With the New Year fast approaching, it’s a natural time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished in the past year as well as what you’d like to achieve in the coming year. I enjoy helping my clients in this area and would like to share some important thoughts to keep in mind as you begin thinking about goals you’d like to set for the New Year.

Clarify your vision for the coming year

Before setting goals, start with your vision. You may already have a vision in place that motivates and inspires you. If so, great! If you had a vision, but lost track of it after jumping into action to move your game forward, you’re in good company. This is actually very common. If you fall into that group, this is good timing to recreate or reconnect with your vision in a way that inspires you to set new goals and take action.

When this vision becomes a reality for you, what will that mean? What will it provide for you? How will it change your life, both professionally and personally to have it unfold? Some people call this your “big why,” since it connects what you’d like to achieve on the surface with your deep, true motivation for reaching the goal.

Milestones along the way

Once you’ve clarified your vision and “big why,” the next step is to consider the milestones that will get you there. What are the high-level milestones you will have reached once you achieve your vision?

• Will you have brought on 10 (or more) new ideal clients over course of the year?
• Will you have hired additional teammates to free up your time?
• Will you have let go of clients who drain your energy?

Once you’ve identified milestones related to your vision, it’s time to create your goals. I love the framework of “SMART” goals, which stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.

Below are 10 essential steps to achieving your SMART goals.

1. Make sure your goal passes the S-M-A-R-T test.

2. Align your goals with your values. Without values alignment, you are likely to struggle—if not fail—to implement them.

3. Share your goals with at least one person to set yourself up to stay in action more consistently and to be accountable. Don’t sabotage yourself! Choose only those people who are supportive, positive, and can naturally align with you around your goals.

4. Identify the resources you need to make your goal a reality. For example, if your goal is to free up your time, you’ll need to first clarify exactly what you want to delegate to a new employee and what their qualifications should be. From there you’ll be able to interview effectively and ultimately hire the ideal candidate.

5. Identify ways to save time. Look for shortcuts that can accelerate your progress and support your goals. To do this, do an internal audit. What are your time sucks? What requires a lot of time but doesn’t produce much of a result? From there, ask yourself if those activities are necessary. The goal for delegating would be to free yourself up for high level tasks. An example from a friend of mine: she’s a top producer and “rain maker,” responsible for seven figures plus gross revenue at her business, and she’s stuffing and addressing holiday newsletter envelopes. Though this might seem an obvious waste of time, I’d bet that there are some time sucks hiding in your schedule that once eliminated, would free you up and give you more bandwidth to pursue one of your goals.

6. Detect potential obstacles. Examples might include: excessive distractions during work blocks, limiting beliefs, or simply having more on your plate than you could ever accomplish on your own and resistance to delegating. Take action to clear these hurdles. This can be nearly impossible on your own, which is a reason many of my clients engage me for coaching support. I can help you overcome obstacles you encounter in your practice and improve areas that need strengthening.

7. Pinpoint at least one daily action that supports your SMART goals. The actions we take every day create our future reality. Make sure you’re focused on your desired actions so you’re headed in the right direction toward your intended goals.

8. Establish an empowering support structure for your goals. Ask yourself who in your life can provide you with encouragement, advice, healthy feedback and a willing ear? The person who you want to select is someone who can see the “bigger version” of you, and who can envision you gaining momentum and moving ahead steadily.

This person:

• Is empowering, a great listener, and is excited by your vision for yourself
• Is aligned with you having exactly what you want (and more!)
• Believes your vision is possible
• Leaves you feeling positive and that you can and will achieve what you’re setting out to accomplish

(After sharing something that excites you, this person does not doubt you, or leave you feeling less empowered or capable.)

This is another area that leads many of my clients to work with me. Having an expert coach support you means that you have someone dedicated to your success, as well as someone in your corner who provides the accountability and higher level input that friends, romantic partners, or family members oftentimes lack. If you’d like to know how working with me could help you finally achieve your goals, reach out to me today.

9. Identify rewards for your efforts along the way. A reward could be a vacation, a soak at the hot springs, a new outfit, or simply a nice dinner out. Celebrating and recognizing your achievements is an important way to acknowledge yourself and all that you’ve accomplished along the path to realizing your goals. Plus, rewards make the path to reaching your goals a more fun and nurturing experience!

10. Carve out time in the calendar, right now, to clarify your vision, milestones, and goals for the coming year to set yourself up to win.

If you would like the support of an inspired environment with other motivated advisors, check out my upcoming 2-Day Business Success Intensive. You will have the time and space to clarify your vision, your milestones, and your goals. We will also cover attracting ideal clients, marketing plans, lead generation and sales, as well as mindset for the results you want.