So its January, and its that time to set goals or New Years Resolutions. And I want to talk about goals and resolutions and what the differences are and what steps you can take to reach those goals.

First, a resolution by definition is “the act of resolving or determining upon an action, method procedure etc.”

A goal is defined as “the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.”

Both definitions courtesy of dictionary.com

A goal is something you decide you want to achieve, there is a specific end in mind and you strive to reach it. A resolution is deciding on the course of action, with steps to achieve an end.

They are both needed in order to make your goals a reality.

Now how do we take a goal and figure out how to reach it…

First decide on a goal. Lets say that goal is to get organized financially, to eliminate debt and save. Now we need to create steps to get organized and figure out which bills we have, when they are due and how much. Then we need to see when we get paid, and create a schedule for what gets paid from which check etc…. There are a number of ways to create a budget (google is a great resource and there really are some amazing methods to pay down debt). Creating a budget allows you to break down your expenses, see what your bills are, what your spending where, and allows you to see how much you have left after necessities. This is where paying off debts and or building savings begins.

Say your goal is to get healthy, start by taking a look at your lifestyle and physical activity and eating habits. Then create a list of good healthy foods to eat, meal ideas and then start cutting out the bad foods. Make plans for exercise, fit it into your schedule, and add tracking into your journal.

In October of 2018 I subscribed to a journaling box called Boho Berry Box, and in Novembers box was something fun, a notebook with a cover that said19 before 19; 19 goals to achieve before 2019 began. Well I did not even have a list of 19, and only completed a few, and so I set myself a plan to set 19 tasks for the year 2019. Many were simple, some required me to make plans and set resolutions for continuing toward each task. Despite not being able to check off all 19 I was able to get many done. These were not big goals or resolutions, but more like a task list or a bucket list for the year. I had no plan for when to do each item, I checked them off as I was able and it was nice.

In mid 2019 I learned about Ruth Soukup and her goal setting formula. I joined her group and for a couple of years, set my goals and tracked them and had success. She had us set 3 big goals for the year, and we broke those goals into smaller bites. Made the whole process easier to follow and goals easier to attain. That was her Do It Scared program using a crush it method of goal setting.

Hopefully you now have some ideas and ways to go about setting goals and achieving them. As always I would love to see how you set your goals in your journal and how you track your progress.

Till next time Dear Reader, Happy Journaling and Happy New Year!