If you don't know what you're aiming for, you're sure as heck not going to hit it!

To begin the process of setting some areas for achievement, take a look at the following categories and note down what you would like to make happen in any of them before this year is out. Remember to be ambitious and at the same time realistic. Also, be as specific as possible in what it is you want to achieve – you need to know what it is you’re working towards and when you’ve achieved it.

You may wish to select a series of smaller goals covering all or most of the areas, or restrict your focus to a couple of areas only and undertake larger goals that will require more energy and action.

Personal Growth

Health & Fitness

Career or Business

Finances

Spirituality

Relationships (both intimate relationship and relationships with family & friends)

Home Environment

Fun & Recreation

We’d also suggest completing a Life Satisfaction Quiz to assist you with this process, which you’ll find in the Freebies section of my website – www.exceptionallife.co.nz. This will likely reveal some areas of opportunity, from anything like health checks not being up to date, to personal files not being in order, to trying something new that you haven’t done before.

Now that you have your list, you will need to create a plan of attack for each of the items you’d like to achieve by the end of the year. For each item in turn, work out what the key activities are that you need to complete to accomplish it. It all comes down to the good old elephant-eating principle….

Q: How do you eat an elephant?

A: One bite at a time.

With a plan of attack, you are now able to take the very first step. A great secret of successful goal setting and achievement is to never leave the site of setting a goal, without taking one step in the direction of that goal. It could be a simple phone call, jumping on the internet to do some research, or some other activity that will set the goal in motion.

About the author

I'm a professionally trained and credentialed coach with over 1200 client hours. I have a strong corporate background (previously a Brand Manager with Unilever in Sydney), and am passionate about working with executives to make work-life more productive and enjoyable. I hold an M.Com in Marketing and HR, am a mentor and trainer of coaches, and have achieved the PCC credential through the International Coach Federation.