As 2024 winds down and we prepare ourselves for the upcoming Holidays and New Years, now is a perfect time to reflect on the last twelve months. Let’s take a couple of minutes and grab your favorite pen and some paper. Let’s dig into your 2024 Year in Review and 2025 Goals!
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” (Dr. Seuss).
Reflect on Accomplishments
The birth of a newborn, promotion at work, the launch of a new business, the excitement of a vacation, the chance to win, or knowing you tried your best; your accomplishments should be your cornerstone of your 2024 highlights! In a few sentences, list out the accomplishments you had in 2024. Try to keep in mind that no accomplishment is too small and failure is a way of finding out what doesn’t work! After we reflect on 2024, we will come back and setup goals for 2025.
Obstacles You Overcame
With your accomplishments listed, let’s look at any obstacles you might have had to overcome in 2024 that you’re especially proud of. Maybe you lost some weight, took some positive steps towards dental hygiene, ran your first 5K, or maybe you’re taking the time to journal or meditate daily. There is likely some kind of positive habit that you’ve taken up over the last year that has made a good impact on your life! Take time to reflect and write about these obstacles and the impact you had with overcoming them.
SMART Goals
Excellent work so far! Now we’ve established where we are, let’s talk about where we want to get to in 2025! For this method, let’s make sure we establish SMART goals. These goals should be; Specific goals that are Measurable, and they should also be Attainable, which means that they should not be impossible. They should have Relevance (why are the goals important to you). Lastly, you should be able to set a specific Time to achieve the goal by. For more information, check out the following LINK on Smart Goals.
My Goals
For example, one of my goals in 2025 is to make sure I read at least one book per month. I have made a list of at least one book per month that I plan to read completely in 2025. Another goal of mine is to make journaling a habit. Here is a rundown on how my goals will look.
Specific
I will read at least one book per month. The books I will read in 2024 include: January – Tiny Habits, February – Thinking Fast and Slow, March – Chop Wood, Carry Water, etc. I also plan to journal daily and make it a habit by the end of 2025.
Measurable
Did I accomplish my reading? Did I journal each day?
Attainable
I strongly feel that both goals can be completed in under 30 minutes daily. I will complete both as soon as I wake up.
Relevance
These goals are both important as they support self-improvement and self development. Journaling will help reduce anxiety, allow me to reflect, and provide a space to appreciate my gratitude. Journaling will also allow me to write down my thoughts in a judgement free zone. Reading will help me overcome obstacles, zero in on goals, and expand knowledge.
Write Your Goals Down
In one of my previous articles; “Staying Committed and Achieving Your Goals” I discussedEncoding. Encoding allows the person who did the writing a better opportunity to remember what was listed. If you write something down in your own words, you’re going to have what neuropsychologists call the “generation effect”. This basically means that you’re getting twice
the support of your goal by thinking it up and then writing it down. Keeping it vividly fresh in your mind and able to be recalled at a moment’s notice. Write those goals down….pen and paper!
Conclusion
If you made it this far and actually took the time to list out your goals for 2025, CONGRATULATIONS! You’re part of the 3% of the population that writes their goals down. I believe that if you stay committed (even when you don’t want to), you will crush it next year and I’m so happy you’re taking the time to commit and make things happen!
Have a great 2025!