2020 is officially over! It was a year filled with seemingly endless turmoil, anguish, anxiety, and social unrest. I don’t think any of us were unhappy to be kicking 2020 to the curb and saying Bye Felicia! (Side note: If you haven’t watched Death to 2020, I highly recommend it for a laugh.) More determined than ever to not have to repeat history, we’re planning out what our goals are for the future, aka the dreaded New Year’s resolutions. If you’ve ever made one then you know that you’ll be uber motivated to follow through until about mid-February and then that’s where the buck pretty much stops.

If you don’t believe this, look at the downloads on Fitness apps or nutrition apps. Check Amazon sales for workout equipment. And with many of us gaining the Quarantine 20, there’s a lot of us out there ready to develop some healthy habits. I myself am hoping to train for a half marathon, cut down on drinking, and reduce my sugar intake. But you and I are not going to reach any of our goals if they aren’t SMART.

Crafting SMART Goals

So what’s a SMART goal you ask? SMART is an easy mnemonic that gives you an outline to creating goals that are achievable, not just lofty expectations with no actionable plan.

SPECIFIC- When writing a goal you should think about what you want to accomplish, when you want to accomplish it by, and why you want to accomplish it

MEASURABLE- what are going to be your key performance indicators that you have been successful? What tangible milestones do you need to hit on the way to your ULTIMATE goal?

ACHIEVABLE- Don’t set yourself up for failure by making your expectations too high. You should be inspired and motivated by your goal not discouraged and burnt out.

RELEVANT- Does the goal make sense for you? Choose something that you want to go after and that will add something positive to your life.

TIME-BOUND- Be realistic about your timing. If you assign a start and end date you will be much more likely to stay focused on those goals.

How You Can Reach Your Goals

I truly believe that we are all capable of reaching our goals but, we must not be setting ourselves up for failure by setting goals into the next year without mini milestone along the way. Set benchmarks for achievement. Make little goals along the way to your major goal so you still have little victories that you can celebrate regularly. Discouragement comes from never seeing results and failing to meet your expectations.

Also remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and you aren’t going to build healthy habits or achieve your dreams of making an income from a side hustle if you don’t give yourself grace and persevere even when it gets tough.

Go after your goals in 2021

Find something you have been wanting and make 2021 the year you go after your dream. Achieve your goals by hitting small daily goals, being persistent, celebrating your wins and practicing self-care when you feel like everything is standing in your way. Stop making resolutions, and start slamming goals! What’s a dream you want to chase this year?

XOXO,

Rosé & Ruffles