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The end of the year is always a bittersweet time for everyone to reflect on the past year of festivities. However, for you, does your reflection time feel a little different from the last?
Perhaps it’s because time seems to be flying by extremely fast. Or maybe it’s because this year has brought forth some life-changing events that have impacted how you live your life.
Nonetheless, now is the right time to reflect on your goals for 2022 and turn the biggest lessons you’ve learned this year into tools to make your 2023 more prosperous.
That’s why today, we will talk about setting your foundation for 2023, so you can set yourself up for success by learning from what worked and didn’t in 2022.
A Personal Summary Of Your 2022 Goals
Take a moment to think back on the biggest goals you’ve set for this year. Although you may be happy with how the outcome of your goal setting turned out, have you questioned if you could’ve done more to make those goals happen sooner?
It's important to remember that when setting goals at a level of specificity, you don't have to complete every task in one go. In fact, you won't, which is probably the case with some of your goals for this year.
Instead of thinking about checking off boxes on a list with each goal completion (which can often be discouraging when some tasks take longer than expected), try this first lesson of breaking them down into smaller steps, so they seem more manageable and approachable.
This way, you'll feel like you're making steady progress toward your personal vision rather than just spinning your wheels in circles trying to do everything all at once, especially when reflecting on your goals from this year and setting them for next year.
What You (Actually) Achieved In 2022
If you believe you could’ve done more to achieve your goals this year, stop while you’re ahead. Overthinking like this will get you nowhere but unoptimistic about your upcoming goals for the new year.
Instead, let's take a look at what you did accomplish in 2022 by focusing on three main points:
What worked?
Looking back at your 2022 goals, what goals did you make pretty good (not perfect) progress on that also significantly impacted your life? Chances are that even the “small” goals and achievements you made unexpectedly helped you stay on track with improving your life, building new habits, or even bringing clarity to your path.
What didn't work?
When identifying the goals you didn’t achieve, it’s essential to analyze them from the viewpoint of what didn’t work, not what you did wrong. For instance, did you not achieve these goals due to laziness or other factors outside your control? What can you do about the factors you can control as you work to achieve your goals in the new year?
What did you learn from what worked and what didn't work?
The journey you’ve taken to achieve each of your 2022 goals has produced some lessons that will come in handy in the new year. What were those lessons? How will you incorporate those newly formed lessons to ensure your 2023 is much smoother than the last?
Your Takeaways From Every Failure And Success In 2022
Now, it's time to dive deeper into the lessons you can take from the year by reflecting on your failure and success moments.
To do this, it's as simple as asking yourself three main questions:
What did I learn from my failures? What lesson, no matter how big or small, can you take away from the goals you did or did not achieve?
How do I apply these lessons in future ventures? Will you use those lessons to change your attitudes, try new approaches, or even become more open to change?
What opportunities will be missed if I don't learn from them? Think deeply about the opportunities that could arise if you consider these lessons walking into 2023.
Plus, reflecting in this way begins to set in optimism about setting and achieving your new goals in the new year. Once you understand that part of developing these new foundations in your life is to grow each time, you set yourself up for more wins in the new year.
Setting Your 2023 Goals
Now that you've considered what worked and didn't in your previous goal-setting efforts, it's time to actively set your goals for 2023 with new eyes and a new approach.
Here are some tips that can help you define your goals more effectively:
Make sure they're specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic. For example, instead of saying, "I want to get fit," say, "I want to lose 20 pounds by the end of December." If you're doing something like trying out for a sports team or applying for a promotion at work, a good way to set this up is by making a list of ways that achieving that goal will affect your life (e.g., "getting hired means we can afford our mortgage payment").
Break down larger goals into smaller steps ("lose 20 pounds" becomes smaller goals like "eat healthier food" or "exercise every day"). These smaller steps may seem insignificant but form one big plan when combined. This process also helps keep things manageable since sometimes it's hard not feeling overwhelmed when thinking about how much needs to be done before something gets finished!
These tips are beneficial for your 2023 goals but also for your long-term goals as well. All you have to do is take the time to sit down and write everything out to make it plain.
Making Your 2023 Goals Achievable
We often get caught up in the details when it comes to goal-setting. We think about our goals and how they might look, but we don’t often consider what it takes to achieve them.
To prepare for 2023, you need to start by looking at where you fell short last year and decide whether or not those gaps can be closed this time.
Don’t get too hung up on defining your goals in the first place; write down whatever comes into your head. You can always change them later if need be. Remember that it’s important not to let other people’s opinions hold any weight—you know best what will work for your life as an individual and as part of a team.
This also means it's okay if something doesn’t work out or go as planned. Take some time off from thinking about the future and focus on enjoying the journey instead of worrying about how long it will take or how much longer until you reach where you want to go.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to summarize your key takeaways from the last year, it’s time to set your main goals for 2023 and start your path to success.
Remember, setting goals is not just about achieving them—it’s also about learning from your failures and successes. But developing a vision will help you make more conscious decisions in the present moment and keep yourself focused on what matters most.
What lessons have you learned in 2022 that you will use to achieve your goals in 2023? Let's chat about it in the comments!