As we come to a close of this year (this very tumultuous year), I want to talk to you about goal setting. I want to discuss plans for the coming year and letting bygones be bygones, leaving the past in the past, and moving forward.
Many people step into a new year and immediately think about the resolutions they want to accomplish. Unfortunately, many of those fail in a matter of weeks or a few short months into the year.
My encouragement to you is this: don\’t just make another round of new year\’s resolutions, but really examine what habits need to change in your life.
And, instead of looking at things from a diet standpoint, look at them from the perspective of your finances and what lifestyle changes you need to make to improve them. As I\’ve mentioned before, your finances are personal to you. In addition to that, how you set that precedence for your lifestyle related to your personal finances is also massively important. What\’s more, it\’s equally important to develop sustainable goals.
When it comes to sustainability with your spending plan, finances, and lifestyle, it is essential to detect the small, unnoticeable adjustments that you can practice daily that completely change your life trajectory. I know I\’ve mentioned that before, but I believe that to be true. I also believe that your habits tend to have a compound effect, positive or negative. Those decisions that you\’re making in your personal finances may seem trivial; they may not seem to matter, but they do. As we look forward to the new year and a fresh opportunity to reset your finances, think about how you can legitimately change your lifestyle rather than stepping into yet another \”diet,\” cutting back on spending or cutting back on certain types of expenditures. Which changes would have a real, lasting effect?
What is something that you can put into place that won\’t be a fad and won\’t just be a new year\’s resolution that falls flat in a matter of weeks?
When setting goals for your personal finances, it\’s vital to figure out what exactly you want to accomplish in the new year.
Is it some career goal? Is it some financial goal related to paying down debt? Is it being able to afford to send your kids to a certain school? Maybe it\’s finally getting to take that dream vacation. There could be a million different things that you want to accomplish, but I believe that you need to think about what matters to you. There\’s a saying that suggests, \”don\’t want what you don\’t want.\” It\’s so simple but profound in the sense that we often look to our neighbors, our family, our coworkers, or people on social media to set our goals for us.
We think, \”Oh my gosh, it would be so nice if I could finally have X.\” But whatever X is, you don\’t look introspectively and consider if that something points you closer to the goals to which you\’re aiming. If you don\’t know what you\’re aiming at, you\’ll miss it every time. When you\’re facing a new year, you\’re looking at a unique opportunity to lean into what you\’re ultimately aiming at and searching for. You can want what you actually want, rather than desiring the things that culture or society tells you that you should desire.
So, what is it that you want? What are you aiming at? What are you searching for?
When you\’re building out your goals for the new year, inspect your plan through a lens of what adds the most value to you.
There are so many things in life that add tremendous value in my own world and life that are seemingly small. Honestly, most people wouldn\’t even think it would add that much value. I have a morning routine, for example, that I go through every single morning. That morning routine was something that I made a priority through a habit, and over time, I built that habit in and then built in the amount of time I needed to maintain that routine. That practice is so important to me and keeps me centered in a lot of ways. It allows me to make sure I\’m walking into the day very intentionally and very carefully.
On a given day, I have several meetings that I have to attend. I have a number of decisions I have to make, and I know when I don\’t make what matters to me a priority. I realize that sounds selfish, but it\’s true. It matters to know what I value in that time in the morning, every morning. It matters to be still and to focus my mind and heart on the things that are important to me. Entering into the day in this manner changes the way that I make decisions, and that\’s critical for my life\’s goals. I prioritize that time to be consistent and repetitive. My routine helps me calm my mind, focus my thoughts, think about what I want to accomplish, and step into the day without feeling a level of pressure that I believe most Americans experience at the start of their day.
I would encourage you to step into this new year with a clean slate and consider the vision you want to accomplish. Then, think about how you need to change your lifestyle so that you\’re not wasting time trying to get things that ultimately don\’t matter to you. This activity will free you up to work on, focus on, and be intentional about those things that really do matter the most.
My call to action today is this: what new rhythm do you need to get into to create a beneficial habit?
Be careful to make sure it\’s palatable; it should be something that will not lose traction after a couple of weeks or months. Lastly, watch [Margin] daily and take a small fraction of your day to reflect on your finances, your goals, and your vision for your life. By following these simple practices, you will build a compound effect in a positive trajectory for hitting those goals you want to hit.
If this information is helpful to you, please do follow, visit millennialmargin.com or connect with me on Margin\’s social platforms.
