One thing that almost all of us share as human beings is the desire to grow and progress in life. While some may be resistant to change and desire the status quo in some areas of their lives, two thing are certain. Change is inevitable and the desire for growth is in our nature.
As we look back on the year 2020 and prepare for the upcoming New Year, the new calendar year presents us an opportunity to set goals to help us focus our efforts of growth and progress in a very intentional way. We know that on December 31, 2021 we will have undoubtedly changed in some way, shape, or form. You and your kids will be a year older, you will have worked another year at your job, or maybe changed jobs, or perhaps stopped working all together, and your body will be different.
Goal setting allows us to determine how we want to change this year. It provides a framework for you to focus your efforts so you are happy with the change that occurs.
I encourage you to take some time to think strategically about how you want to change this year and how this upcoming year can be a year where you moved the needle on key areas of your life. Here are 5 tips to help guide your goal setting process:
Set Goals for 3 Areas of Your Life: Personal Goals, Professional Goals, and Relationship Goals. Often times clients hire me to be their coach because they want to improve their performance at work. While I’m always happy to support goals set around their career, I challenge my client to think about how they can improve holistically so one or more areas of their life doesn’t suffer as a result of focusing on improving their performance at work. I like to focus specifically on goals around one’s professional life, one’s personal life/health, and one’s relationships. Having 1-2 goals in each of these areas ensures that you are moving the needle on your growth and wellbeing in a holistic way and will help ensure you feel happy and successful about progress made and one or more areas of your life doesn’t suffer
Set a 5-year Vision, Annual Goals, and Quarterly Milestones. If you never have written down goals before, begin by getting crystal clear on your vision. I like thinking about a 5-year vision because it’s enough time to make massive change in your life, but not too long where it feels far off into the future. Think about your ideal scene 5 years from now and what would need to happen in your life to truly feel like you made massive growth and progress and you are happier as a result. Once your vision is set, each year identify an annual goal that would signal that you are on track to realize your vision by the 5-year deadline. Ensure that you have annual goals based on the 3 realms of life. Finally, break apart the year into 3-month quarters and set quarterly milestones for each annual goal. Focusing on quarterly milestones allows you to be focused on specific actions to take to reach your annual goals.
Focus on the Feeling You Want to Feel After You Reach Your Goals. We take actions based on emotions. When we feel hungry, we have a desire to take action and eat. When we feel tired, we do something to either get more energy and keep going (coffee anyone?) or rest. Feelings are an inner driver to act. Therefore, as you set your 5-year vision, annual goals, and quarterly milestones, think about the exact feelings you want to feel after you accomplish this specific vision/goal/milestone in this specific area of your life. Do you want the inner feeling of pride and increased self-worth that you reached this personal goal? Do you want to feel free and independent after you reached this specific revenue goal? Do you want to feel happy and more loving after you reached this specific relationship goal? Think about these strong positive emotions and write those down next to your vision/goals/milestones. Remember to draw on these positive emotions throughout the process of reaching these goals to help you stay focused on what you’re striving to feel after you achieve them.
Think Big! One of the classic tips in setting S.M.A.R.T. goals is that the goals need to be realistic so you can achieve them. I encourage you to think differently and to think big when you’re setting a vision/goal/milestone. In the book The One Thing: The surprising simple truth behind extraordinary results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, the authors share the idea that big goals inspire big action. Small goals inspire small action. Think ahead to how much your life could change in the next five years and think big about the goals you want to accomplish. Big goals inspire you to do more and accomplish more than you thought you could. Set yourself up for greatness and think bigger than your first instinct.
Remember That It’s About The Process of Growing and Improving, Not Just About Goal Achievement. At the end of the day, remember that life happens and there could be unforeseen circumstances that cause you to not reach your goal for very explainable reasons through no fault of your own. For instance, the global pandemic of 2020 may have derailed your travel goal, or caused increased stress that affected your health. It’s OK. It’s not about feeling like a failure if you didn’t reach your desired goal. It’s really about the the act of setting goals with intention and the process of taking deliberate action and creating positive daily habits in your life that help you change in a way that you intended. Things may not have gone according to plan. If that happens it’s about getting back on track and focusing on things you can control, such as your habits and your mindset. The saying “it’s the journey, not the destination” applies to goal setting and the daily process of working on achieving your goals.
I hope these 5 tips for goal setting are helpful as we approach the New Year. I wish you the best as you set your goals with intention. Comment below to share the tip that resonates most with you.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you would like customized and personalized support on goal setting and moving the needle on your growth and happiness. You can reach me at liz@lizbapasola.com to set up a coaching call.