The end of the year and the beginning of another bring opportunity and inspiration, for many, to consider their own personal situation and plan for the coming year. We all hope we can end the New Year better in our lives than we start. By “better” we can mean financially, happily and socially, in our jobs and in our way of life; in fact, in any part of our lives.
If we start the year with the best of intentions to improve our lives in some way, there is a good chance we will succeed in doing so. One way we can help ourselves to succeed is to set personal goals for the coming year. It has long been a tradition of New Year's resolutions, and they are an example of goal setting, often based on personal preferences, such as smoking or obesity. However, New Year's resolutions are usually quite happy, and they are not taken lightly. Planning a full year in advance based on a set of goals can be a very rewarding way to improve during the season.
New Year's resolutions, however, provide a clue to one way of setting personal goals for the year: they are often about dealing with weaknesses. If you have a human weakness at the beginning of the year, and you have strengthened it by the end of the year, you will have improved. So when you sit down and consider some personal goals that you would like to set, focusing on your weaknesses may be a good place to start.
How to Go About Setting Personal Goals
There are more than one way to establish personal goals, but I will focus on personal weaknesses. By “concentrating” I don't mean to think of that weakness all the time in a negative, self-critical way. The aim is to improve themselves by the end of the year, so those weaknesses, or just one weakness, should be addressed in a positive way. Ultimately, you want your weaknesses to be fixed by the end of the year. Here are a few simple steps you can take:
1. Your first step is to identify the area, or areas, of your life where you want to make significant progress. For example, suppose you have a business venture, a relatively new one, and you are still getting your feet up.
2. Once you have decided which area of your life to focus on first, you should think about it differently, with a pen in your hand, and a blank piece of paper in front of you. Reflect on your experience since you started the business, and point out any weaknesses that have been developed since you started the business. Write it down in a relaxed manner, no rush. If you are sure you have highlighted the most serious weaknesses, and you are missing out on something, go ahead and consider your list.
3. You should now check your business-related weaknesses list, and prioritize. If something stands out as important, that will be your start. At this point, remember that setting goals is not the end of the impossible; that is self-harm. If you have a long list of weaknesses and it seems annoying, then prioritization is very important.
In this example, let’s assume your most important weakness in your new business finance and accounting system. For most people starting a business, that is a fact, so that is a good example. Do not expect to be able to eliminate all weaknesses 100% in one year; you have to be realistic, and take the stage. Each year you will build on your strengths, and gradually remove your weaknesses. However, you cannot expect to get everything done in one go.
4. Now think more about the financial side of the business, and write on a piece of paper all the things that worry you. Is it all about finance and accounting? That too will not be unusual. You may not even be able to claim credit card debt, but that is not surprising. For the average person, double bookkeeping is a recurring theme.
5. If you think that everything about finances and accounting is a mystery to you, set a plan to correct the situation. Any wise entrepreneur needs to understand the finances of his business; he will be in danger if he does not. There are several ways to deal with this weakness, but you will want to improve your accounting skills throughout the year. So, for example, you could set the following annual goals:
a. Learn basic bookkeeping. You can do this with a small business booklet, or evening classes. If you have a local small business help center of any kind, they can point you in the right direction; they may have regular conferences.
b. Get to know your accounting system, or perhaps introduce a simple accounting software that will not only help you keep accurate accounts but also teach you along the way.
c. Gain an understanding of profit and loss accounts so you can begin to understand why your business makes a profit or a loss.
d. Learn to make cash flow predictions, which will always be important for your business.
At the end of the year, you should have a better understanding of the finances of your business, and when you do the same work again the following year, you can plan to go up if you think it is necessary, or correct that weakness. you are not done yet.
The financial model and accounting are just one example. It can also be marketing or time management or any other part of the business. The important thing to do is to check for serious weaknesses and address them with your own personal goals. That principle can be applied to any aspect of your life that you choose, whether it is related to work, family, personal health, or bad habits.
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