SUGGESTED AREAS TO SET GOALS

As the New Year rolls by, it is not an uncommon thing for people to set goals or make resolutions.

However, in order to get the best out this exercise, it is important to put those goals in writing. This can be in a book or on a device.

The purpose of writing is to for you to make regular reviews and track your progress throughout the year.

If you have decided to set goals or you are already doing that or have done that, it is advisable to break them down into specific areas of your life.

The following are the suggested areas in which you can base your goals.

Spiritual Goals: Set goals to guide you on your walk with God this year. How much time do you want to devote to Prayer, Reading the Word of God, fasting, and so on? Do you want to attend the Believer’s Class and join the workforce of your Church? Is there a particular Christian event you’ve always wanted to attend or would like to attend? Put them done in writing and workout plans to achieve them.

Career Goals: Write down the ways in which you can improve your career this year. Do you need to take professional courses or exams or you simply need to work on your punctuality and improve your relationship with your colleagues at work. Whatever you can do to make your career better, write them down.

Academic Goals: If you are a student or a prospective student or academia, you need to set goals in this area. For students, the goals can be what grades you would like to get in the courses you are taking or the exams you want to write plus the amount of time you want to put into reading and studying.

Financial (and Business) Goals:  Here, you want to plan how to manage your income. What would be your manner of spending, saving or investment? Put them down in writing. If you run a business (no matter how small), you should set goals to improve your business. Also, if you intend to start a business, you must set goals in this regard.

Health Goals: If you are serious about your life, then you should be serious about your health. Make plans to imbibe habits that would improve your health and eschew those that can impair your wellbeing.

Family Goals: This is where you plan the amount of contribution or impact you want to have on your family. This can be towards specific members of your family or the family as a whole. If you are a parent, you can make Parenting Goals a subset of this area.

Relationship Goals: This can be targeted towards those whose relationship with you, you value. This refers to your friends, church members or your significant other. Write down specific ways you can improve your relationship with them.

Personal Development Goals: This is where you write down the ways you want to become a better person. Things to include here include the skills you want to learn or the books you want read. Do you want learn how to drive, swim, play an instrument,  how to cook or use a computer application? Whatever skill you want to learn, write them down and make plans to actualise them.

Material Goals:  This is where you simply list the material things you want to get. This can be items such as shirts, shoes; household items, electrical appliances or gadgets or vehicle.

Long Term Goals: There are goals you want to achieve but you know are not feasible this year, write them down as long term goals to keep track of them. Endeavour to break these long term goals into smaller goals and put the ones you can achieve this year into any of the headings stated in this article.

General (Miscellaneous) Goals: Every other thing that you cannot conveniently fit into the above areas, put them as general goals.

To get the best of this year, endeavour to set goals and review them regularly. And like one of my friends puts it: be resolute about your resolutions!

Happy New Year!