New Year, New Focus: Setting Goals for 2021 and Why a Life Coach Can Help

By Life Coach, Nicole Clifton

As I sit here in this moment writing this, it’s 2 weeks from New Years Eve; I know I’m not alone in saying that I am ready for 2020 to be over and am trying to be hopeful about circumstances being different in 2021. I need to believe that things are going to improve and that we all are capable of the change and growth that makes our lives and our world better. 

I think so many of us are craving something new after the mundane and the chaos have both dominated this year. Maybe this time last year, we thought that our goals for 2020 were finally going to help us make that change we’ve always wanted. And then… things happened, and most of us cannot say that this was our most productive year ever. And that’s okay. We had to adapt as we never have before, deal with loss and grief, etc. If all we did was survive the year, that’s okay and it’s more than good enough. 

So now, with the approach of 2021, we can look at it as a new opportunity to re-focus. To have hope that it is still possible to work towards the things we want. New Years Resolutions are a fairly popular tradition, but most people are familiar with the reality that long-term follow-through is a challenge. It’s simple to stay focused for a few weeks or a month, but then it’s also pretty easy to fizzle out after that. 

There are so many reasons that people struggle with goal-setting. Sometimes the goals we set are too extreme and unrealistic that they aren’t sustainable. Sometimes we don’t make a plan that is specific enough, so that we don’t have the necessary structure in place to maintain the change. Sometimes we try to take something out of our lives without knowing how to healthily replace the void it will leave. Sometimes we have shame living within us that keeps us from believing we can truly change.

So while we often think of goal-setting as simple, it’s often fairly complex. Motivation will wane. Life circumstances will change. Chaos will emerge and distract us from our focus. Which is a lot to handle when you’re trying to get through it alone. 

One of my greatest joys in life is helping people develop their potential, to push them closer to the version of themselves that they long for, to step more fully into freedom and who they were meant to be. I’ve spent the last decade walking with hundreds of people, helping them reach their goals towards holistic growth and health. From basics like time management to helping people set boundaries with abusive family members, it is an honor for me to be in someone’s corner. To provide them love and support, to ask them good questions, to push them to take that next step. That’s one of the main reasons I stepped into this position at Restoration Counseling. 

So why is working on goals with a life coach beneficial instead of doing it yourself?

Well, the truth is we all have blind spots: about our lives, our time management, about our capacity, about our relationships, etc. We all have things that we’d like to change about our lives and say we will, and yet so often we don’t make it happen. When we intentionally choose to let someone come alongside us, to support us and hold us accountable, it changes how we engage with our goals. Additionally, to be working alongside others who are also working towards their own goals helps the individual feel less alone and that they are absolutely capable to keep going, even when they have a set-back. They know that someone is truly in it with them. 

Remember: progress, growth, and healing aren’t always linear. When things don’t happen on the timeline that we imagined, we can become afraid that we aren’t as capable as we thought we were. In those moments of discouragement and despair, to know that we have someone to reach out to, share our fears with, and who will remind us of what’s true to help us get back on track is a true gift.

So for those of you who are dreaming and hoping about a different kind of new year, know that it’s possible and you don’t have to figure it out all by yourself. I’m holding hope that there is goodness to come, for you and for us all. 

To get more information or sign up for Nicole’s upcoming goal-setting class that starts on 1/13/2021, head here. Early Bird pricing ends on January 6th!

To check out Nicole’s profile on Restoration’s website and get a better feel for what individual coaching with her is like, head here or reach out to her for a free 20-minute consult at nicole@restorationcounselingnoco.com.