Mastering Goal Setting for a Successful 2023

Introduction

According to a study from the University of Scranton, 50% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. However, only 8% of them achieve their goals.

Why is it that people are so excited about the new year, but then, after a couple of weeks, they go back to their old habits as if nothing has changed?

People set huge goals at the end of each year and don’t get me wrong, I’m all about being ambitious and working hard towards big objectives.

But what people lack is an actual strategy.

You see, they don’t set goals; they simply have desires for things they want but no actual strategy or plan of achievement.

which isn’t enough, and that doesn’t happen in your personal life only; it also happens in business in general.

People have a very superficial approach when it comes to goals. They just say what they want without actually backing everything up with a strategy, facts, numbers, deadlines, and tactics.

In today’s article, I’m going to explain to you how you can set goals for 2023 without being unrealistic or wishful.

Also, you’ll learn why people stop their journey very soon and how you can actually achieve your goals in the new year.

The Difference Between a Desire and a Goal

Let’s take a look at the definition of desire: a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.

See how they use the word wishing?

So, let’s see what a wish is defined as: feeling or expressing a strong desire or hope for something that cannot or probably will not happen.

So, a desire is strongly connected to wishful thinking. You hope that something will happen, but you don’t take any significant action to make that happen.

In this case, you are the passive subject in your life instead of being active. You are reactive, which means you react to what happens instead of being proactive, which means you make stuff happen.

Now let’s take a look at the definition of goal: the object of a person’s ambition or effort.

See how they use the word effort?

This simply proves that behind a goal, there is actual work, even hard work. Another definition of a goal is the destination of a journey.

If you want to get something, you need to move. You can’t stay in place and hope that your goal will come to you. It won’t happen.

You will be waiting for the rest of your days if you don’t decide to start moving. It’s the same in life.

If you don’t commit to actually working and getting stuff done, there’s no way in this world that the goal will come to you.

Maybe you want to become a millionaire, build a strong physique, find new friends, or buy that new car.

Well, guess what?

You’re not going to become wealthy if you don’t put in the hours. The difference between goals and desires is simple: goals are backed up by strategy, work, deadlines, and numbers.

They are realistic and, most importantly, they require action. Desires, on the other hand, are things you want to happen but probably won’t.

How to Organize Your Life for 2023:

It doesn’t matter if you read this article in January, February, or even March. You’re still in time to do something about it.

We have prepared a nine-step guide that you can act on. It’s very simple; anyone can follow this. Maybe you’ve been confused, and you didn’t start because you didn’t know what the first step was.

Or maybe you have started writing down your goals but have no clue how to actually strategize them and turn them into a reality.

I’m about to give you the script and footprint of exactly what needs to be done. After this, you’ll have no excuses. Let’s start with step number one.

What you want:

Grab a pen and paper and start writing what you want. If you don’t know what you want, how are you supposed to ever feel fulfilled?

The feeling of fulfillment comes from the achievement of your true purpose. This sounds too spiritual, but put simply, you feel fulfilled when you make progress towards whatever you believe is important.

The first step is deciding what you want to achieve in 2023. You can go crazy here, but still stay realistic. Be ambitious, and don’t hold back too much.

Focus on writing a very simple list of what you would like to achieve in the following areas of your life:

Business, career, financial, personal development, health, fitness, spiritual, family, friends, and love

Describe What You Want in Great Detail:

Describe what you want in great detail. The more details you have about what you want to find, the more likely you are to find it. It helps you visualize success, which motivates you.

When it comes to visualizing your success, this means having something to look forward to. Deciding the details of what you want to achieve will also help you practice success.

When you need some serious drive and motivation, you need to practice success. It’s fairly simple, but you won’t be able to do it unless you provide details about your goals.

Here’s an example: Let’s pretend that one of your 2023 goals is to get a new car. Instead of setting the goal as “get a new car,” you could be hyper-specific.

For example, “Get a phantom black Nissan GT-R.” If you want to add any additional specs, you may also specify those.

Now, to practice success, you should find a dealer and check out the car in person. You might also want to test-drive it.

You’re going to get the feeling that it’s becoming real and that you are, in reality, very close to achieving that goal.

Define what’s required to get what you want:

In this step, all you need to do is decide what choices you have to make to achieve that goal. Then, you have to choose one option—the one that gives you more chances of success.

Don’t get distracted by how big the numbers become. Just be objective and define all the requirements.

Set Deadlines:

A goal is not a goal unless it has deadlines. Deadlines are one of the best motivators for you to get out there and start working. Deadlines help you measure your success.

Back to the goal of making $85,000 in 2023, if one month you’ve made only $5,000 instead of $7,083, you know you’re off track.

If you did not have the monthly deadline, you wouldn’t be able to measure your success and recalibrate your strategy.

Decide If You’re Willing To Do It:

Now, I know you hear about all those gurus and online entrepreneurs who made millions, and they always tell you that you have to be willing to do anything to succeed.

But in the real world, people have non-negotiables. You may have a family; you may have a husband or wife.

Are you willing to sacrifice your family for the sake of your success?

Maybe you are, or maybe you’re not. The point is, you just have to look at the numbers and decide whether you’re willing to do that specific amount of work or if it’s too much for you.

Redefine your goals or confirm them.

If you’ve decided that you’re willing to do what’s required to achieve your goals, then you can proceed to the next step.

On the other hand, if you realize that you’re very unlikely to succeed, you must go back to steps one or two. You have to redefine your goals to make them more achievable.

Now, I’m not saying that you should eliminate or give up on the goal. You should never do that. You should just relax your numbers.

Back to the $85,000 a year goal: if you realize that you won’t be able to do it, just reduce the number, maybe to $70,000 instead of $85,000.

However, don’t stop being ambitious. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you’re very unlikely to fail.

Set Targets:

Here’s the difference between goals and targets: Goals are big, sometimes scary, and they’re something you move towards every day.

Targets are smaller objectives that are steps that take you closer to your goal on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Write Affirmations:

Affirmations aren’t that conventional, but most successful people agree that they’re a great way to get you motivated quickly.

Now that you know what your goals are, it’s time to write some phrases that you will read out loud every time you feel discouraged.

Here’s a good example of an affirmation related to the $85,000 2023 goal: “I am happily and easily generating $7,083.33 every single month after tax, and I can feel the joy and fulfillment of reaching this goal with no hiccups.”

The requirements for a good affirmation are: they have to be in the present tense as if you have already achieved that goal; they must include senses and/or feelings; they must contain numbers; and they must be super specific.

Create a summary and look at it every day:

Now you need to watch this. If you know how to use Facebook, you could make money doing social media marketing.

Are you a good entrepreneur?

Watch this interactive article on decision-making. That’s all we have for you today, guys. I hope you enjoyed it and that you’ll use the tips to make this year your best one yet.