What to Do After Setting Goals, Habits
I’ve been there. You’ve set your goals for the new year and determined which habits you plan on developing, and now you’re looking for what’s next. You’re not alone. Below I’ve laid out some steps you can take so that you stay consistent with your habits and move closer to achieving those goals and dreams.
The first step is to take action
While some things may happen naturally, you’ve got to be intentional and take action to really get things moving in your life. Remember those habits you wrote down that you want to develop? That’s where you begin. Take a small step everyday and soon enough, it will become a habit.
On average, it takes 66 days for a new habit to form. You want to build a habit so that it becomes automatic and a natural part of your routine.
Reflect on what’s going right/what you can do better
Another step you should take is to evaluate how you are doing.
It doesn’t matter how often you reflect on how you are progressing toward your habits and goals, as long as it is something that you can keep up with. Find a recurring time that fits your life and schedule and still keeps you on track. You could do weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly reflections.
You want to ask yourself questions like,
“What have I been doing well?”
“What can I improve on?”
“What am I most proud of accomplishing so far?”
“How am I feeling?”
Dream journal & create vision boards
One of the things that’s helped me manifest my goals and dreams is by writing as if I am living my dream life in a journal. I write about very specific things in my vision and I write them as if they have already happened.
This helps you embody the feelings of the person you want to be. If you’re not into journaling, you can try creating a vision board. I LOVE using Pinterest for this. There are obviously some things that are not easily depicted, like increased spirituality, but you can find quotes or write, draw something of your own so it speaks to you. What you focus on expands, so you want to constantly remind yourself of your dreams.
Be proud of your goals and habits you are working to implement
You don’t have to wait until you accomplish a goal or build a habit in order to be proud of yourself. Be compassionate with yourself and love that you are working on bettering yourself.
You can also share what you are doing with friends/family members you trust so they can support you through building your dreams and even hold you accountable if you feel like that’s something you need to stay consistent.
Just keep going
Don’t be so hard on yourself — if you fall off one day, two days, just get back up and start over. The important thing is to keep going. Don’t completely give up if you experience a setback.
Build in time to rest
The point is not to work so hard you get burnt out. I bet the version of your best life is not one where you’re working yourself too hard. Remember that when you start to feel overwhelmed and listen to what your body and mind are telling you.
Your goals and habits won’t be implemented if you’re not taking care of yourself. You can also make self-care one of your goals or habits so that you prioritize it.
Understand that your goals may change throughout the year. Keep yourself open to new possibilities
Our goals will change overtime, and that’s ok, it’s actually a really good thing because maybe we thought we wanted to do something and then we had a realization that no, that’s not really what I want to be doing with my life. Be open to these natural inclinations when they come up for you.
Pray and speak to Allah
Last, but not least, ask Allah to move you closer to the things in life that are good for you. This is one of my favorite duaas to make.
Ya Allah, please attract me to the things that are good for me in this life and in the next.
Allah is the best of planners and is the All-Knowing and Most Wise, trust in Allah that He will bring good to your life and bless your life.