Setting New Goals for the New Year During Covid-19

It's here! The time has arrived to start thinking about the coming New Year, and all the things you hope to accomplish.  With fewer holiday parties and get-togethers this year, you have more time to think about the coming year, your goals, and how you will achieve those goals, despite Covid-19. Here are three ways you can do this.

 Setting New Goals for the New Year During Covid-19

Look over the current year's goals

Covid-19 probably derailed many, if not all of those goals. Either you were unable to take the steps necessary to reach your goals due to stay-at-home orders or because you became ill, or more important things consumed your time and energy, such as homeschooling the kids and keeping them entertained.

The pandemic may have even changed what you want to accomplish in your life. Think about each of your unreached goals and ask yourself if the goal is still something you want from life. If it is, understand that you may have to approach the goal differently.  Is there a way to work towards the goal despite stay-at-home orders? Remember that the vaccines for Covid-19 are coming soon, and it is possible that life may return to something resembling "normal" before 2021 ends. If there are steps you can take now, and then steps you can take later, it is still possible to reach your goal. 

Write out the steps necessary to achieve your goal, and mark which steps can be accomplished now, and which steps can only be reached post-pandemic. Make a plan to get the "now" steps reached before the middle of the coming year, if possible.

Have a backup plan.

If Covid-19 has taught people anything, it is that life can drastically change at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, it's not possible to plan ahead for every potential problem or roadblock, or every life-changing event, like a global pandemic for example.

Look over the goals you lined out in step one again. If another global pandemic were to occur, what changes can you make to your goals in order to reach them? If you were not able to reach your goal, in the way that you envision it, would you be willing to settle for some semblance of that goal? Could you still take steps to reach your goal, even if it isn't exactly what you envisioned? If this is not an acceptable substitution, could your goal be put on hold for an extended period of time without losing ground? Write out your backup plan.

Be willing to ditch the whole plan

You don't know what life is going to throw at you, or how badly it will hurt when it hits you. This is not a good enough excuse to never plan ahead, however. If you wake up in the morning with nothing to work towards and no plans for the future, you aren't really living. You've learned that life can change drastically very quickly. Be as prepared as possible for that to happen, then continue to work towards your goals.

At the same time, however, try to glimpse different paths. If you were absolutely unable to reach your goals or any semblance of your goals, what would you want to do? If the world will be in pandemic mode forever, what would you want to do with your life? Living a purpose-driven life is still possible, even during a global pandemic. This has been proven. The human race will endure. But a Plan B is vital, and it may not look anything at all like plan A.

Do not allow Covid-19 or anything else to prevent you from living your best life. Your life and your goals may be affected by what happens in life, and sometimes the adaptations you have to make are small, and sometimes they are huge. As long as you are willing to change with the times and events, you will be just fine.