How to Start the New Year Strong to Achieve Your Goals

Setting and following through with a plan is the only way to realize our goals. We must implement a realistic plan to begin the practice to achieve our New Year’s resolution goals.

Last year, I wrote about things you can do differently to increase your success. It includes a list of suggestions that will heighten your strengths and build the areas you need to advance, including your self-awareness. As we become more self-aware, we manage ourselves differently to affect those around us positively.

Recommendations For Reaching Your 2025 Goals

Suppose you want to start January off with a bang; you seriously need to consider developing a strategic plan for your success. When it comes to reaching your goals, I’ve provided you with my top five recommendations:

1. Become more self-aware
2. Ensure your goal is a priority
3. Create a comprehensive plan
4. Make your goal public
5. Practice, practice, practice
6. Strengthen our emotional intelligence.

Get To Know Yourself In 2025

Being self-aware and understanding our emotions and what triggers them is an asset few take the time to learn. Self-awareness skills help us notice our feelings and judge if our needs are satisfied. It is a personal competency and the core of emotional intelligence. Strong self-awareness is necessary to become successful, and a lack of it will limit our potential. Consider trying this 5-minute self-awareness quiz. Check out my second book, The Power of Emotion, A Practical Guide to Making The Most Of Your Emotional Intelligence.

How Much Do You Want It?

Being conscious of what you want from life is fundamental to reaching your goals and motivating you to achieve them. If you are genuinely committed to the plan, you will find the time to practice the necessary skills. 

Make A Foolproof Plan And Practice It

Creating a realistic and tactical plan that works with your schedule is paramount to realizing your goals. If you don’t make a plan that fits your life, it will be impossible to practice the necessary skills, and you will quickly lose interest and feel defeated.

Equally important is building in time to practice; the more you work on a skill, the more proficient you will become. If you don’t follow through consistently with practice, it will be challenging to achieve your goal.

Here’s a five-step, foolproof plan to create a realistic and tactical approach to realizing your goals:

1. Clarify Your Vision

   • Define your “why”: Start by understanding the deeper purpose behind your goal. Ask yourself, “Why is this goal important to me?” Having a clear vision will help you stay motivated.

   • Make it specific: Break your vision into clear, actionable goals. Instead of saying, “I want to get healthier,” specify what that looks like, such as “exercise 3 times a week” or “eat vegetables with every meal.”

2. Break It Down into Milestones

   • Create smaller steps: Large goals can feel overwhelming, so break them into smaller, manageable milestones. Each milestone should feel achievable and give you a sense of progress.

   • Prioritize: Organize these milestones in order of importance or urgency. This helps you focus on what to tackle first and avoids feeling overwhelmed.

3. Develop a Tactical Action Plan

   • Create a timeline: Assign deadlines to your milestones. A timeline provides structure and accountability. Be realistic about how much time you need for each step.

   • Identify resources and challenges: What do you need to accomplish each step? Whether it’s financial, emotional, or informational support, knowing your resources can help you strategize. Also, anticipate potential challenges and brainstorm ways to overcome them.

4. Take Consistent Action

   • Commit to daily or weekly actions: Create small habits or routines that move you toward your goal. Consistent effort, even in small doses, will compound over time.

   • Track your progress: Whether it’s through journaling, apps, or simply checking off tasks, monitoring your progress will keep you on track and provide motivation.

5. Evaluate and Adjust Regularly

   • Review your progress: Set regular check-in points to evaluate your progress. Are you hitting your milestones? If not, assess why and adjust your plan accordingly.

   • Be flexible and adapt: Life changes, and sometimes your goals or methods must adjust too. Stay open to refining your plan as you learn what works best for you.

By following these five steps—clarifying your vision, breaking it into milestones, developing a tactical plan, taking consistent action, and adjusting along the way—you’ll create a realistic and achievable path to reaching your goals.

Make Your Goals Public

Sharing your goals with others will help hold you accountable for your plan. Securing a mentor or skilled manager will multiply your opportunity for success. Finding a mentor or experienced manager will increase your chance of success. Your mentor can share their experience, motivate you, and prod you toward the finish line.

I encourage you to make space to reflect on the past year to develop the perfect plan to achieve your goals and become more self-aware in 2025. For one-on-one guidance with reaching your goals, including self-development, team building, employee relationships, and more, click here and check out my book, The Power of Emotion, it is an excellent resource. 

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This article was originally published on December 29, 2018, and has been updated (October 2024).

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