It is that time of year when we start to think about the year ahead.

What do I want to achieve in 2020? How do I want next year to be better than this one? What goals should I set for myself?

For many organisations, it is also objective setting time. Employees are being asked to say what they want to achieve and, invariably, to make those objectives SMART.

Not such SMART objectives

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives have been around for a long time. It is a useful checklist for setting objectives that one has some change of achieving. All perfectly logical.

Except that the very logic of them can be something of a disadvantage. To create a SMART objective, you engage the left side of your brain – all to do with logic, reasoning and analytics. The goals you set are probably going to be written down – and then put in a draw and forgotten…

There is a vital element missing:

Let’s get excited!

We set goals because we want to do something different in our lives. We want to make a change. And yet, every year, we set goals in the same way, often setting the same goals as we have done in previously years.

I’m known for saying ‘if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.’ So I’m inviting you to first change the way you set your goals. Take a different approach and really move forward in your life like never before.

The formula for success

If you want to make 2020 your best year yet, you need to think ahead and have a positive vision which excites you. Design your future in a way which taps into your emotions and creativity. Design your future and then imagine it so you can see yourself at the end of 2020 and all that you have achieved.

So, by all means, write a SMART objective. But then ask yourself:

• What will I look like when I’ve achieved my goal?
• How will I show up in the world as this person?
• How will I feel when I have achieved it?
• What will it mean for those around me when I am this person?

Draw a picture to cement this image of the future you into your mind and look at that picture ever day. Imagine yourself as this future version of you and use it to take action over the next 12 months.

Really change the game of your life – and start by changing the rules of how you set your goals for 2020

If you want to learn more about this then listen to podcast we did on this here https://petecohen.com/making-2020-your-best-year-yet-the-formula-for-success-episode-1/

If you want to know more about how to create a the future you want for your business and your life, then take a look at https://coaching.petecohen.com/ to learn more.