Many years ago, I read that a small percentage (around 8%) of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions.  The word resolution has a negative connotation of something you promise to change about yourself, but never accomplish.  I’m a goal-oriented person, so making resolutions would never work for me.  That’s when I decided to stop making New Year’s resolutions and make New Year’s goals instead.

I have always had the habit of writing my goals down because that’s the way I’m wired, but it turns out that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down.  Double win for me because I satisfy my OCD by writing down my goals and I’m more likely to accomplish them since I write them down!

When Weston and I got married, we continued writing down our goals before each new year.  We always wrote down personal and career goals, but over the last year, we learned that we need to make goals in other areas too.  In EntreLeadership, Dave Ramsey talks about Zig Ziglar’s Wheel of Life.  The Wheel of Life has seven spokes with each one being a core area of life.  For 2019, we decided to make goals for each of the seven core areas.

I want to share some of my goals with you, but I am only going to share one from each category.  The purpose is not for you to copy my goals, but to give examples so that you can think about your own life and what you want to accomplish. Here are some of my goals for 2019:

1. CAREER

$X in revenue

2. PERSONAL FINANCES

15% of income in a Roth IRA

3. SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Read the Bible daily

4. PHYSICAL HEALTH

Run 5 miles each week

5. INTELLECTUAL GROWTH

Read 12 books

6. FAMILY

Call each of my three brothers at least once a month

7. SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Have lunch with a friend at least once a month

The best way to achieve your goals is to make them specific, measurable, and realistic.  I took each of my goals a step further and broke them down into exactly what I need to do each month to accomplish them by the end of the year.  For example, I want to read 12 books in 2019.  I wrote down exactly which 12 books and assigned one book per month.  It’s a little easier to believe you can accomplish your goals if you create little milestones along the way.  I also love making to-do lists, so I get a little satisfaction when I can cross something off my list each month.

Weston and I both have 1-3 goals for each category and we have them written down and posted on the refrigerator for us to see them every single day.  The best part about compartmentalizing your goals this way is that it helps you see which core areas you are strongest and weakest.  From my experience, you can feel unbalanced if you are weak in any of the core areas.  I’m excited to see what Weston and I can accomplish individually and together this year!

Do you make a list of goals each year?  Share one of your 2019 goals in the comments!

To see more of my recommended books, click here.  Just so you know, some links in this blog post are affiliate links.