Happy new year. The turn of the calendar marks the beginning of the next chapter of your life. For the next 12 months, your activities and pursuits will take you somewhere. And at the end of 2017, you will be somewhere else. But where will you be? Will it be where you want or just where you happen to end up?

As you begin this next chapter of your life, you can approach it in one of two ways. You can start where you are, work hard and hope it takes you some place better than where you are now. The problems is that, even with all the optimism and hard work you can muster and sustain, you are still at the mercy of other forces. You will be nudged, cajoled and redirected by all kinds of forces, none of which have a particular interest in what is best for you.

A better way is to determine how you want the chapter to end before you begin. That is, you can determine the direction of your next 12 months. That way, you guide your focus and energy to an end that you want, not what someone else wants. You are much more likely to arrive where you want to be instead of leaving it up to chance.

Without a goal, you are like a guided missile with no target. You just buzz along, working hard with a smile on your face, relying on the outside forces to direct you to some destination. Do you really want the direction of the wind to determine where you’ll end up?

Your goals serve as a beacon that will keep you focused on the right path and, when taken temporarily off course, will allow you to gather your bearings and get back on track. So make sure you set your goals for 2017. THIS WEEK.