What are your 2022 Goals?

Hello TGONTG Readers, it has been a while since I have been back here and writing. I have missed sharing my thoughts, sharing my views, and reaching out to you all this past year.

In 2021, I made a pretty unrealistic commitment to try and write a blog a week while being a full-time manager in retail, a full-time student and navigating the trials and tribulations that 2021 had introduced to us all. I want to apologize for setting the expectation that I would be writing so frequently.

As we neared the end of 2021, I like to reflect on and revisit goals written down and see the progress (or lack of progress) that I have made in reaching those goals. Reflecting on my 52 weeks of history idea, I see how unrealistic it was for me to accomplish given my professional and academic situations; However, writing this blog and building a following dedicated to inclusivity, acceptance, and being a safe space is a passion of mine that I want to continue.

Looking at my 2021 Goals, I realized that while I made goals and statements, I failed to write them down and follow the goal-setting process that I typically would have. I learned in my college classes a strategy for writing goals that I fell in love with and was highly successful at accomplishing, and I am unsure why my goals last year were not structured in this manner.

I want to share this with all of those that read here, I am going first to explain the process, and then I am going to finish by sharing with you my 2022 goal for this blog.

Goal Setting Strategy: S.M.A.R.T. Goals/ S.M.A.R.T.(E.R.) Goals

SMART goals are relatively easy to create and provide the required information to make a plan successful. They consist of 5 characteristics (7 for SMARTER goals which we will go into a little later). The process is structured to ensure there is a steady progression towards completing the goal set. Unlike Resolutions, a sense of accountability is created when you use the SMART goal method. Let’s Explore this method and each component.

Specific:

Your goal needs to be specific, it cannot be too broad, or it will lose its focus and never reach realization. Specify what you want the outcome to be. Instead of stating, “I want to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree,” detail the degree you wish to receive. “I want to get my Bachelors degree in Biology, with a major in Genetics,” this second goal is precise and helps form the finalized vision of the goal.

Measurable:

Ensure that there is a way to measure the success and progression of your goal. Add a form of measurement to the goal if there is not one that was first thought of. For our above example, you could add something along the lines of “I want to get my……while maintaining a GPA of no less than 3.5.” This ensures that you have some accountability to hold yourself to.

Attainable:

Is this goal something that you physically can do? Are you able to obtain this? Are there any restrictions or complications you will need to settle or barriers that could prevent this from occurring that you need to break down first? This will work closely with the following two components of a SMART goal.

Realistic:

As with the attainable attribute, you need to make sure that your goal is realistic. For example, can you realistically travel to the moon this year? Is your goal something that does not require resources outside of your ability to obtain? What limitations (resources, Time, effort) are needed, and can you spare them.

Timely:

Coinciding with the realistic component is one resource that needs to be structured for your goal, and that is your goal timely? Is this something that you can set a time limit to? Without having a timed portion of a goal, how are you to measure your progress if there is no deadline and no controls? Again, this needs to consider all other components of the SMART goal, so we could not say, “I am going to enroll in college and will receive my Bachelor’s degree in….within a year and a half. This timeframe is unrealistic and certainly not attainable if you are not returning to school from previous enrollment.

As you can tell, making SMART goals is answering The Who, what, when, where, and how of the accomplishments you want to achieve. SMARTER Goals add two additional components; they will be listed below.

Excites:

Does the result of the goal excite you? Is the goal itself something that excites you? Use this attribute as motivation.

Review/Reward: Two-Part attribute

First, ensure that you have the goal posted somewhere that you see it daily (Post-It, Vision board, or Planner). You are more likely to accomplish and work towards a goal when reminded of it regularly.

Secondly, Establish milestones and rewards. When I hit this point, I will (Take a trip, have a spa day, make a purchase you want). Set smaller rewards for the milestones and one large reward for once completed.

This method of goal-making has changed the way that I approach things. I enjoy explaining and going over this with others to help them.

So, now that I have explained SMART Goals, I want to share my SMARTER goal that I have set this year for TGONTG. In 2022, I will post at a minimum of 1 post a month. I will be posting on current LGBTQ+ events, Events that have shaped our community to date, and various other subjects. In addition to my blog post, I will be launching and maintaining a TikTok page where I will post a brief video regarding the blog post's topic and schedule a live event to discuss the post. This excites me because I genuinely love writing and want to interact more with my readers. I have this goal posted and written in my notebook. I have been performing and will continue to perform Sunday check-ins on all my goals that I have written, tracking progress, and I review my notebook daily. My reward will come from the growth and development of the ToGayorNotToGay brand that we will create together as readers and author.

I want to thank you all for continuing to follow and read these posts. If the SMART(ER) Goal strategy is new for you, I hope that you find value in the information. If you have heard of them before, I hope that this is a reminder that will help you through something. Lastly, I hope that we all have a great and prosperous 2022.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Peace and Love & Happiness to you all!