Today is the last day of the year, and as we move forward to 2025, I believe it is the right time to reflect on what went well in the past this year and what we are looking forward to in the year ahead so that we can kickstart the new year on a high note.
2024 has been like a roller coaster ride, with numerous ups and downs throughout the year. The pace at which this year passed left me with little time to process or understand what was actually happening in my life. Like every year, this year also felt quite different, bringing a mix of experiences. I achieved a lot that makes me feel really proud of myself, and at the same time, there were quite a few disappointing moments that taught me some important life lessons.
Anyway, today is not a day to dwell on what we lost or gained, but rather to reflect on how we want to move forward. It’s time to guide ourselves onto the right path and set some important goals for the new year that will encourage us to move ahead in life and align our progress with the path to success and mindfulness.
My Reflection on 2024
I remember that around this time last year, Google approved my website for AdSense, It was one of the happiest moments of 2024 because it wasn’t the result of just 4 to 5 months of hard work, but rather it took me 2 to 3 years to get my website AdSense approved. It resulted from numerous failures I faced through trial and error, and learning from my mistakes and restarting from scratch each time motivated me to work continuously in this direction. Finally, after all that effort, I became deserving of AdSense last year.
I decided to leave my hometown and settle in a new place in 2024. This was quite a tough decision because deciding to move to an entirely new place and leaving behind the city where I had spent most of my life was not easy. Adjusting to a new place, new people, and a different culture has been a bit challenging for me so far. However, it wouldn’t be fair to form an opinion now, as I need more time to adapt to this city. Maybe next year, I can share a better perspective on this matter. This decision might not be in my favor today, but let’s see how this city treats me in 2025.
I made significant advancements in my career and took some major financial decisions aligned with my 2024 goals. Also, I managed to grow my blog compared to last year and am now close to achieving the target state I envisioned by the end of 2024. This was possible because of properly planning and working on them consistently. However, I must admit that amidst all this, I completely neglected my health and personal care, which is something I deeply regret. This will be my primary focus in 2025 for sure.
Anyway, the purpose of this article is not to discuss my achievements and failures of 2024 but rather to guide you so that, before stepping into the new year, you can set your own goals that will help you become a better version of yourself compared to who you were in 2024.
How To Set Personal Goals for 2025
Here, I want to talk about personal goals, not New Year’s resolutions, because many of us tend to set unrealistic resolutions that are broken within the first week of the new year. Instead, we’ll discuss goals that, if pursued, can help you focus on your holistic wellness. But what exactly is holistic wellness, and why is it important for us? You’ll understand it better once you read through the article below.
Must Read: 12 Ways to Unlock Holistic Wellness for a Healthier and Happier You
Now, let’s directly focus on the types of personal goals that you should look into before setting your objectives for 2025:
1. Financial Planning
The purpose of financial goals is not just to make money but also to manage it properly. When setting your financial goals, make sure to consider how you can invest your time and money wisely so that it provides better returns in the future. You might even think about engaging in activities that, over time, can become a source of passive income for you.
It’s also crucial to understand that it’s equally important to properly invest the money you earn. If you spend all your time focusing only on earning money and don’t learn how to invest it wisely, your financial goals may remain incomplete.
2. Life Events
Life event goals are related to significant events in your life, such as getting married, planning for a baby after marriage, and many other milestones. Including these goals in your personal goals is incredibly important because, many times, in the rush of life, we tend to ignore these crucial life events. That’s why it’s essential to plan for these goals properly in advance before time slips away.
3. Personal Health
Personal health and well-being are often a highly neglected aspect of our lives, which we tend to forget to prioritize. We only realize its importance when it’s too late. So, before stepping into 2025, don’t forget to prioritize your health. Also, consider taking out a health insurance plan for yourself and your family to ensure peace of mind and security for the future.
4. Contribution to the Society
Giving back to society should also be an essential part of your personal goals because, often, while we are quick to point out flaws in the society we live in, we rarely focus on what we can do to make it better. This is one of those goals that won’t take up too much of your time, but achieving it will certainly make you feel proud of yourself.
It’s also important to note that achieving this goal doesn’t necessarily mean you have to engage in formal social service. Even by changing small habits in your daily life, you can contribute towards this goal in 2025.
5. Family Oriented
Your family is an essential part of your life, and neglecting them in the hustle and bustle of life is not the right approach. Just like your own needs, your family also has certain needs that must be met to keep them united and happy. Whether it’s spending quality time with them or understanding their emotional needs, having a goal related to this should definitely be part of your personal goals list.
6. Relatives, Friends, and Others
One thing I’ve learned from my personal experience is that, along with having family, it’s equally important to have friends, relatives, and other people in your life. Without them, your life feels incomplete, and their absence will eventually be felt. Friends provide support that, at times, your family might not be able to give. Similarly, relatives play an important role in our lives, acting as part of our extended family and supporting us through both good and bad times. As for other people, they contribute to our personal experiences in both positive and negative ways making their presence significant as well.
7. Career
It’s not necessary that this goal should only be about career progression; it could also involve learning a new skill that helps you advance in your career. If you’re in your growth years, you cannot afford to overlook your career, which is why having a career-related goal is essential.
This goal could include managing your hectic schedule to achieve a better work-life balance or stepping out of your current field to explore a new domain, both these can also be effectively added as a career goal.
8. Learning and Personal Development
Learning and personal development should also be a mandatory part of your personal goals, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be related to your career or studies. It’s important to learn something new every year that makes you more productive and enriches your life.
This could be acquiring a skill that helps you in some way, like learning to cook, swim, drive a car, or anything else that adds value to your life. The objective of this goal is simple: to ensure that every year, you grow by learning something new.
9. Personal Care
Personal care is an aspect that we tend to value only when it’s too late. Often, while fulfilling other needs, we forget to take care of ourselves. Personal care is extremely important, and having a related goal on your list is essential. Whether it’s following a skincare routine or practicing relaxation techniques, all of it is valid and beneficial.
10. Hobbies
Finally, there should be a goal where you actively explore your hobbies and passions, dedicating daily or weekly time to them. Hobbies are often considered relaxing activities, making it essential to allocate time for them. Sometimes, these hobbies can even turn into a passion that you might transform into a career. However, it’s crucial to ensure that your hobbies enhance your productivity and bring out your creative side, rather than wasting your time.
Set SMART Goals
Now that you know the different categories of goals you can set, it’s important to understand how to make these goals specific and measurable. This will make it easier for you to track your progress and stay on course. Here, we’re talking about SMART goals, which are called so because they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
- Specific: It means staying to the point and focusing on a single aspect. For example, “losing weight” is a broad statement, but “reducing belly fat” is something specific that we can target.
- Measurable: Goals should be measurable. For instance, “reducing belly fat” is still a broad goal, but if we add a specific quantity, it becomes measurable—like “reducing belly fat by 3 kilograms.”
- Achievable: The purpose of SMART goals is to motivate you, not discourage you, which is why they need to be achievable. For example, “reducing belly fat by 3 kilograms in a year” is realistic and achievable, whereas “reducing belly fat by 3 kilograms in a month” might be too ambitious and unrealistic.
- Relevant: Your goals should be relevant to your overall objective. It shouldn’t be the case that the effort you put into achieving a goal doesn’t align with your broader purpose. For example, if you want to reduce belly fat, it should be to improve the appearance of your body, not to become excessively skinny or underweight.
- Time-Bound: You can only properly measure a goal when it is time-bound. Timelines should be realistic and motivating enough to encourage you to complete the goal. Unrealistic timelines often lead to discouragement and frustration, causing many people to give up. For example, “reducing belly fat by 3 kilograms in a year” is realistic and achievable, while “reducing belly fat by 3 kilograms in a month” may be too ambitious and unrealistic.
The concept of SMART goals was introduced by George T. Doran in 1981. He outlined the criteria for setting effective objectives. I would recommend reading his paper on Wikipedia to understand this concept in depth.
S.M.A.R.T Goals for Success in 2025
Now that you understand how to create SMART goals, I would like to provide you with an example of a SMART goal for each category listed above. You can refer to these examples, which will make it much easier for you to design your own SMART goals.
Also, I would recommend reading the University of California’s Guide on SMART Goals which will provide you with a detailed approach to writing smart goals, emphasizing each criteria’s importance. Let’s take a look at some of the examples together:
Finance – I will save $2000 every month from my $6000 salary and invest at least $500 dollars in Mutual Funds.
- Specific: Talking about saving and investment which is a specific aspect of financial planning.
- Measurable: Save $2000 every month from $6000 dollars and invest $500 dollars into Mutual Funds.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to financial planning.
- Time-Bound: Progress will be measured every month.
Life Event – I plan to get married before the end of 2025.
- Specific: Talking about marriage which is a specific aspect of life event.
- Measurable: To be measured before the end of 2025.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to life events.
- Time-Bound: Till the last day of 2025.
Health – I will exercise for at least 20 minutes daily.
- Specific: Talking about exercise which is a specific aspect of health.
- Measurable: To be measured daily.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to health.
- Time-Bound: 20 minutes every day.
Society Contribution – I will give my service to Orphanage at least once a month.
- Specific: Talking about providing service which is a specific aspect of contribution to society.
- Measurable: To be measured every month.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to society’s contribution.
- Time-Bound: at least once every month.
Family – I will spend at least 30 minutes with my parents every day.
- Specific: Talking about spending time with family.
- Measurable: To be measured every day.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to family aspects.
- Time-Bound: 30 minutes every day.
Friends – I will have a get-together with my friends at least once in two months.
- Specific: Talking about get-togethers with friends which is a specific aspect of friends, relatives, and others.
- Measurable: To be measured every two months.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to Friends.
- Time-Bound: at least once in two months.
Career – I will bring work-life balance by working at most 40 hours a week.
- Specific: Talking about work-life balance which is a specific aspect of a Career.
- Measurable: To be measured weekly.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to work-life balance.
- Time-Bound: 40 hours/week.
Learning – I will learn Salsa Basics by mid of 2025.
- Specific: Talking about learning Salsa basics which is a specific aspect of learning dance.
- Measurable: To be measured in 6 months.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to Learning.
- Time-Bound: 6 months.
Personal Care – I will perform a 30-minute skincare routine every day.
- Specific: Talking about skincare which is a specific aspect of personal care.
- Measurable: To be measured every day.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to personal care.
- Time-Bound: 30 minutes daily.
Hobbies – I will post at least one high-quality and original article on my blog website every week.
- Specific: Talking about writing a blog post that is specifically related to a hobby.
- Measurable: To be measured every week.
- Achievable: It looks realistic and achievable.
- Relevant: It is relevant to hobbies.
- Time-Bound: at least one blog post per week.
The below video can help you better understand the SMART framework for work and professional life. Go ahead and check it out!
Conclusion
To Conclude, having personal goals in life is essential for becoming a better version of yourself. The more SMART your goals are, the smoother your progress toward success, inner peace, and mindfulness will be. This is because you will stay fully focused on achieving these goals, and no minor distractions will lead you astray. When you review the progress a year later, you’ll be amazed to realize how much you’ve grown in that time.
So, are you ready to plan a better version of yourself? Subscribe to our website to keep receiving motivational and inspirational content to guide you along the way.
Greetings! I am the voice behind the thoughts presented on Synched Harmony. As an ordinary individual, I strive to live a life dedicated to achieving inner peace and serenity by cultivating harmony within and making difficult aspects of life work together in sync during tough phases of life. Life becomes much easier if we open ourselves to small changes and respect each other’s personal boundaries, creating space for shared happiness.
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