DarshD
- Dec 22, 2023
- 2 min read

Effective goal setting in the new year!

As New Year's Eve comes close, we all become eager to set new goals for the next year. Some experience thrill while some experience dread. Why does this happen? That's because our mind gets affected due to goals and every aspect of it.

When we are setting a new goal, we feel excited because it seems like we will be starting a new adventure. According to the Positive Psychology website, goal setting gives meaning to our actions and we don't feel like our actions are pointless. Thus, leading to certainty and less despair in our lives. This has a better effect on our overall mental health because this way of goal-oriented thinking provides us with peace [1].

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

When we look back at the goals that we failed to accomplish in the last year, we get demotivated. According to the Arete Coach website, the goals piling up can overwhelm a person and make that person feel stressed due to the feeling of the lack of fulfilment of goals. It may also make a person desperate to achieve goals irrespective of whether those goals are realistic or achievable [2].

Likewise, sharing our goals with others also comes with both benefits and risks. According to the Trello Blog, when we share goals with others, we stop working towards them or just procrastinate because, in our minds, we feel like we have already accomplished them. The praise received in advance for something we haven't done just makes us less likely to follow through [3].

Contrarily Fast Company says, sharing goals can help us to get external motivation and community support that can keep us accountable to ourselves and others. Support from others is good for mental health too [4].

Photo by Japheth Mast on Unsplash

Thus, goals do affect us and the best way forward is to be realistic in our goals. According to the popular motivational speaker Tony Robbins, SMART (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time-bound/Time frame) goals are the best goals [5].

The SMART goals are encouraged so that we can achieve at least some of them. The Harvard Business Review shares that the best way to achieve goals is to start right away, remove all obstacles before you start, and be consistent in your efforts while reminding yourself about why you started [6].