Welcome to 2023. A brand new year.

A year for new challenges, new obstacles and new goals.

No matter how good your 2022 was, let's take the time to reflect and identify what each of us want to achieve in 2023.

We can do this by each identifying our individual goals, what steps can get us there and taking those steps every day.

Let's dive in.

Why do we set goals?

Let's start off by asking ourselves a simple question: why do we set goals?

I believe that to be truly great you need to have intent. Most people whom we deem as "great" didn't do it by accident or stumble into it. It takes time, intent and action.

We can use goals to help break down the things we want to achieve into attainable milestones. We need goals to have something to work towards each day. If we just spent time completing the work that is in front of us then we won't ever grow in the direction we want to grow.

We all need goals, no matter where we are in our career, to keep us moving forward and growing.

Choosing the right goals

Once you've decided to write down your goals, it's all about selecting the right ones. If you're an intern developer then your most immediate goal shouldn't be something like become a senior developer or starting a business. There are many things to achieve before that and the beauty of goals is that they compound. Achieving one goal can often lead you to your next one and , so, create a lot of momentum in you rapidly elevating your career.

I'm not saying don't have long term goals. Always have something that's long term that you're working towards but identify the smaller goals between you and that goal.

For instance, if you're an intern and want to become a senior developer, your first goal should be a junior developer. From there, focus on becoming a mid-level developer and then a senior developer. Once you're a senior, you'll find that you'll create new goals. Maybe you'll want to become a tech lead or start your own business. That's great and how it works.

Never stop setting goals. Once you achieve your short-term goals that you lead to achieve your long-term goal, continue to create more. Replace goals that you've achieved at the top of your list with new, larger ones at the bottom.

Keep pushing and keep growing.

Breaking down how to achieve them

Let's say you're a mid level developer who wants to become a senior developer. That's your main goal and what you're working towards. What you need to do now is identify what actions (or smaller goals) you should be trying to achieve to help get you to senior.

There are always going to be tangible and non-tangible characteristics. In your company, they may qualify potential seniors by a couple of different factors. For example, a tangible factor could be that you've been lead on a successful project and a non-tangible factor could be respect from peers. It's easy to measure if you've been a lead on a project but being respected by your peers is something that's a bit harder to measure.

If you know what the criteria are to achieve your goal, start breaking down the smaller goals to achieve on the way. Following our above example, items like "Leading a team" and "Respected by peers" would need to be on your list.

Having this list helps for you to track progress, identifying smaller actions that be taken each day to keep gaining ground and help frame how long it could potentially take for you to achieve your goal.

Follow through and execution

After you have written down your goals and the steps you can take to achieve them, have it present in your daily life. Have it as a sticky note on your desktop, your phone's lock screen or be like a mentee of mine and have it on your bathroom mirror so you stare at it while brushing your teeth.
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It's easy to remember our large goals but it's not easy to remember to take the steps to get there. Constantly reminding yourself makes the goal more prominent in the front of your mind so that each day you can make decisions to take you closer to your goal.
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You may be wondering, "What happens if I don't know how to achieve my goal?". You could have a goal so daunting and you aren't sure what steps to take to achieve it. The answer: unless you're on the absolute bleeding edge and are doing something that has never been done before, chances are that someone else has been where you are and shared in your struggles.

From becoming a senior developer to starting a business, there are people out there to learn from. It could be a friend, a mentor, someone in your network or someone you follow online. Reach out to them and ask for their advice. More often than not, they'll be more than happy to help. They'll be able to help show you the steps that they took and the potential steps that you can take to achieve your goals.

Follow through and execution is always the hardest part. Derek Sivers has a great quote: “If more information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs". What this means is that it's easy to identify goals and to gain the knowledge on how to achieve them but only a few people actually put in the time and effort it takes to achieve them.

Identify your goals. Plan how to achieve them. Take action. Start breaking records.

See you again next week.