So, this is my last post of 2020. With it being New Year’s Eve, I figured I would try to get this out in time for anyone to read it. And if you’ve been following along, you know that I have been pushing doing better in the new year pretty hard.

That’s because I truly have a great feeling about 2021.

Even though I felt similarly about 2020, there is just something in the air. Especially from a professional perspective.

What Will the New Year Bring to You?

It’s time to set some goals, perhaps focus on a New Year’s Resolution, and get your life back on track. Though, a vast part of the population will give up on those goals a few weeks in.

Why is that? Lack of motivation? Lack of opportunity?

Or, perhaps it has more to do with your overall mentality and how you perceive yourself and your surroundings.

Setting Achievable Goals

A common theme I see a lot on social media is setting up goals over which you have no control.

For example, do you want to get more subscribers to your YouTube channel in 2021? Do you want more visitors to your blog this year than you did last?

Those types of goals are technically out of your control. You can’t force people to watch your videos or read your content.

Instead, focus on the obtainable goals and how you’ll achieve them. It’s easy to say that you want “X,” but what is the “Y” behind the process?

Want more subscribers? Work on producing videos people want to watch. Set goals for how to create those videos and focus more on the content itself.

Want more blog readers? Again, set goals for creating more posts people want to read.

For example, I’m not going to say I want more readers on the website in this new year. Instead, my goals center around productivity. Because setting a goal for the numbers I write in a day is helping to attract more of an audience.

My point is to create goals for 2021 centering around things you can directly impact. It’ll help you stay focused over the long-term and prevent frustration when you’re not getting close to your generic objectives.

Address Issues of the Past

I’ve said this plenty of times over the last few weeks; if you don’t address what made 2020 such a shit year, it’ll only follow you into 2021.

Look back on the past 366 days (yes, it was a leap year), and pinpoint the things that you can control to change in the new year. I mean, you really can’t do anything about COVID-19, aside from wear your mask, socially distance, get the vaccine, and act responsibly.

I’m talking about the things in your life that you can directly change and alter.

For example, I know I didn’t push out enough videos on YouTube this past year. One of my goals is to adjust my time and create more.

I know I could have pushed out more blog posts throughout 2020. Which is why I am working to greatly surpass my daily writing word count.

I’ve also created a few experiments for myself in 2021, one of which includes seeing what happens when I write three times per week on Vocal.media.

Identify the things that you can affect and base your new year goals around self-improvement.

Don’t Dwell on the Negative

Then, there are some things that you’ll have no control over that bring you down. I know it’s more of a cliche nowadays, but try not to dwell on negativity from past experiences.

In reality, nothing is truly a failure as long as you learn something. Then, it becomes a life experience rather than a flop.

When you dwell on negative experiences and continue to beat yourself up, you’re being counterproductive for achieving your goals in the new year.

Don’t play the game of, “should have, would have, could have.”

Move forward into 2021, not backward. Hindsight is literally 20/20 in this situation. But you need to look at what’s in front of you and how you’ll change things for the better.

What Are My Goals for the New Year?

Actually, I’ve already started on my New Year’s Resolution. Because I figured I might as well make the changes now instead of waiting for a number on the calendar.

Anyway, for me, it centers mostly around productivity:

• Surpass the number of words I write in 2021 (still aiming for 1 million, though)
• Be more productive throughout the day in terms of time I spend on myself as well as clients (which I track on a spreadsheet).
• Create more videos on YouTube (for all three of my channels).
• Finish the rough draft of VII (because I have the time and want to have more content for self-publishing posts and videos).
• Work on new ways to help me lose the last 20 pounds (because I can control my weight).
• Be more social (if the pandemic ever lets up).

As you can see, I don’t focus on “getting more subscribers” or “blog traffic” in the new year. That’s because production goals all feed into those anyway.

These are all elements that will work towards the more generic ideas of getting more views or getting fit.

It’s all about the “how” when setting up a goal. How will you achieve those ideas? What kinds of things will you do to make them happen?

In this instance, “how” will I get more readers to the blog? By creating content my audience wants to read in the first place. And this is driven by the number of words I write on any given day.

Those are the real resolutions of which you should concern yourself. It’ll keep you more focused, especially if you track your progress.

When you feel proud of your accomplishments, it boosts self-confidence. And with confidence comes the drive to continue reaching for your dreams.

What Are You Doing to Make the New Year Awesome?

It’s never too late to set goals for yourself. Just make sure they are things you can control for overall improvement. Don’t merely fall back on the generic statements like, “I want a million dollars.”

Because what all of this comes down to is the amount of effort you put into reaching your goals.

The new year is yours for the taking. What are you going to do to make it better for yourself?