A guide to setting your goals for 2023.

Happy New Year! When a new year rolls around, it’s a perfect time to reflect on your achievements and set goals for the year ahead.

Having clear goals provides direction, helps you stay focused on what you’re aiming to achieve and can assist with decision making.

Setting goals is also an important aspect of the NDIS. Services and supports funded by the NDIS may help you pursue your goals and overcome any barriers encountered along the way.

So let’s celebrate the beginning of 2023 by reviewing some goal-setting techniques and tips.

The most common goals are related to health and fitness.

Setting new year’s goals or resolutions are more common than you might think. Last year, 72% of Australians set a new year goal!

Research shows that the most common goals for 2022 were related to fitness, health and wellbeing, including eating healthier, losing weight and sleeping more.

Many people also indicated that they set financial goals, such as saving money or building up an emergency fund.

What are your goals for this year? Or have you set an intention instead? And what’s the difference?

Goals, intentions and words.

What are your goals for this year? Or have you set an intention instead? And what’s the difference?

Goal: A goal is something you want to pursue – something you want to achieve in the future. It’s specific, measurable and usually time-bound which means you’re aiming to achieve it in a certain timeframe such as three months. A goal requires a plan, effort and action steps to achieve. It’s this type of goal that you set in your NDIS Plan.

Example: Learn to cook three different meals by myself in three months.

Intention: An intention is more like a feeling or a mindset, a way of living each day. It’s less specific than a goal, not time bound and doesn’t have to be measurable. Intentions are not specific enough for including in an NDIS Plan but aligning an intention with your NDIS goals can help to give you a daily reminder.

Example: I will be more creative or I will become more independent.

It’s also common for people to select a “word of the year” which is a really easy way to provide some direction for the year. It can also be a good first step towards setting goals. Choose a word that feels empowering and motivating.

Examples: independence, grow, organise, adventure, learn, courage, balance, family.

Tips for goal setting.

1. Think about the goals you achieved in 2022 and how you can build on those.
2. Be realistic. It’s easier to stay motivated when your goals are achievable.
3. Focus on what’s important to you and stay true to your values.
4. Keep it simple. Setting goals doesn’t need to be complicated.
5. Have an action plan. List the actions you will take to achieve your goals.

For each goal, a simple statement of what you are aiming to achieve plus three action steps for getting there is a great place to start!

If you have an NDIS Plan and are setting NDIS goals, asking yourself the following questions can be helpful.

• Am I spending all of my NDIS funds?
• Could my NDIS funds go further?
• Who can help me achieve my goals?
• What barriers are in the way of achieving my goals?

“Stay really true to your goals and what you want.” – Paralympian Madison De Rozario

Recording your goals in the Leap in! app.

Written goals are powerful. Recording your goals in a way that suits you reinforces them and helps you to be more motivated. There’s nothing like a constant reminder to keep you on track!

Record your goals somewhere that’s always available and accessible, such as the Leap in! app, your ideal goal-setting partner.

Here’s how:

1. Go to the My Goals section of the app and select Add a new goal.
2. On the Goal Detail page, enter your own goal or choose one of the goal suggestions. Goals more relevant to you will appear if you have included your Life Stage and Disability in the About Me section (under My Profile).
3. Save your goal and then use the Supports section of the app to plan the supports you need to achieve that goal.
4. Update your progress each step of the way.
5. Give yourself a big thumbs-up when you have completed your goal and you’ll see them listed as “Completed goals”.

By adding your goals and other information to the Leap in! app, you’ll be one step closer to being prepared for your first NDIS Plan meeting or next plan reassessment.

Check out our page Goal setting and the NDIS for loads of tips on goal setting for your NDIS Plan.