Start 2022 off right. Follow this strategy for setting and reaching your goals this year. Hint—it involves accountability.
As you probably know, January is generally regarded as the most popular month for new gym memberships. This makes sense—losing weight and getting in shape are two of the most common New Year’s resolutions. But according to the data, all that resolution energy tends to fade sometime around January 17th. Goals are easy to set, but harder to reach.
However, the fact that many people lose momentum with their gym membership shouldn’t diminish the importance of setting goals in your personal and professional life. They can do so much good: provide focus, give us something positive to work towards, and perhaps most importantly, help us establish productive habits.
There is no shortage of helpful guides to setting goals and making better resolutions. There are millions just a quick google search away. Some are extremely helpful. And many recycle the same old tropes about drive, focus, and determination. But here in the What Moves Her community, we’re real estate professionals. We already have that stuff—it’s virtually impossible to succeed in this industry without it. Instead, we’re going to talk about the importance of accountability when it comes to your goals, and reaching them.
Goals Are Easier to Reach with a Team
One of the big reasons so many New Year’s resolutions fail is because not enough people know about them. We don’t mean letting your friends know through a social media post. Instead we are talking about a true accountability partner.
What’s an accountability partner? The Take Charge America blog describes it best: “An accountability partner is simply someone you choose to help you stay accountable and reach your goals. Think of that person as a combination of mentor, coach, and cheerleader.”
Having someone you can confide in, and who will notice when you’re not putting in the necessary work can be everything when it comes to making meaningful change in your life.
A strong accountability partner can single handedly be the difference between reaching your goals, or another dashed resolution.
The most important part: choosing the right person to be your accountability partner (AP). Here are some rules of thumb for making the decision:
- This is fairly self-evident, but your AP needs to be someone you trust and respect.
- You’ll be sharing quite a bit with this person, so make sure they’re someone who makes you feel comfortable.
- Different perspectives. Picking someone who is similar to you (in habits and temperament) may not be right for an AP. Instead, look for someone who will be able to help you push past your comfort zone.
- Agreeableness won’t help you push past your boundaries. Make sure your AP is someone who won’t hesitate to call you out if you’re behind on your goals.
Once you’ve chosen the right AP, here’s a roadmap for reaching your goals.
- Be Specific. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Instead of a nebulous, impossible to pin-down goal such as “save more money” make your goal as specific as possible. “Save at least $100 each pay period” gives you something to work towards. Make sure your AP knows the specifics of your goal.
- Be Realistic. Pie in the sky won’t put food on the table. If your career goal for 2022 is to get the listing for Buckingham Palace, you’re going to end up disappointed. Ambition is great, as long as you make sure your goal is attainable.
- Set reasonable expectations. What will success look like while working with your AP? Accountability can mean different things to different people. Discuss how they can support you and keep you honest when it comes to your goals. Establish how often you will check-in with each other and what you’ll be working towards each time you meet.
- Celebrate wins, learn from losses. If you’re doing it right, reaching your goals will be challenging. It’s also a journey. Take the time to celebrate every success along the way. And make sure you learn from your failures as well.
New Year’s Inspiration
Looking for some positive reinforcement to help you on the road to reaching your goals? Last year’s Love Your Power series featured a minute-long video from Kate Rossi, Regional EVP of the Eastern Region for Coldwell Banker Realty. Speaking on the theme of Accountability, she said “You want to know where your power comes from? It comes from within. Anyone out there that understands that achieves great success. So, my wish for every one of you is accept your failures, accept your setbacks, but accept your wins. And every time you get closer to the big win, that means you’re going to hit your target.”
We urge you to check out Kate’s video. It may be the most inspiring minute of your day.
Additional resources for reaching your goals
Tools, apps, and planners:
- Forbes has a list of tools to help you keep you on track all year long.
- PC Mag lists some apps geared to keeping your goals in sight.
- More of a paper person? The Simple Planner details some goal-oriented planners.
Additional resources:
- Forbes outlines how to set goals you will achieve
- Lifehack discusses how to set goals instead of resolutions
- Spend Life Wisely details how to set goals for the new year
Let us know what you think! What are some of your goals for 2022? Do you have any New Year’s resolution success stories (or failures) you’d like to share? Have you ever tried working with an accountability partner?
Email us at WhatMovesHer@realogy.com or share with us on Facebook or LinkedIn – we want to hear your thoughts.
Subscribe
JOIN OUR LIST