How to Align Your Goals for Balance in the New Year

Every new year brings a fresh opportunity to set meaningful goals and focus your priorities. For many of us, it’s time to reflect on what we want to achieve. As a business owner, we know how much there is to do, and we believe balance is the key in all things. 

To maintain balance when aligning your goals, it helps to focus on the seven primary areas of life:

1. Physical Body (Health & Wellness): How is your overall health and fitness? 

2. Emotions/ Meaning: How are you feeling emotionally? 

3. Relationships: Are your personal and professional relationships thriving? 

4. Time: Are you spending your time in ways that serve your priorities? 

5. Work/Career/Mission: Is your work aligned with your purpose? 

6. Finances: Are you meeting your financial goals? 

7. Celebrate/Contribute: Are you taking time to celebrate wins and give back others? 

A work/life balance is often discussed with very little definition of what it means. By taking some time to really look at each area and ask yourself intentional questions, you can bring a sense of balance to all of these areas. This tool is a great way to identify areas in your life that may be out of balance. 

Step 1: Assess your Current Standing 

Let’s dive into goal setting by first understanding where you currently stand in each area of life. 

1. Write it down: Get out some paper, write the heading of each area of life down. 

2. Rate yourself: Now rate each area based on a scale of 0 to 10, where are you on each of these areas of life?

1. For instance, when it comes to your finances, are you hitting your target goals?  If your finances aren’t meeting your goals, you might rate it a 4 or 5. 

2. Be honest with yourself: Where do you sit with each one of these categories and where do you aspire to be?

Through this exercise, you may uncover areas where you already excel and others that don’t require immediate action. Take a moment to appreciate your strength while identifying opportunities for growth. 

Step 2: Set Your Target Goals 

Now that you’ve identified your starting point, let’s focus on where you’d like to be by the end of the year. Be realistic – perfection isn’t the goal.

1. Write down a target number: For each category, set a goal that feels achievable and meaningful. 

2. Keep it manageable: You don’t have to aim for a perfect 10 in every area. Focus on incremental improvements that align with your priorities. 

By setting clear and attainable goals, you create a roadmap for progress that feels motivating and sustainable. 

Step 3: Define Desired Outcomes

With your goals in mind, it’s time to map out actionable steps to help bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be. This step requires introspection and a clear vision of what success looks like for you in each area of your life. 

• Identify specific outcomes: For each category, think about what specific outcomes would bring you closer to your target. This process is deeply personal, so focus on what resonates most with you. 

Example 1: Celebrate/Contribute

In this category, you might aim to spend more time giving back to your community. At Hayes, this is the core of our mission to foster inclusivity, celebrate diversity and give back in impactful ways.

How Hayes defines Celebrate/Contribute:

• Supporting Local Markets: Activately participating in My People’s Market to promote and help uplift BIPOC-owned businesses. 

• Enhancing the Mercatus Directory: Actively contributing by adding BIPOC-owned businesses to the directory, helping them gain visibility and reach. 

• Empowering BIPOC Business Owners in Washington County: Encouraging participation in the supplier assessment to better understand their challenges and celebrate their resilience through actionable support. 

What Celebrate/Contribute could look like for others: 

• Volunteering at a shelter

• Reading books to children at the library 

• Offering help to a neighbor

• Practicing gratitude by listing daily wins 

Example 2: Breaking Down Emotions/Meaning

Another way to break down a category could look like this: Under emotions/meaning, current assessment is a 4 and goal at the end of the year is 8. Maybe one of the emotions you notice often in your day is anger.

• Notice patterns: Identify emotions you experience frequently, such as anger.

• Explore triggers: Reflect on what might be causing these emotions and consider steps to reduce those triggers. 

• Allow the emotion: Practice accepting and processing your anger instead of resisting it

• Move through energy: Take a body movement class or engage in activities like yoga or dance to release pent-up emotions. 

Defining your desired outcomes gives you clarity and a sense of direction. We encourage you to approach goal-setting as a fun and empowering exercise, creating simple daily steps that make progress feel achievable and rewarding. By considering all areas of life holistically, you can build a balanced and easy-to-understand plan that aligns with your values. 

Revisit and re-evaluate your list as often as needed, with at least quarterly check-ins recommended. To stay motivated, post your list of desired outcomes and action steps somewhere visible as a daily reminder. Most importantly, be sure to take time to celebrate your achievements along the way - every step forward is worth acknowledging!