#GoalDigger

since it's January... let's talk about GOALS!!!

this is one of the first years in a while i really took the time to sit down and write out some Goals for myself, so i wanted to share some of the tips i used, in order to inspire some of you to live your best lives this year, and always! and really, you don't have to wait until the new year to set goals, you get a fresh start EVERY DAY!! (that's why i think this is the first time in yearssssss, i've been excited for Mondayssssss.... yesssss only took me 28 years to figure out how to get excited for Mondays!!!

ok so #1 i didn't just write out a bunch of bullet point goals and expect them to just appear in my life LOL. Goals need to be S.M.A.R.T.

S- Specific

M-Measurable

A- Attainable

R-Relevent

T-Time-based

so keeping SMART in mind, i used this this format:

Outcome:

My Why:

Actions:

Deadlines:

Evaluate:

Change actions (if need be): (or in other words....Supervise and Refine ;) LOL

so Outcome: what do you want to happen, for example, lose 20 pounds, save $10,000, win Ms. USA Universal ;) (Remember to keep them Specific, Measurable, Attainable & Reasonable.)

My Why: why is this your goal or desired outcome? if you don't think about your why, it will be really hard to push through those days when you're slipping... so for example... Win Ms. USA Universal, to feel strong, beautiful, and sexy, and to give a voice or title to my non-profit Combat Sexual Assault. This is what will get you out of bed in the morning when you really want to sleep in!!

Actions: these should be the concrete steps you need to take, in order to (IOT ;) ...(am i writing an operations order or a blog post LOL) sorry... in order to achieve your outcome.

for example... in order to win Ms. USA Universal i need to 1. raise this amount of money for the application and flights 2. organize events for Ms. NC Universal 2. Research what the pageant entails...

Now this part is where I found myself writing goals within goals. for example raising a set amount of money in itself is a big goal and has it's own action steps... So for some of my bigger actions, I made another Outcome, Why, Action, Deadline, etc. goal for it. If the action is specific enough, you probably don't need to do this.

these should also be Specific, Measurable, Attainable & Reasonable.

tip... leave space to add!!!

Deadlines: This is where you need to be Time-based!! for example, if there's an application you need to submit, or milestones you need to set for yourself to ensure you're on track.

Evaluate: Do this periodically throughout your timeline, and after deadlines, checking in with how far along you are. maybe you've raised more money than you thought at your first Deadline. or maybe you've decided waking up at 5am is not Reasonable for you to do EVERY morning.

which leads me to the last step, Change Actions (if necessary): so maybe I'm going to change an Action to wake up at 5:30 Monday - Thursday! Now this I can do!!! or in my evaluation I realized I am not saving as much money as I wanted to so i add in the Action: skip out on Starbucks twice a week and put that money in my savings for my trip, for example.

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some of the little tips I used to make this goal-setting time more fun and stay on track are:

- buy a new cute journal! (who doesn't love doing this!?!?!)

- practice my calligraphy and use colorful pens to write down my goals

- check back in with my goal journal every Monday morning to see how I'm doing!!!

- put some of my actions as to-do's in my weekly planner, based on my deadlines and timeline (Make sure to put those Deadlines somewhere you check daily or weekly! cellphone reminders, planner, etc.)

-if your Action is something you don't usually want to do, pair it with something you do like to do!! for example, i get to watch The Office, whenever i'm walking on the treadmill :)

(something i should do + something i want to do)

and that's how I set my goals!! goodluck with yours and let me know how you're doing!!!

as always, thanks for taking the time to check in with me and remember to always live your best life!!!!