How to Achieve your Desired Goals in 2022
Living above your present limits
Hey there! Permit me to say, ‘Happy New Year’. Even though the year is not so new anymore.
I understand the energies around the New Year, and how this feeling often comes with an impression; like one who rarely moved a mole the previous year will eventually move mountains in the coming year.
Every fresh year has human clamour and ceremonial attachments to it. The least, is the fact that many people come up with ‘New Year's resolutions’. Organizations review their policies and set some targets for the coming year. A lot of plans and pressures, which many are rather more of boasts than they can execute it. All these clamour happens within the month of January.
This culture and cycle has been with us for many years and I don’t think we would all outgrow it anytime in the future. This is because the human mind looks forward to an improved order or change in some ways — especially if the old is turbulent.
Aside from looking forward to a new year in terms of figure change, the feeling of a new year comes with a renewal of mind and energy; an energy to ‘do more’, ‘try more’ or ‘get better at something’. That is the actual ‘New Year’ for me.
Unfortunately, the drive to do a lot spans through January to March, which marks the first quarter of the year and then built into hope in the second and third quarters, then by the fourth quarter in the year it becomes months of pressure. This is usually the case of people who began their year with excuses — who, in the first week of January, were still in the euphoria of celebrations.
However, you don’t need a new year to plan for your coming year. There should be a blueprint to run a new year even before it comes.
For me, the New Year is a year where you execute your plans as you have desired. It is not when to plan for the year.
In this post, you will learn how to live out your dreams this year (2022) and do things you have feared. Even if you are yet to have a plan.
It is also important to note that so many people have wonderful plans which are not executable.
The other category of the people plan for the year have good and executable plan(s), but they lack the understanding of the way on how to achieve this or lack the will power. This class of people enter the year with fear — as they do not know how and when to start the year from. Every of their plans eventually becomes clumsy and labourious. While some others are winding their years with some levels of results, they are closing their year with excuses.
This post will address this question, ‘How can I achieve my dreams in 2022?’
Most of the steps mentioned here, if not all, will work for you no matter the goal you are trying to achieve this year; whether it is weight loss target, increasing your finances or whatever you have been planning to achieve that has not worked as planned.
Yet before I proffer solutions to that question, you should also know what you need to expect in this year before they play out. If you know this, you will be more stable mentally to achieve better results.
What to Prepare for in the Year
1. You cannot become everything you have been dreaming about this year alone.
2. While you hope for the best, expect challenges and how best to come out of them once they come.
3. You may not achieve all the targets you have set.
There are so many things to do to make your year a great one, but I will select some key ones which you can do and have a memorable year. Call it ‘strategy to achieving success this year’, ‘how to achieve success this year’ or ‘what to do to have an exceptional year’, then you won’t be wrong.
Keys to Having a Good Year
1. Plan
I know that ‘planning the year’ is an old cliché. But that discipline or principle still stands. The old quote from Benjamin Franklin, which says that “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”, is still relevant here.
I don’t think that if you are going to achieve anything substantial this year, you can achieve that without having a good plan.
Itemize what you wish to achieve in the year. Write it down in a notepad, sticky notes, your tablet, laptop, or any device you will have access to daily. This will place your yearly goal right before you every day.
Once you are done with noting your plans, breakdown further to what you can do each day to achieve or support your attaining these goals. This will serve as a daily advancement to whatever you desire. With this, you will know if you are progressing or not.
Above all, your plan shouldn’t be ambiguous or unattainable. Make plans for what you can do at the moment. Your yearly plans shouldn’t be based on what you don’t have at hand; plan within your present capacity and resources. If eventually other privileges come, then it is advancement. When you have executed all the plans you have set, then you can start other plans.
A poor plan is that which you do not have a road map to even dare to achieve.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
No plans are the best. There may be a need for you to change the plans you have made already or work on the existing one. Your plans for this year should be flexible.
Advice: A good plan is that planned with the resources and strength at your disposal. While it is best to make plans with what you have at the moment, also plan for what you haven’t seen yet. Ask yourself questions like, “What could go wrong with my plans?” “What is the worst thing that can happen to this plan?”
2. Have Realistic Goal Setting
While I am not against anyone who is optimistic. Optimism builds hope and facilitates drive.
In setting your goals, it should be truthful and tailored to your capacity. Never come up with ideas you know you are lying to yourself about.
A realistic goal is that which starts with what you can do or have at a time. It is not based on promises or wishes. But, it considers all the natural factors.
Any target or goal you set that seems unrealistic; make sure you will stretch yourself beyond your present capacity to achieve it.
If you are not sure whether your goals are attainable, look out for a guide.
3. Have a Guide
Look for a senior colleague, a mentor or someone who is more experienced than you and share your plans for the year with the person.
You need good brains to plan your business or organizational goal, so also would you need good people who are genuinely interested in your growth to guide you with your personal plans.
Sometimes, you may not know you have a poor plan until someone puts it to you. As earlier mentioned, your plans should have answers and solutions to achieve it.
4. Connect with the Right Cycle
Surround yourself with the right people, and realize your own worth. Honestly, there are enough bad people out there in the world — you don’t need to be your own worst enemy.
―Lucy Hale
Just as earlier mentioned, you need a team; but this, I will call a cycle here because a team sounds more business or professional like.
What you need is the right cycle; the idea cycle, professional cycle, business cycle, the accountable cycle and, above all, people that puts you on your toes to go beyond where you are.
You just need that cycle to help you improve in your opportunity, choice, vision and intellectual capacity.
5. Start with what you have and where you are
Resources are usually scarce and insufficient to meet up with the many things we want to do at a time. It will always be scarce.
But if this year must be great for you, you don’t need all the resources to make it so. There is something within and around you which you can use to start with where you are.
Often, it is lack of self-awareness and evaluation that makes one desire what they will achieve if they had this or that resources.
“I need some funds to start a dream (business or anything else) I have always desired. But, I don’t have the cash. What can I do?
First, I will look around and check what I have that is of value by worth and when sold, could give me great revenue. If I sell it, I can get some funds’. (So long as it is not an item or property which you use often).
Second, looking at the funds I have, it may not be enough to start what I desire to do as I want to start. I will resort to ask myself, “What can I start with these funds to help me generate more revenue?”
Then I will invest in it and start no matter how little I see it. Remember, it is better to start little than to hold on to the money, because money which is not rightfully invested loses its value.”
These are hypothetical steps to starting with where you are and what you have.
6. Be Deliberate with your Actions
This is not a year to be everywhere at every time and or be everything to everybody. There should be self evaluation, to check out what works from the one that does not work. Activities that give you the result from the one that just gives pleasure.
The year is less than 365 days from today, yet all actions you need to take depend on what you do per day.
If you must have fun, have the fun that helps your mental and emotional health. If you must eat, eat the right food that will help you maintain a good shape and make you healthy. If you must party, party with the likes of people who see and understand opportunity. And if you must make friends this year, they should be people who would add value to you.
From the least to what you will call major this year, how you will go about it is really important.
“If we ignore little things, then the major ones cannot be managed.”
7. Read and be Current
Whatever your heart yearns to do this year, just know that someone somewhere has already started and is doing it better. That is why you need to read to expand your own thoughts.
It is not about an innovation, but it is how you can do the same thing that some people have done differently. This is called ‘familiar surprise’ — taking them from what they think they know to what they don’t know.
If external factors and policies affect your idea, then you would need to be current with the news. If your idea is seasonal and dynamic, then you will have to take a lot more courses.
Even if you achieved a lot of successes last year, achieve more this year.
Be current with the trend and bring innovation around what’s trendy.
8. Take a Break
Take a break sometimes from everything.
The day and time wait for nobody, yet every day is not for labour. Some days are just for rest.
Take a break from challenges, mental pressures, work and every other form of external pressure.
Be in tune with yourself. At this point, I encourage exercises such as yoga, eat lightly and organic too.
When you have worked a lot in the day, also find some time to rest and sleep — for your physical and mental health.
Take a break to rest, rest helps renew your mental strength and mind. So give it to yourself in the year when it is needful.
9. Be Content
The insurmountable pressure you can ever put yourself through this year is ‘desiring more’ or ‘wanting more’.
People who lead their lives like this have done nothing more to reckon with usually. As they always think that they do not have or know enough to do anything.
I am not saying that desiring to become better and attain more is not good and not encouraged. But a situation when you always desire to have what any person or every other person has will be a wrong attitude for the year.
It makes you a person of ‘greed’. And greed can cause one to do so many wrong things or make so many wrong choices.
Last year, I lost over half my savings to a greedy investment.
Once you are content with what you have achieved, you can desire to do more and better from where you are.
10. Save, Invest and Spend Wisely
One habit which is one key to success which you must imbibe this year is to save. If you have had the attitude of saving before now, then I will encourage you to do more. But if it hasn’t always been there, then try to do so today.
You should at least have 3 types of savings for the year; savings for future, savings for investments and savings for contingencies and emergencies.
The future savings are for long-term goals, while the savings for investment is the savings that you would use to make other investments which will increase your income. Last is the savings for contingencies and/or emergencies. Those are the natural occurrences which we do not have control over, such as sicknesses, theft, accidents and all. Save for them.
Invest in good ideas, projects and businesses. One thing an investment does is that insures your future and increases your net worth. But I must mention this, not all investments are good. Investments are possible if you have savings to meet up with them.
If there are two qualities you need to make do away with before making an investment, it will be ‘greed’ and ‘quick expectations’. If you haven’t dealt with these two attributes, please do not invest yet, otherwise, you would lose money if it is monetary investments.
If you must make an investment in a business, which you are not informed about, study the history of that business and make some consultations with professionals who are doing such businesses.
Advice: Do not invest in everything that is presented to you as an investment.
In spending, be diligent. Do not buy what you do not need or try to buy what you cannot afford. This helps you to save for the future and also gives you peace of mind.
Believe me; you don’t need to be stressed unnecessarily this year. And one way to achieve that, is that your expenses should come when it is absolutely necessary and worth it, and never spend beyond your income this year.
Give up on some or all liabilities this year.
11. Document your Process and Milestones
Don’t be careless with your process and progress. Document it.
With documentation, you will know when you have made a shift from where you used to be. Even if you are yet to get to where you desire, this will help inform you that you are progressing.
Your documentation helps you plan further. It is a tool to make informed decisions.
Your plans should be broken into milestones which are itemized. Tick them off when you achieve any of it.
Milestones access the progress of your plans.
12. Choose to be Happy
No matter what happens this year, choose to be happy.
Choose to work in a happy environment and with good energy.
If things cannot fall into your ways this year, especially if you did all you can. Some things will still happen even if it is not as soon as we wanted them to be. You have no control over it. Let it not take away your peace and happiness.
No matter where you are and what you have, ‘be happy’. After all, you are still alive to try again.
Let your times of happiness in the year be more than your days of grief or your anger.
A cheerful soul is productive and not toxic.
Conclusion
After going through these 12 tips to make your year a better year, I don’t want you to read it like a regular post. I want you to have it as a manual which should be referenced to at every point in time.
As you go through the year, remember that for you to be more successful this year, you have to:
1. Plan
2. Have a Realistic Goal Setting
3. Have a Guide
4. Connect with the right Cycle
5. Start with what you have and where you are
6. Be Deliberate with your Actions
7. Read and be Current
8. Take a Break
9. Be Content
10. Save, Invest and Spend Wisely
11. Document your Process and Milestones
12. Choose to be Happy
