This is a guest post written by Cornelia Asanger-Lexa. Want to contribute? Check out the 2018 publishing calendar.

One year ago, we were celebrating for the first time in our new home country Sweden, with a lot of plans, ideas and goals. Some of them were not realized, but most of them we successfully implemented in our lives. How did we do this? We used the magic wand… Okay, not exactly a wand, rather the idea behind… You will see in a minute.

As we all know it's not easy to stick to a new year’s resolution - it's a challenge, with the best intention in the world. 2017 is now over and before we start cracking on our 2018 goals, let us take a moment to reflect and look back over the last 12 months.

What was your theme of this past year? Did you have a “word of the year”? If so, what was it and how did it help you to guide you through? And as a new year arises, fresh and plain, what is your theme? Your word of the year?

Let me help you make it a bit easier for you by making that word: Magic. Open this new page in your life book now - These these questions will help you:

What’s your                       Mission?

What is your                      Area of focus?

What’s your biggest           Goal?

Who will be                        Impacted?

What’s your biggest           Challenge?

1. Mission

Let us start with your mission: What are you standing for? What is your unique selling point? You are a coach, but what else? What makes you YOU? What do you want to be your legacy?

Almost every company has a mission statement, but individuals can also make their own statement to find their purpose in life. A mission statement is a short, descriptive statement, no longer than two sentences and no more than thirty words. Typically, you start with something like: “My personal career mission is…” and finish off with specific phrases to describe your mission.

And to be sure that it will stick with you, write it down on paper (not just mentally in your head) and tape it up on your wall/computer/bathroom so that you see it every day.

2. Area of focus

This brings us to our second question: What is your area of focus?

Now that you have written your mission statement, you know what next steps you need to undertake, what you need to focus on. What do you want to achieve by the end of 2018? What is your heart burning for? What can’t you wait to tackle? Be as specific and targeted as you can and stay focused!

It may be further education, advanced training, acquiring a new skill, finding a new job, new house, moving to a new city, state or country? Think BIG!

3. Goal

And voila, here is the third question, the meat of this exercise: What is your goal? What is the ultimate goal you want to see at the end of 2018 accomplished? To achieve your goal you need a plan, then as you may know: “A goal without a plan is just a wish!” A definition from the business dictionary says: “An observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed timeframe.” This brings us to another well known acronym which says that goals should be S.M.A.R.T.

By defining your goals make sure to make them S.M.A.R.T. An example can be: “Your goal is to earn $200,000 (specific, measurable and results focused) in 2018 (time-bound). If your earnings in 2017 were $150,000, then your goal certainly meets the achievable requirement as well, making this a good (SMART) goal.

4. Impact

Well done, reader! You are almost done your goal setting plan for a magic 2018. After defining your goal, you want to ask yourself who will be impacted by you and your goal? How will others perceive you? What is your biggest impact? Think about the effect your goal has on others, on your family, on your business partners, your boss.

5. Challenges

And last, but not least, what is your biggest challenge you have to cope with in 2018? What obstacle do you need to overcome? You have seen where you will be by the end of December 2018. What needed to be done to be the successful person you have become? What were the stones you needed to remove?

Congratulations - you are done! The first important steps to make 2018 your M.A.G.I.C. year are done. You know the steps and you know what to do to get this done. Keep in mind to be as specific as possible, write them down and hold yourself accountable.

And remember always: start with a BIG mission and continue with baby steps to finally achieve the M.A.G.I.C. in your life.

Let me know how this resonates with you and tell me more about you – and your goals for 2018 - in the comments below. Looking forward to hearing back from you.

About Cornelia Asanger-Lexa

Cornelia’s mission is to empower her clients to thrive abroad by embracing diversity! She specializes in working with international people, people who consider themselves as citizens of the world and who make home in more than one place.

She works with international companies to successfully navigate cultural diversity in the workplace by embracing differences and seeing multicultural teams as an asset, not a liability!

Find out more about her 15+ years as an international Finance and Senior HR leader for a range of sectors and industries, her moves over the last 10+ across Europe and as a mother of three active daughters helped her to understand the challenges of being abroad and recognize the on-going journey of balancing the multiple roles we all play in our lives, without losing sight of our own needs and dreams. www.cal-coaching.com