Decide what’s most important to you, and go after it.
How do you define success?
Some measure it in wealth. Some in intellectual accomplishment, in family size, in quality of friendships, or countries traveled.
But the truth, of course, is that there is no one right answer to this question. Because success is what makes you feel accomplished, what makes you feel whole.
At the end of Steve Jobs’ life, he wrote these powerful words: “In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. . . Recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.”
This is not to bring you down, but to bring to light the importance of deciding what success means to you, and then being intentional about going after it.
Now, I know you’ve come to expect only business advice in these emails. But at the start of a new calendar year, I like to carve out some time to reflect on my personal goals as well. Where do I want to be this time next year? What do I want my relationships to look like? My spiritual life? My mental and physical health and well-being?
If you’ve followed my articles, you know that I believe goal setting is a powerful thing when done right. It keeps us focused, disciplined, and in touch with what’s most important to us. And it can help us in so many areas beyond our professional lives.
So how should we go about setting our personal goals for 2019? You might have your own tried-and-true method, but if you’re looking for ideas, here are my Ptex Practical Pointers:
1. Divide your personal goals into four categories.
Financial, Family, Spiritual, and Health.
2. Decide what you want to achieve.
No more than three specific, measurable goals per category.
3. Think about your deeper WHY.
WHY do you want to achieve those things?
4. Set a deadline and action steps for each goal.
So that you can keep yourself accountable.
I’ve created a simple Google doc that you can use to set your own goals for 2019—click here to see it. I hope this serves as an empowering tool to help you think through what success really means to you, and the steps you’ll take this year to achieve it.
