Hey Achiever! 

It's November, crazy where has 2024 gone? As we approach the end of the year, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions and goals you want to be working on right NOW. You’re the type of person who wants to achieve meaningful goals—both now and in 2025!

Think back to last January, if you can… you may have had your heart set on making 2024 your best year yet, but let's be honest—how often do those well-meaning goals slip away before March, maybe by mid-January? If one of your resolutions looked like this back in January, you're not alone. These are the top 10 New Year’s resolutions that many aim for:

• Exercise More

• Lose Weight

• Get Organized

• Save More Money

• Learn a New Skill or Hobby

• Quit Smoking

• Spend More Time with Family and Friends

• Travel More

• Read More

• Practice Mindfulness or Meditation

While these goals have great intention and sound great on paper, they can quickly become daunting. The goals may feel too big, too vague, or without a clear plan of action.

Often, we set ourselves up for failure without even realizing it.  But what if I told you that you can approach your resolutions and big goals the same way you tackle daily wins? Transforming your intentions into achievements. And I promise it is easier than you think.  I want to help you set and achieve your goals!

Start with my basic 3 step framework for how to achieve meaningful goals. Before you can set a meaningful goal, you need to know why you want to achieve this goal: how will it make your life better, what are you willing to sacrifice (if required) to achieve it.  This gets into YOUR "why".

Take working out for example. If your goal was “to work out more” - I would ask you “why do you want to work out more?” (before getting into what 'more' means to you).

We all know we should work out a few times a week, but your reason might be to lose weight, keep up with your kids, to feel strong and confident, etc.  You might have to ask yourself the why a few times to get to the real reason you are thinking about this goal. Once you find your real reason, there is probably one more “why/because” that gets to the negative drive.  It's important to identify both!

Following the workout example:
To work out more → To lose weight → to fit in my favorite dress → to feel my best at my friends wedding → BECAUSE I didn't feel comfortable at the last wedding we went to and hated how I looked in the pictures.

Once you have identified your 'why' and the 'because' behind the intention of the goal, you are better able to set a meaningful goal and craft a plan to actually achieve it.

1 - Set YOUR Goal

Goal!
Work out 3 times a week for 45+ minutes and walk 30 minutes 2+ times a week.

This is achievable because you know you can stick to at least 3 days a week at the gym even with work the way that it is and you love to take a walk at lunch when the weather is nice.  You might have thought about setting the walking goal at 5 days a week, but sometimes you need to work through lunch or the weather isn't great. So, to make sure that you can consistently hit this goal you set the goal at 2.  If you get more than 2 days a week, even better!

Why?
Because you want to feel your best at your friend’s wedding in June.  You know that you’ll be in a lot of pictures and you want to look back on that day for years to come with only the best thoughts and memories.

Note: Although you identified the negative emotion that is driving this change, you don't want to be negative in your why. You should reframe it in a positive way to bring you up when you think about it.

2 - Craft YOUR Plan

Next you want to think about a plan that will help you keep the habit and weekly goals on track to reach your ultimate goal.  In the past your plan might have just been the workouts and walks, but the plan needs to go a little further than that if you want to achieve your goals.

The mistake most people make when setting goals is that; they set the goal when they are motivated and don't think about what happens when you lose your motivation. (If you haven't read last week's blog post, about tackling the inevitable roadblock, make sure you give that a quick read).  We know that even the most manageable goal will run into these roadblocks so identifying them and getting an action plan in place ahead of time will keep you from getting derailed, but that is only part of your action plan.

The other part of crafting your plan is around accountability.  

Do you have someone you can share this goal with?  Maybe they are interested in achieving a similar goal alongside you.  Or maybe they can support you through checking in with you.  Regardless, to get accountability from someone in your life you need to take the (sometimes scary) step of telling them the goal and why it's important to you AND how you would like their support on it.

1. Share your goal and your why
When you tell them your “why” they can understand and encourage you directly aligned with your goal. For example, if you just told your friend you wanted to work out, they might be excited for you and want to try a class at your gym with you.  But if you tell your friend you are going to be working out 3 times a week because you want to feel amazing at their wedding after being uncomfortable at the last wedding, they will get it. – Who hasn't felt like that before?

2. Tell them how you’d like to be supported
Taking it a step further and telling them how they can best support you is even better!  Now they don't have to be uncomfortable bringing it up and it doesn't have to be awkward for them when they remind you of your “why” if you start to fall off. 

You might say, “Since we usually have lunch together on Wednesdays, I would love it if you asked me how the workouts are going each week. I promise to not go on and on about it, but asking would really help me stay accountable!  If I haven't made it in at all that week, remind me of how good I felt a couple summers ago when we were doing that kickboxing class together.  That would be so helpful.  Plus I know if you bring it up on Wednesday, I can still make it in the rest of the week, and hit my goals.”

It might be scary the first time you tell someone your goal or ask for their support, but think about how you would feel if a friend asked it of you.  Of course you would support them and be honored they shared with you!

3 - Celebrate YOUR Achievements

Celebrating your wins is, without a doubt, the best part!  So lets do it, A LOT! As you navigate the challenges that come with pursuing meaningful goals and New Year's resolutions, remember to celebrate your wins—no matter how small.

Each day you stick to your plan is progress that will accumulate over time.  Just like with the monthly Habit Tracker, checking off progress can be immensely satisfying and keep you motivated. Instead of focusing on the times you might have missed the mark, reflect on what you’ve achieved and keep striving to hit the goals week after week, to achieve YOUR meaningful overarching goal.

Don’t lose sight of your why.  These daily/weekly wins are what's going to get you to your goal but your why fuels every win!

Using this framework for how to achieve meaningful goals sets you up for success: from a clear goal defined with your why, to an action plan ready to overcome roadblocks and find support, to celebrating the small wins along the way - you are ready to tackle your next goal or New Year's Resolution.

Setting goals can be an empowering experience when approached with intention and a framework for success. If you find yourself unsure of how to accomplish your goals or have experienced setbacks in the past, let’s chat to see how I can support you. Your goals are worth working towards and you are capable of achieving them. I want to help YOU implement a proven framework that allows YOU to hit YOUR goals.

Celebrating your every win,

Adrienne - Founder, Meaningful Achievements

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