Happy New Year! Although I am not a fan of new year’s resolutions, I do wholeheartedly believe that the reset offered by changing over our calendars presents a terrific opportunity to set new goals. Psychologically, the new year offers a clean slate. We can reflect on the previous year, see what we’ve already achieved, where we may have fallen short and what we’ve learned in the process. Then, we can take that learning and use it to focus on what we want to achieve in the year to come.

To help you with that process, here are a few questions to ask yourself as you prepare to set goals for 2024:

• What did 2023 teach you about life and about yourself?
• How do you want to experience 2024?
• What habits, routines and rituals from 2023 do you want to continue or establish in 2024?

Once you have answered these questions, you will have the necessary context to create a set of goals that are anchored in the experience you want to have during the year. I recommend setting 2-3 big goals. You can always set more goals later if you achieve those quickly, but if you set too many goals at the beginning, your focus will be split, and it will become challenging to work toward achieving any of your goals.

As you determine your goals, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• What do you want to achieve?
• What is important about the goals you are setting?
• What steps will you need to take in order to achieve them?
• How will you measure progress and success?

I encourage you to take the time to work through these questions and to set some realistic, measurable goals that align with your values and the experience you want to have this year.

Write your goals down! We are 82% more likely to achieve a goal that we’ve written down.

And, once you’ve set your goals, I’d love to hear from you. Accountability further increases the likelihood that you’ll be successful, and that’s a big part what coaches can provide.