This week had not left me without thinking of how much of my goals I had achieved in 2021. COVID-19 took its toll on my goals; it disrupted the timeline I had set for some of the goals. I did a quick calculation in my head to know how well I had smashed the goals, but I refused to come up with a number as I love to be objectives- the papers do not lie.

I have my goals written on one of my pads and it is time to visit them. It is time to know how far I had gone with the deliverables- it is time to pull out the marking scheme.

Wait a moment! How can I be objective if I do not have a measurable goal? If you need to know about this, you may need to check my previous post on SMART goals.

As we move towards the end of the year, it is time to engage yourself on how 2021 went, and then prepare and plan for the new year just as I will be doing too. We must not let 2022 happen to us, rather we must cause the kind of change we want in the new year. This will not come without adequate preparation and planning. Whether you did well or not this year, you must forget that and prepare for the future. Besides, you cannot change what had happened. You can only do something about what is yet to happen.

Do not be tempted that putting what has happened to you this year behind is just for the bad stuff; it is also for the good ones. Success can be an obstacle to progress if we do not step out of its sphere of remembrance to gain sight of what is ahead. Position yourself for the future and plan for it.

Without further ado, here are 9 tested steps to fulfilling your goals in the new year irrespective of your current state.

1. Evaluation

Evaluate your current state or position. If you don’t know what level you are at achieving your goals, it may be difficult to make progress. If you haven’t started at all, it’s good you acknowledge that so that you know how to solve the problem at hand.

2. Repositioning and Refocusing

Forget your previous success. Yes, your success! And likewise your failure. Putting them in memory, obscure your lens to see the better you and the better future.

3. Preparation and Planning

Now get to the drawing board. Write out your goals for 2022. Make it SMART. Don’t just think about the goals, write them.

4. Review and Rewrite

Review the written goals. Ask the following questions while reviewing:

1. Are they specific?
2. Are they measurable?
3. How long will it take me to achieve these goals?
4. Can they be divided into phases?
5. Are they realistic and achievable?
6. Do I have the resources to achieve them?
7. How can I get the resources required for the goals?
8. Am I ready to pay the sacrifice to achieve these goals?

Now, it is time to write the final draft of your goals for the new year.

5. Management

It is time to be the manager of your goals. No one can manage your goals like you. You’ve got work to do. You have just gotten an appointment letter for a job or maybe work.

Management pays attention to how to achieve a set goal. For instance, it takes leadership to say ‘we want to build a 3-bedroom flat in an urban settlement by the beach within 3 months’, while it takes management to ask ‘how can we achieve this? How many bags of cement do we need? How much do we need to spend? How many hours do we have to work to achieve this goal within the time stipulated? and so on…’

NB: Did you notice the nitty-gritty of the goal mentioned here. That is how to write a SMART goal.

6. Work and implementation

It’s time to get to work. Start implementing. The time, energy and work you have put into place are useless until now without implementation.

7. Consistency

Be consistent with implementation. Consistency is key and powerful.

8. Integrity

Integrity is first to yourself before others. You have decided to do something per time. Be a man of integrity to this promise.

9. Accountability.

Access yourself to see how you are doing per time. Let’s say every 3 months. You will know how well you are doing and what recommendation you needed for the next phase of achieving your goals.

These are tested principles that can earn you speed to living a fulfilled life.

You deserve a great life. It is time to live it.