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With the start of a new year on the horizon, for many, now is the time to reflect on what you have achieved this year and what you resolve to change next year. The new year feels like a fresh start, a perfect opportunity to change bad habits or set new goals that will make you feel like the year is a success.
This is why many of us set out an aspirational list of new year's resolutions. Resolutions that will help us to live better lives.
Unfortunately, although well-intentioned, we often fail to keep our resolutions. Research suggests that one-third of resolutioners don’t make it past the end of January, as we lose our motivation or fall back into bad habits.
So, we want to help you to live your best life. And to do that, we’re going to give you the tools to help you set, track and achieve your goals for 2023. Whether it’s improving your health, getting in control of your finances, travelling more or working less, our team is always on hand to help you.
Step 1: Where are you now?
A common problem (and one that I am often guilty of) is that we set too many resolutions across every area of our lives. We end up with a wish list of things we want to change as the New Year brings in a New You.
However, this can often be overwhelming, and we can’t easily see our progress towards our objectives.
The first step to setting the right resolution is to know where and what you need to improve. We need to be more intentional about what we want to address and focus on moving certain things in our lives forward.
At {PRACTICE NAME}, we start our process off by looking at your life through the lens of the Eight Dimensions of Wellbeing. According to research, a person's wellbeing can be measured against eight dimensions of wellness: physical, spiritual, social, emotional, intellectual, occupations, environmental and financial.
Each dimension means something different to everyone. Understanding what it means to you can help you uncover what you value in life, where your strengths are and what you might need to work on.
Want to find out what dimensions of wellbeing are important to you and where you might want to improve? Why not take our Your Life survey and find out! It starts by you selecting some goals that you want to achieve in life before diving in and understanding what’s important to you in life. It takes no more than 5 minutes to complete.
INSERT YOUR LIFE SURVEY GENERIC URL LINK BEHIND A BUTTON
At the end of the survey, you’ll receive Your Life Score and some information on what dimensions are most important to you and how close you are to living your best life across these eight dimensions.
If you want to unpack these further, contact us, and we can discuss ways to support you in improving your results.
Step 2: Setting the right resolutions
Beyond knowing where to focus your efforts, many resolutions fail because we fail to plan effectively, we’re too vague, or we don’t break down our goals into achievable pieces.
When setting a resolution, we recommend using SMART goals.
Specific: Your resolution must be crystal clear, not a vague suggestion. If you want to improve your health, what part about your health do you want to improve? Is it eating healthy, losing weight or becoming physically fit? Make sure your resolution clearly defines what the result should be. In doing so, you’ll be much more effective in achieving that goal.
Measurable: It is easy to lose motivation when you do not keep track of your results. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your resolutions won’t be achieved that quickly either. So, determine how you’re going to measure success and log your progress. It could be as simple as keeping a journal but make sure you have some way to see how you’re going against your goal. Every little win will keep you on the path to success.
Achievable: This doesn’t mean you can’t dream big, but trying to take too big a step too fast can leave you frustrated or affect other areas of your life. For example, resolving to save enough for that round the world trip you’ve always wanted to take within a year could be a big ask. But, putting aside $100 per month until you do, breaks it down into more manageable chunks. And, as you succeed, you can always increase your contributions to speed up the process - a much better feeling than having to push back your date of success.
Relevant: Does this goal really matter to you? Hopefully, the first step has given you focus and discover what’s important to you. This makes sure you’re making the resolution for the right reasons - not out of remorse, self-hate or a moment of passion. Aligning it to your long-term aspirations in life will help reinforce why you want to achieve this resolution and its impact on your big picture.
Timebound: If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit nothing. A deadline gives you the goalposts but makes sure they are realistic and achievable. That means giving yourself enough time to do it and setting milestones along the way to track your progress. Also, if you’re trying to build a habit, make sure you consider how long you need for the habit to become embedded in your life.
To help you set, track and progress SMART goals, we have a goals wizard that can do this for you. If you’ve completed the first step in our process, you’ll have access to our client portal. You can access our goals wizard in the Your Goals module within the portal. You may already see the goals you’ve set in the Your Life survey.
Hit the pencil icon, jump in and start making these goals SMART. If you have other goals, you wish to add, just hit the Add Goals button.
If you don’t have access, contact one of our friendly advisers today, who will help get you set up and set SMART Goals with you.
Step 3: Find yourself an accountability partner
None of us are perfect. While we may set the most achievable goal, we’ll inevitably hit roadblocks, hurdles and distractions. At the end of the day, we’re all human, and we make mistakes. Make room for them. Accept them and learn from them.
An excellent way to help manage these missteps and get back on track is through an accountability partner. This cannot be your partner or loved one, as it can often strain the relationship. You need someone impartial looking out for you and can hold firm. But also someone who knows we’re not always going to do what we say we’re going to do and will help us to take the right steps to get back on track.
Our advisers have been trained to be your accountability partner. They are there to support you in achieving what you need to achieve to live your best life. Not just for your financial goals but all the goals you want to accomplish in life.
They will work with you to understand what you truly value in life, map out your SMART goals needed to help you live a life aligned to your values and then deliver the financial strategies, advice and support to empower you to achieve the goals that matter to you and your family.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you, reach out to our team today and schedule a New Year, New You appointment with our team.
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