Before you plan for next year, it is important to take a moment to take stock of the past year. What were your goals last year and what have you achieved? What are the wins you can celebrate this year for each category of your life?

( ie. business, relationships, friendships, health, finances, etc). Spend a few minutes jotting them down and give yourself permission to feel good about them.

Before setting goals, let's talk about intentions. When we set goals before we set intentions, we risk staying with the familiar. This is because goals are informed by what we have already done, so if we start from goals without setting intentions first, it will be hard to think of something new, out of your comfort zone. My invitation is to set a different intention in each area of your life. Some may be obvious: ie. you could say, "I want to be in a state of creativity every day in my business". Once you have this intention, it will be easier to set specific goals that are in line with it, such as "I want to create engaging content on social media daily". 

When defining goals, it can be tempting to think that the automatic date for their completion would be the end of the current year. Instead, think about a goal as a compass, something you are working towards with a minimum, a target and an outrageous aim.The minimum is what you expect to achieve based on the reality of your past performance, not on your ideal (I will release 2 video a week for my YouTube channel) The Target is the stretch which is slightly beyond what you can accomplish. (I will release 3 videos a week) The Outrageous is what you still don't believe you can achieve but pushes you to your edge (I will release a video a day). It is important that you also focus on celebrating the process rather than focus solely on results. We all know life can get in the way and priorities can shift. So, if for example, your overall intention is to be fit, your goals may be about going to the gym three times a week. However, if your daughter gets sick, you will have to re-prioritise your time to look after her, and perhaps shift your goal to doing some dance workouts at home when you can. This way you can be flexible and use your goals as a compass rather than some rigid plan you must stick to no matter what. 

• "A" stands for ambitious: make sure your goal makes you slightly uncomfortable. You don't want to have a goal that is too realistic, or you will lack motivation. Nobody wants to be bored! Make it challenging enough so it is exciting but not so challenging you feel defeated before you even start!

• "W" stands for why. Ask yourself why you want to achieve this goal. What is driving you? This is the fuel that will get you there, so keep on asking why. Don't stay on the surface and dig deep until you feel the juiciness of the deeper why.

• "E" stands for executable. This means that you need to ask yourself: can it be done in the timeline I have set? A lot of goals need more time that we think. We often overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in three. 

• "S" stands for specific. Define as much as possible what the goal is. It is better to say "I want to lose 6kg by December 2023" than "I want to lose weight". The subconscious needs to know what it is working towards.

• "O" stands for objective. What are the steps that need to be taken to create progress? Work backwards from the result you want and ask yourself what needs to be in place to get that result in each step of the process. 

• "M" stands for measurable. How are you going to track progress? You need to know you are making progress or quitting because inevitable. 

• "E" stands for the expiration date. You need to have an end date for your goal. If you don't set this up, you may start working towards your goal, but you will eventually slow down and stop pursuing it because there is no end in sight. This criterion gives you a level of certainty that you will achieve whatever you set up for yourself.

Remember that the most important question you can ask yourself is "who do I need to become in order to make this goal happen?" and "what are the three most important qualities of this person"? This is because we need to focus on changing our identity and on the process that entails, not simply on results.

For example, the 'written book' is not as important as becoming the sort of person who goes on the journey necessary to write a book. Your goal will change you and help you develop as a person. That's the point of it.

Break down the goal into chunks. Start with the end and work backwards. Put together a plan month by month first. Then break it down to week by week and then day by day. If you leave out this step, life will get in the way and you will lose motivation or traction. 

Get a planner. Either a physical planner you can put on the wall or have on your desk or a digital one such as an excel sheet or even a fancy software program. If you like, you can use the planner below. You need to stay consistent and to create accountability, and the planner keeps you on track.

"Haam" is the final acronym that will help you stay in line: 

• H= Habits. What are the habits that need to be put in place that are congruent with your goals? 
• A= Accountability. How will you hold yourself accountable? Internally (with a planner) or externally (with a buddy)
• A= Achievements and Rewards. What rewards will you give yourself when you achieve milestones? How are you going to celebrate achievements?
• M= Motivation triggers. When you are down or things get in the way, what motivation triggers can you put into place to get back on track?