7 Steps to Make 2022 Your Best Year EVER!

Let’s face it.  There’s a high likelihood you haven’t set goals for 2022.

Moreover, if you’re one of the few that did – statistics show that you’re probably not going to succeed.  Today, you are going to learn how to move beyond the statistics as we identify 7 actionable steps that you can take to make 2022 your best year ever.   

The tools and resources to make 2022 your best year ever will be of benefit to you wherever you are on your journey. 

This introductory article is the first of a series.  Each subsequent article will detail out these 7 areas of focus:

• Financial
• Physical
• Personal Development
• Family
• Spiritual
• Social
• Career

Everything we are going to read in these articles will facilitate a positive change in mindset – if you are willing to do the work and employ these tools into your own life.  You need not change any current process in your own life. In other words, I believe the content in this article will accelerate and optimize all things you are already doing in your own life.

In addition to my own experiences, I will share data gathered, some lessons I’ve learned, and we’ll look at some of the goals I have for the upcoming year – and specifically why and how I chose those goals. 

Goals and the 5Ws

We are going to talk about goals – and particularly why we have selected these 7 areas to set goals.  We will see what we can do to achieve these goals.  We will explore who we can connect and network with to reach our goals.  We will discuss when it is important to complete these goals and the importance of having a specific time frame with our goals.  Finally, we will explore where you need to be in life to take these seven steps.  This is applicable to where we are physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

Above all, his series will empower you to make every year your best year ever.  Let’s go.

Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links to products and/or services.  The contributors to the Men of Order community may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

You’re Not Succeeding

Now, it may seem bold to begin this article with the presumption that you have not set your 2022 goals.

However, a brief internet search shows that only three percent of the population set goals and only about one percent actually write them down.  Similarly, research from the University of Scranton shows that only 8% of people fulfill their New Years’ resolutions.  This isn’t my opinion.  These are facts. 

We don’t set or reach our goals for many reasons.  Maybe we’re depressed by the state of the world.  Maybe we feel overwhelmed by life on life’s terms.  Maybe we don’t understand why goals are important…and for quite some time, I didn’t either.  This leads me another little “disclaimer.”

“Self Help”

This article is based on my own personal experience.  There are a vast collection of books available and a wealth of content online regarding goal-setting, personal growth and development, life hacks, etc.  If you’re reading this…I need to write nothing more – you know *exactly* what I’m talking about.

Often, when consuming this type of content – everything sounds good, but the reality is that I often can’t relate to the author or content creator.  For instance, many of them were millionaires, working with large teams, and travelling across the country or even the world! Furthermore, they were crushing it as an entrepreneur.

In addition to not relating to the content creator, sometimes it even seemed as though little was original, and much of it was simply regurgitated content from someone else, somewhere else. 

I kept searching.

I have committed a significant amount of time over the course of my adult life to consuming a lot of this content to find what would “work” for me.  Much of what I’ve learned is by applying what I had learned only to find out that it didn’t work.  During this time, I continued changing – new dreams with new ideas.

It began to feel overwhelming at this point in life, because I wasn’t doing much of anything with these ideas.  I realized that I was one of the 97% that didn’t set goals and one of the 99% that didn’t write them down.  Last year, I decided this was going to change.  I didn’t simply have an idea…I took action.

Ideas are worthless unless we act on them.

Earl Nightingale

I hear this quote every time I listen to The Strangest Secret.  I write “every time” I listen to it…because I listened to this recording well over one hundred times last year.  I did the math.  Listening to this became part of my morning routine – think proactive reprogramming.  Literally washing my brain.

I’m No Guru

Getting back to my prior little “disclaimer” – like I said, I’m no guru on personal growth and development.  Firstly, I don’t make any promises about anything.  Secondly, this article is simply a collection of information that I’ve researched or has been shared with me.  Ultimately, what we do with it will determine our results.  In short, we get out what we put in…and remember, to receive in this life, we must first give.

I previously mentioned that I realized that I was one of the 97% that didn’t set goals and one of the 99% that didn’t write them down. In the same vein, I realized I didn’t fully understand why I should be setting goals in the first place – at least in my personal life.

Now, don’t get me wrong – goal setting wasn’t a foreign concept to me.  For example, there were many jobs I had over the years where goals and strategic planning were very much an important part of the workplace.  It was very clear to me why goals were important – it was a business!  Personal…was…personal.

That was where it ended – it was a business.  It was my job.  In the past, I compartmentalized most of my life…especially my “business” life and my “personal” life, particularly if I found myself in a negative work environment.  It wasn’t always easy to leave these situations, I often felt trapped…I often was.

Podcasts → Freedom

Over the years, podcasts have become a big part of my life.  Most importantly, it is easily consumed content, often while working, and especially while driving.  “The Strangest Secret” that I previously mentioned was something I first heard Dan Miller speak about on his podcast, 48 Days to the Work You Love Internet Radio Show. 

There was one particular show where he really emphasized the impact it had on him.

Consequently, I made sure to make note of it so that I could listen to it later.

When I first listened to the recording of The Strangest Secret, my life changed immediately.

Making this a part of my daily routine accelerated some of the change that I was already making.

One critical change was the discovery of what I believe are the 7 most important areas of focus in life:

7 Areas of Focus to Live a Balanced Life

• Financial
• Physical
• Personal Development
• Family
• Spiritual
• Social
• Career

The story of The Strangest Secret is relevant because it was the work of Dan Miller who exposed me to such a life changing audio recording.  In addition, it is also the work of Dan Miller who inspired this blog post and these specific areas of life that we are going to focus on.  For instance, in his 2022 Goal Setting Workbook, I read:

In order for your purpose in life to be fulfilled, you must set goals in multiple areas. Success is not just career or financial – family, physical and spiritual are equally important areas of achievement.  They are part of the same whole, balanced person.

Dan Miller

Immediately, something clicked.  A large part of the reason why I hadn’t gained the insight of why it’s important to set goals in our personal lives in addition to our career was simple.  There is more to life than simply our “personal life” and our “career.”  The 2022 Goal Setting Workbook is helping me better understand how to “categorize” life and gain clarity and focus in life! 

This was an important discovery for me! 

That is to say, over the course of my adult life – I’ve found myself trying to find a balance between my career and all other obligations outside of my job.  For example, documenting, categorizing, and list-making is how I can keep track of everything…including many of these “ideas” that I have. 

10 years ago, climbing the corporate ladder, it was simply “personal life” and “career.”

A little over 7 years ago, I ended up in a coma after a backpacking trip in Capitol Reef National Park.

As a result, my perspective changed. 

Project Management → Life Management

After this experience and over the past 7 years, I came to categorize the various projects in my own life in 6 different ways:  Personal, My Day Job, My Side Hustle, Health, Finances, and a general “Home” category. 

There were several different task / project management apps and programs I experimented with over the years. However, the one that I found most effective for how I approach life is called Nozbe.

Like Evernote, I was interested in a program that had the ability to function across most major platforms such as Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iPad and iPhone.  I have been actively using Evernote for almost 10 years, but Evernote lacks the functionality of other task / project management software.  Most importantly, Nozbe easily and seamlessly integrates with Evernote when necessary.

Clearly, you can see that I love technology…and I may write something tech-oriented in the future, but for now – the focus of this series is the seven areas of life that we are going to focus on for setting goals:

• Financial, Physical, Personal Development, Family, Spiritual, Social, Career

Before we conclude the article, you also have some homework. 

You aren’t reading this article to be entertained. 

You are reading this article because you want to make 2022 your best year ever.

Much of what we talked about today comes from the 2022 Goal Setting Workbook.  I highly recommend downloading a copy of this FREE workbook – today.  It is an editable PDF document that will allow you to easily work through goals in the exact same manner that motivated me to share this with you.

7 Steps to Make 2022 Your Best Year Ever

1. Download the 2022 Goal Setting Workbook and complete it within 14 days.
2. Put the workbook away and don’t look at it for 14 days.  Let your ideas ferment in your mind.
3. Take 2 days to modify and refine your goals.  Complete and save the document!
4. Utilize this to create a 1-page document listing 1 goal you have in each area of your life.
5. Post this simple document somewhere where you see it every day.  Repeat your goals aloud.
6. Make a weekly list identifying specific steps you can take to achieve your goals.
7. Every month, set aside two hours to review and revise your goals.

Based on my experience, it took me 12-14 hours to complete step 1.  Be sure to schedule time accordingly to achieve maximum results.  YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE. 

In conclusion, if you follow the seven steps above, within 30 days, you will not only have effectively outlined goals in a very specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) manner.  Compound this with routine listening of The Strangest Secret into your life and I can assure you will have your best year ever.

Start today. You have nothing to lose, but you have a whole life to win.

Earl Nightingale

The next article will be dedicated to the financial aspect of our lives and the types of goals that we can set.  If you don’t think financial goals are important, or if they’re only for the rich – you’re wrong.

I look forward to seeing you in the next article.