions come true in the New Year. Trust the process, have faith, and fearlessly stride towards your goals. May your visions for the New Year unfold into a beautiful reality!

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✨ About the Author

Georgiana Haynes is an architectural designer and founder of The Baus Ladies Network — a coaching community for women in high-impact industries who are ready to lead with confidence and pursue success with purpose. She helps professionals redefine success, build authentic confidence, and design personal roadmaps to fulfilling, limitless success.

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