My Personal Values And Goals For The New Year

Values, Goals, Resolutions

Do you set goals each year? Make New Year’s resolutions?

I generally set goals for the year, but I’m open to things changing, priorities shifting. I’m happy to switch direction as unexpected ideas and opportunities unfold. Maybe this is denial-speak for the fact that I let myself get distracted. Regardless, I do like to start the year with a road map.

This year, as usual, I’ve got my roadmap. But I’m setting off from a different starting point.

Late last year I started thinking about values – something I’d never considered before. I’d had one of those small epiphanies where I realized many of my decisions were based on what other people thought I should do. Not because they pushed me or made particularly compelling arguments, but because I didn’t have a strong sense of what I wanted.

This was kind of shocking, and led me to think and read about values, and eventually discover what my values are.

Two things before I share them.

First, I’m talking here about values that drive me in my current life. If a need is pretty much met in my life, then I’m not driven to pursue it – although I may ‘value’ it. Shelter, for example. Respect. These things aren’t an issue for me – they’re just there; they aren’t driving me.

Second, these are values that drive me in my current life. Values change over time as certain concerns become more or less prominent. The ones I’ve listed are the ones that are pressing now. 

My Values

My key values are:

1. Connection

Feeling a spark of true connection, communication, and intimacy with the most important people in my life; feeling genuine engagement with my community online.

2 Creativity; Art; Writing

Putting something into the world that has some small sense of poetry.

3. Kindness; Compassion

Having an open heart to feel for, and a willingness to try to understand, all my fellow beings.

4. Inspiring others

Helping people to be happier and do what matters to them.

5. Beauty

Creating and appreciating beauty wherever I can.

6. Fulfillment

Having a sense of meaning and personal achievement in my work and life.

My Goals

So from that starting point, here are my goals:

1. Revamp my business.

I’ll tell you more about this soon. But, big picture:

  • I want to add more programs across a broader range of personal development/self-improvement/personal coaching areas
  • I want to re-brand – change the name, look, feel, and tone of the site.

I’m pretty excited – and I think you’ll love the changes I have in mind. 🙂

Values reflected: 

Inspiring others; Fulfillment; Beauty

2. Develop creative projects.

Creative writing, maybe drawing, maybe something else. 

I’m looking into classes to help me excavate my creativity. If it’s down there somewhere, then it’s buried beneath many layers of corporate crud and multiple strata of shoulds and musts and oughts. 

Values reflected: 

Creativity/art/writing; Beauty

3. Nurture my relationships

This is always a big one for me. This year, as usual, I want to nurture my closest relationships. They are my emotional oxygen.

After thinking about values it’s now so clear what the people I’m closest to have in common (at first glance it looks like there’s nothing they share). They are all people who value intimacy. Even if I see them twice a year, when we’re together we connect

I’ve also realized that, although I always say I don’t want new friends, every year I seem to collect new, awesome people. So this year I’m going to be more open to that. 

Values reflected: 

Connection; Kindness/compassion

4. Improve my health and fitness

I’m a better wife, relative, friend, worker, everything when I feel and look my best.

So getting physically stronger, maintaining my weight, sleeping better (which may mean nose surgery – eeeek!), and getting around to all those health things I neglected last year is a firm goal this year.

Values reflected: 

Beauty; Fulfillment; Connection

How About You?

So that’s me as we start the year – my main values and my key goals. I’ll be sharing more about this stuff soon, but I wanted to post this general roadmap now. 

How about you?

What are your key values – what ideas underlie your decisions and concerns in life right now?

And given these, what do you want to focus on and achieve this year?

If you’d like to, then please share in the comments. I’d love to know!

8 thoughts on “My Personal Values And Goals For The New Year

  1. GruSer says:

    For planning my goals, I use the https://ismart.life app. Last year I completed most of my goals and I can say that good planning is the key to success. I recommend this app because it is a very simple and free web app. You can see the demo and decide whether it suits you or not…

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