Happy New Year! If you’re like me, you love the opportunity to start fresh and reassess your life and goals in the new year. Did you know people are 24% more likely to achieve the life they want when they write down their goals? Does this surprise you?
Most people do not think so concretely about their goals and plan out their lives like this. But it is an essential practice that I have found helps me stay focused and motivated to work my hardest to accomplish what I want most in life.
THE PROCESS
Happiness is not something that happens to you. You must design the life you want in order to seek out happiness for yourself. How?
First, you need to figure out what it is you really want in your life. Make a list - no, really, write it down - of everything you want to see happen this year.
Then, play the “why?” game. This allows you to examine what you think you desire in order to understand the true deepest meaning of your desires. It also makes it possible for you to discuss your goals in concrete terms that are more achievable.
It goes like this:
“I want to be rich.” Why? “I want to be free of my student loans and credit card debts.” Why? “I want to be able to buy things without worrying about bills.” Why? “I want to have financial freedom and be able to spend money how I want.” Why?...
As Aristotle said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” This game showed us that a desire to be rich is actually a desire to be relieved of the stress and burden of financial debts, and it can go deeper than that. This provides both a motivation (less stress) and a specific goal (pay off student loans).
GOAL CRITERIA
Now that you are aware of the specifics of your desires, you can build goals to make this a reality and move forward from envisioning to living your best life. There are a number of important criteria for setting goals that you can actually achieve.
First, goals must be specific. The more clear they are in your mind, the more likely you will be able to produce. One quote I love is this:
“SEE IT IN YOUR MIND AND YOU WILL HOLD IT IN YOUR HAND.”
This helped me see my herbal body butter as a real product. I envisioned it daily, and I imagined what it would be like to experience it in reality whenever I hit a speed bump on my journey. This quote helped me create Tonic Essentials and the body butter that is our first product.
Next, keep your goals simple. Write out every individual step involved in accomplishing your goal. Literally, baby steps. These are small goals that are so easy to accomplish that you will be motivated to execute and cross them off your list. My first goal for Tonic Essentials was much more specific than just “create a body butter.” This is too vague and impossible to accomplish in one day. Instead, I gave myself small, manageable tasks, like “Source Grape Seed Oil (one of the herbal body butter’s ingredients)” or “Design packaging label.” These small yet important steps helped me move slowly toward my goal without feeling too overwhelmed by the enormity of the project.
Third, your goals need to be measurable. Give yourself deadlines! This is what turns your ideas from wishes into true goals. Do something goal-related daily. If you allow yourself to slack off, your goal will not achieve itself for you. Set deadlines and treat your goal like a real job - because it is! Put in real work!
Finally, be accountable for yourself. Sharing your goals and plans with other people is a very important final step. Your friends and loved ones can keep you accountable and help make sure you are showing up for yourself and the goals you set.
THE FUNDAMENTAL GOALS
Here at Tonic Essentials, we pride ourselves on treating your mental, physical, and moral well being. It is important to pay attention to these fundamental areas of your life in order to improve your quality of life. Once you have these fundamentals in place, you will be in the right state of mind to accomplish other goals.
MENTAL
Mental health may be trending right now, but it is not a trend that people take seriously enough. It is essential for the rest of your life to start with your mental health care and find peace and balance within. Set your intentions to nurture yourself, to take care of the beautiful gift of your consciousness, and make the most of it. Here are some helpful goals for bettering your mental health:
Read books
Grow closer to God
Meditate
Take more “Me Time” (Can you ever really get enough?)
Keep a clean home
Make your bed every morning!
Relieve yourself of stress as much as possible
Eliminate toxic relationships and habits from your life
Set rituals to care for yourself, pamper, cater, and recenter
PHYSICAL
The motto of Tonic Essentials is LOOK GOOD. FEEL GOOD. DO GOOD. Why? Because we know that when you look your best, you feel your best. It’s not vain. It’s about building confidence and feeling happy with who you are. We are all about loving yourself in your skin. That means letting your body know that you love it!
Pamper yourself with luxury treatments, and not just at the spa! Your skin and hair deserve the best care every day. Tonic Essentials’ organic herbal body butter is a versatile and affordable option for luxury skin and haircare. No better time than right now to give it a try. Your body will thank you!
Make healthy eating an enjoyable part of your daily life.
Exercise regularly, moving your body however it can move
MORAL
Taking care of yourself means physically, mentally, and morally. Take good care of yourself, and your life will fall into place. I always say, you have to be kind to be happy.
Hug your mother! Learn that old family recipe. Know your ancestors to truly know yourself.
Dedicate more time to praying. Get closer to your source.
Give to people who need it more than you.
Support the causes you care about, like black-owned businesses (Tonic Essentials) or female-owned small businesses (Tonic Essentials!)
Empty out your closet of things you don’t even remember owning! Stop hoarding, start donating!
Try giving more than you receive, and I believe good karma will give back to you.
Smile, be kind, and give people the benefit of the doubt.
GOAL CATEGORIES
Now that you’ve chosen some fundamental practices, you can think about the bigger picture. It’s okay to have a lot of goals in life, but focusing on just a couple per year will help you make changes faster. Here are some categories to get you thinking about the area of your life you would most like to improve.
FINANCIAL: Save a specific amount for vacation or paying off debts
CAREER: Get promoted, win an award, launch own business
PERSONAL: Buy a house, travel to Asia to see elephants
HEALTH: Achieve a certain body weight, run a mile in a specific time, bench press a specific weight
SPIRITUAL: Pray daily, find a church home, volunteer regularly
EDUCATIONAL: Get a specific GPA, pass a class, get a certificate
FAMILY: Visit home regularly, get a pet, start a family
GOAL TYPES
Depending on the desires you are reaching, you may have longer or shorter term goals. It is good to have a mixture, to think about how you can improve your day-to-day right now, and what you want your life to look like years down the line.
IMMEDIATE (now-a few months)
SHORT-TERM (1-2 years, maybe 3)
LONG-TERM (5-10 years, up to 25)
LIFE (25+ years)
NEXT STEPS
Once you have your goals in mind for 2022, you are not done! This is only the beginning. If you really want to finish the year having accomplished these goals for yourself, you need to work at them. Here’s how:
Read over your goals every morning.
Visualize your life once you have accomplished the goal.
Also visualize the process of achieving it. Picture yourself putting in the work and know you can do it.
Have faith that your hard work will pay off.
Set milestones for accomplishing your goals. Set alarms on your phone.
Work on your goals daily.
Be flexible enough to work around problems but stubborn enough to stick to your goal.
Be patient, but not lazy.
Stop reading this post and GO GET IT!