A new year is almost here and late December and early January are a traditionally great time to set some goals for the year ahead. 2020 and 2021 were challenging for all, to say the least, but we all have high hopes for a bright and beautiful 2022. The best way to make the year amazing is by taking steps to make yourself glow brighter than ever, and when you choose a few goals or resolutions to dedicate yourself to – and stick to them – there’s no doubt you’ll do exactly that.

So set aside some time to sit quietly to contemplate on years past and to look forward to the many years we all still have ahead. Reflect on your successes and think about areas in which you’d like to see some improvement. Be careful not to set too many goals; when we overwhelm ourselves, it’s easy to give up on it all, but when you focus on just a few new habits or life changes, it’s much simpler to achieve them all.

Of course, and don’t forget for a second – you’ve already come a long way by taking your first steps on your own personal path to addiction recovery, and props to you for sticking with it and doing what you need to do to keep your resolve strong. However, it is always wise to set goals to help increase your motivation and dedication to this healthy lifestyle and we all can improve incrementally in many ways all the time. Setting goals for 2022 will help you do these things with greater ease.

If you’re unsure how to set goals, let alone goals that you can and will actually follow through upon, read on. In this informative post, we’ll guide you through the steps and also give you some suggestions for goals you might want to set for yourself in this exciting new year ahead.

How to Set Actionable, Stick-able Goals for the New Year

Everyone knows what a goal is. It’s something you’d like to achieve. Beyond that, though, many people don’t know how to set goals for themselves – much less stick with them.

You may have even set goals for yourself in the past – maybe you even wrote them down and committed to them in your mind. However, it’s likely that you soon found yourself forgetting all about them, no matter how much you wanted to achieve them when you set them.

Fortunately, there are a number of things that you can do when setting goals to help you stick to them. One of the best methods for this that is also well-known is the concept of setting SMART goals. Each letter of this acronym should be considered when setting any sort of goal for yourself:

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Achievable

R = Relevant

T = Time-Bound

As you can see, each of these considerations is important when setting goals if you wish to reach them. You’ll need to choose a specific statement and goal, rather than a general one. “I’d like to lose weight” is not specific enough, but “I’d like to lose fifteen pounds” is far better. This too is a measurable goal, so you’ll know when you’ve reached it.

You also want to choose goals that are achievable; if you set a goal that is way out of your reach, you’ll get frustrated and will want to quit before you even start. Goals should also be something that is relevant to your life that you feel will be truly helpful. If you choose a goal because you think other people will be impressed by it, then you’ll lose interest rather quickly.

Finally, the quality of time-boundedness is important as well. Since these are goals you are setting at the beginning of 2022, it would make sense that the time frame in which you wish to achieve them is the coming year. However, it’s important that you check in on your own progress along the way – you won’t achieve any of your goals if you put them off and don’t think about them again until Thanksgiving.

As you can see, the five letters of the SMART acronym can be quite helpful when you are setting goals for yourself.  Your next step, then, is to start thinking about what you would like to do for yourself over the next year. Free-form journaling may help you to narrow down what’s important to you; make a list of ten or more things and then narrow your list to five or less. Put the goals you choose into simple sentences and then make sure they past the SMART goals test – if they don’t, then rework them until they do.

2022 Goal Ideas for People in Recovery

The goals you set for yourself for 2022 don’t have to directly relate to your recovery, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to keep your recovery in mind when making them. It’s likely that you will set a few recovery goals and a few non-recovery goals when working on this project. No matter what, remember that you have managed to break free from your active addiction and that in itself is one of your biggest life goals achieved; if you can do that, you can do anything – what a beautiful motivating factor it is.

Here are some ideas to consider:

  • Writing in a journal for ten minutes a day (Or 500 words!)
  • Exercising five days a week for thirty minutes.
  • Spending time with friends or family at least two hours per week.
  • Writing down five things you’re thankful for every day.
  • Starting a daily, ten-minute meditation practice.
  • Perform one anonymous, random act of kindness twice a week.
  • Read ten books about recovery this year.
  • Visit five states or countries you’ve never visited before.
  • Write twenty letters to people you love about how they’ve influenced your life.
  • Take at least ten weeks of lessons to learn more about a new hobby.

As you can see, there are many options for goals, and it’s easy to make them SMART goals as well. Again, don’t overdo it; choose just a few, but once you have some good goals chosen, write them down, check back on them often, and stick to them. Move forward always and you will achieve them in time. Won’t it be amazing to be thinking about these goals this time next year, and setting new ones to improve yourself further? Good luck, and happy 2022!

At the ibogaine treatment center Clear Sky Recovery, we are here to help you get started on your own path to recovery.  If you or a loved one is suffering from a substance abuse disorder, we can help him or her to take the first steps along a much healthier path. Our ibogaine detox treatment is innovative and effective, and our staff is standing by to answer any questions you may have about our staff, our facility, or the process.  Please give us a call today!

Resources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashiraprossack1/2018/12/31/goals-not-resolutions/?sh=b3aa72e3879a

https://www.ucop.edu/local-human-resources/_files/performance-appraisal/How%20to%20write%20SMART%20Goals%20v2.pdf