Tag Archives: New Years

Are You a Goal-Setter? (Guest Post)

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An empty coil notebook with lined pages lies open on a pale wooden tabletop with a collection of various coloured pencils, pens, and markers.
Image by freestocks-photos from Pixabay

Are You a Goal-Setter?

by Steph Beth Nickel

Perhaps you’re like me. You enjoy setting goals and listing what you would like to accomplish in the new year—even if you know you will only achieve a fraction of those goals (at best). Although those around you may not be able to understand, the act of creating this list in and of itself brings a sense of excitement and anticipation even if you know it’s more of a thought experiment than a roadmap.

Maybe you shy away from setting goals because you feel like a failure if you don’t reach them. Or perhaps, you set only a limited number of achievable goals so you can check them off your list in short order and then go on to create another brief list.

No matter what kind of a goal-setter you are (or aren’t), here are six pointers when it comes to considering what you want to achieve in 2026:

  1. Make a list of things that are important to you (i.e.: relationships with family and friends, your physical health, your emotional / mental health, time management, career goals, etc., etc.).
  2. List one achievable goal that you could reach by the end of January (or the end of March at the latest) and one “pie-in-the-sky” goal for each category. (If listing a plethora of goals brings you joy, go for it!)
  3. Now, break down each achievable goal into its most basic components. (For example, say your goal is to write the first draft of a novella in the first quarter [Q1] of 2026. Step #1 could simply be to write for at least 15 minutes or until you’ve added 250 words to the manuscript for three days the first week and slowly increase from there. If checkmarks, stickers, or smiley faces on a physical calendar give you a boost, let the endorphins flow—no matter how old you are. I’m 64 and love stickers and checkmarks—but especially stickers.)
  4. This suggestion might be a little more challenging, but it’s important. Although the overarching categories you listed may all seem to have equal importance, it’s good to prioritize them—at least the highest ranking two or three.
  5. When you’ve chosen your highest priority categories, chose one specific goal in each and then one achievable, targeted goal. (Let’s say improving your physical health and connecting with extended family members are two of your top priorities. Your specific goals could be to develop the habit of eating better and emailing, texting, or popping a physical note in the mail each week. Zeroing down even further, you could add a serving of vegetables to each evening meal and create a list of four to eight family members you will touch base with in January.)
  6. And remember not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you don’t achieve your goal today, remind yourself that tomorrow is another day. If you are consistently “falling short,” adjust your goals. It’s okay to do so. Really, it is.

You’ll notice that I haven’t listed any “negative goals.”

Do I have at least one bad habit I want to stop? Sure I do.

Could I apply guilt and shame to my goal-setting (such as “stop eating such and such” or “stay off social media entirely”)? Absolutely.

Could I label myself a failure if I don’t achieve my Q1 goals—again? I could.

However…

By listing those things I want to accomplish, seeking to add “positives” rather than eliminate “negatives,” and focusing on a limited number of goals at any given time, I’m far more likely to achieve at least some of them.

What’s your #1 goal for 2026? What’s the first step you intend to take to achieve it? Are you like me and simply enjoy creating the list?

Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.

If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at stephbethnickelediting@gmail.com.

You’re invited to visit her website: http://stephbethnickeleditor.com/.

You can join her Editing Tips Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/418423519384351.

Just Around the Corner … 2020 (Guest Post)

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Image courtesy of Pixabay.

Just Around the Corner … 2020

By Steph Beth Nickel

Can you believe it? In a little over a month it will be 2020. Does that sound as futuristic to you as it does to me? (Maybe I’m just showing my age. <grin>)

I like to make plans for the new year at the end of November.

Here are six reasons to do so:

  • Making New Year’s resolutions has a built-in expectation of failure. Let’s face it, most resolutions get tossed aside before the end of January.
  • If we leave planning until the end of the year, we don’t feel as if we have as much time to fine tune our plans with January 1 looming before us.
  • We may feel pressured by all the yearend advertising. Join this gym. Buy this discounted bundle online. (Guilty.) Make this the year you do … (I’m sure you can fill in the blank with any number of things.)
  • If we “test run” our resolutions next month, we can do so with a minimal number of onlookers. (Hey, even the gyms are less crowded in December.)
  • And if we start in December, we can see what works and what may be best set aside. But don’t forget to give yourself grace since many of us are especially busy during the holiday season.
  • And if you’re just coming off the writing high of trying to pump out 50,000 words in November (NaNoWriMo), you may feel as if you can conquer the world. Why not start before the feeling fade? (I will be away for part of the weekend. A dear friend’s mother passed away this past week, and the service is on Saturday. However, I’m hoping to hit 50K before getting on the road. It would be the first time ever.)

Many of us choose a word for the coming year. And if we’re Christians, we may feel the Lord has laid something on our heart. That is the case for me this year. I believe 2020 is to be my personal year of contentment, which is not to be confused with complacency.

So, just how can our Word of the Year line up with our List of Goals? (Notice, I didn’t call them resolutions.)

Here are six of my goals, all of which should lead to greater contentment. (Hint: It’s best to frame goals as positive statements. Negative ones just make us feel as if we’ve failed up to this point.)

  • If you know me, you realize I am eclectically interested and eclectically involved. Call it the Oo, Shiny Syndrome, the Butterfly Syndrome (I have a tendency to flit from one thing to the next to the next), or just call it Oh, Squirrel! Regardless, my goal is to focus more on the task(s) at hand and only pursue something new if I’ve thought it through and maybe, just maybe, set something else aside. (That is almost painful to commit to. Who says we can’t spin two dozen plates at the same time?)
  • Narrowing my focus means it’s far more likely than I can do some of those things I’ve been planning for years, things like publishing a novel and a nonfiction book. There, I’ve said it. I won’t only be content if I birth these two book babies, I will be ecstatic.
  • Between a gym membership, online fitness site memberships, and the DVDs I have on hand, there is no reason I can’t be stronger and healthier by the end of 2020 than I am now. That plus the fact that I actually like to exercise. Yes, I am one of those weird people.
  • Hand in hand with getting more exercise is the importance of eating a nourishing diet. To all of you who do, kudos! Really! By the end of 2020, I want to be consistently eating more healthfully. I’m not committing to perfection, whatever that may mean, but the more I eat healthy foods, the more I want to do so. I already know that. It’s just a matter of putting the knowing into practice—and using all those fancy gadgets and cookbooks I’ve purchased, hoping they’ll motivate me to do better.
  • My To Be Read (TBR) pile is monumentally high. Plus, several of my favourite authors will be releasing new books that I will be tempted to buy over the next 12-13 months. Contentment doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t buy some of these books, but it does mean I will deliberately get to some of those books I have neglected far too long.
  • And speaking of books, I have numerous versions of the Scriptures—and access to the others online. While I will be using some of the Bible study tools I have on hand, I don’t need anything more than my Bible to grow in my faith over the coming year. The plan is to focus more on reading God’s Word than being distracted by all the shiny study resources that are sure to come to my attention.

So, what about you? Do you have a word for 2020? Have you set some goals for yourself? I’d love to hear about it.

May 2020 overflow with the very richest of blessings!

Tweetable: 6 Reasons to make your plans for the new year at the end of November. Via #StephBethNickel #2020 #newyearsresolutions #goals [Click to tweet]

Steph Beth Nickel
Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.

If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at stephbethnickelediting@gmail.com.

You’re invited to visit her website: http://stephbethnickeleditor.com/.

You can join her Editing Tips Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/418423519384351.