even though this year is almost over, it’s always a good time to reflect and see where you want to go for the next year. i have 4 techniques that help me set goals for myself, and also keep me motivated to stay on track with goals i’ve set.

visual – start off by asking yourself what it is that you want from life. ‘who do you want to be?’ when you do this, think with an open heart, that this life you want to create is possible. 

it may be helpful to think that it is one year from now and it has been the best year of your life. you feel so good, healthy, happy, loved, successful and proud. what are the things that if you did them would make you feel that way?

record – it’s really important to write down your goals. try to break the goals down into different categories/areas of life and subcategories of short and long term/bigger picture. this makes it more digestible for our brains.

our brains are so smart when it comes to writing things down because you are directing your attention. when you tell your brain what to focus on, that’s what it will focus on. if i didn’t write the things i have to do, they would just swim in my head and take away so much cognitive energy.

systems – the third part is to set up daily systems to support you into developing these habits. life gets busy and we fall off track and that’s why setting up a system of goals is important.

planning on your computer is so convenient. things can change quite quickly, so using your computer makes it easy to make adjustments. Google Calendar and Google Sheets is a great way to keep all notes in one place. 

action – the last part is all about taking action. most of what we do is not conscious choice. you have to tell yourself what you’re going to do and not let your actions be determined by your subconscious mind.

think about your motivation and your ability to do the action. our motivation to make changes to our lives ebbs and flows. so, in the beginning you want to make your actions easy, so that you remove procrastination and decision making.