Jeff’s 5 Tips for Realistic Goals in 2022

Write down your goals and DON’T prioritize them. Prioritizing will come later. To start, we want to review the goals and see how they align with our personal strategy.

My strategy in 2022 is to sell books and build my network of connections. My goals need to align with that strategy. If you don’t have a strategy, or at least a purpose statement, draft one up.

Next, we ensure they align with that strategy. If they don’t, maybe we lower their priority, or, describe how they align with that goal.

For example, I’m trying to build my connections and sell books, so how would a goal of losing twenty pounds align with that? Well, healthy living and self-confidence can play a large role in how I perform, and I’m going to need a lot of energy in 2022 to build my network of connections and be an author.

So, write them down, and compare them to your strategy or purpose. Then you’ll have an idea of how to prioritize. You might be surprised by the results.

People often fail in obtaining or reaching their goals because they are too lofty. Expectations are set way too high and can’t be met within a reasonable amount of time. People put tons of effort into reaching that unobtainable goal, sometimes too much effort, and they still don’t reach it. A side affect is that while doing that, we take away from the progress with our other goals.

Now nothing has progressed.

Evaluate your goals. Make sure they challenge you, but are obtainable to a certain degree. Make sure each one builds upon your strategy, and can progress throughout the year.

If one seems too lofty, break it down, or make it smaller. Give it a sub-goal or sub-objective. Big goals are ok, but sometimes two average size ones can equal the same results of one big one. Remember — work smarter not harder.

Each one should challenge, but not be easy. If you are working towards a very large goal, like let’s say you want to stop smoking. Cutting it cold turkey might be really hard. Instead, maybe cutting down from a pack a day to a pack a week would be more realistic. Next month a pack lasts two weeks. Then a pack a month. Then nothing at all.

The point is, make them challenging, but realistic. Don’t set yourself up to fail, set yourself up to be challenged.

What is most important? Or are things equally important? Only you can answer that. Now that you’ve identified your goals and evaluated them, let’s draft a priority list.

If you have basic and simple goals, with no sub-goals, just make a list. Number them according to how important they are to you. Understand this when prioritizing: life gets in the way. If your list of 10, with 1 being the most important, only gets half accomplished…that’s ok. Not everyone reaches all of their goals every time.

But…that should play a role in prioritizing them. If my #10 goal is to play golf twice a month, and during a few months I only play once, did I really fail? Or was it a lower priority than other things which took precedence?

Get that list prioritized. This isn’t the final draft.

Re-evaluate. Yes, I said evaluate again.

Why? Because we want to make sure they still fit. Follow SMART.

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Timely & Trackable

Goals should follow this concept, so take another look at that prioritized list. Does it make sense? Does it fit into your lifestyle? Does it follow SMART?

If so, perfect. If not, then change it around, draft revised ones, or add to them. This is part of the process that will help you to follow through. These goals are already things you want, now you have to work for them. Making sure they are going to fit into your life is very important.

If you want to become an NFL linebacker or go to Med School, you might not be able to squeeze that into a full-time job with kids. However, that doesn’t mean it still can’t be a goal. It just means you might have to start smaller and make room in your life for such a large endeavor. Some take months, even years to reach. That’s fine, just make it realistic and fit to your life. Follow SMART and let’s finalize that list.

Time flies by quicker than we think it does. The one thing you cannot get more of is time. When it comes to reaching your goals, time has to be on your side. Which means time management.

So, schedule them. Be efficient.

Look at your list and decide when to start working on some, and when o delay others. If you want a  bathing suit body by summer, you might want to start in January. It takes time to lose weight and get in shape, so allow yourself adequate time.

Don’t focus on things now that aren’t timely. Make a schedule with deadlines that are realistic and hold yourself accountable. Tell yourself that changes can’t be made to the schedule unless it’s for emergencies, or if the narrative has changed. One of the biggest issues with reaching goals is putting them off and extending deadlines. People who do that fear either 1) Success or 2) Failure. Don’t fear either one. Stick to your schedule and your deadlines.