Setting Goals

There is no “one-size fits all” method to setting your goals. You will hear many different methods throughout your life on ways to set them. 

 

Key Points That I Recommend When Setting Your Goals:

– Dedicate a time (45-60 minutes) in a quiet and/or comfortable space.
– Remove all distractions.
– Start with a rough draft on paper.
– Check yourself mentally into working on YOUR goals. Often, we lose site of what truly matters to us throughout our lives. Other people’s voices and ideas on how we should behave and carry out our lives get into our head. These block us from being our true authentic selves. When you check yourself into setting YOUR goals, focus on letting go of other’s expectations and tap into what matters most to YOU.
– Write 7 columns across the top of the paper and separate with lines. Label the columns as: Career/Business, Relationships (Intimate, Friends, Family), Personal Development/Growth, Health/Fitness, Financial, Adventure/Relaxation, Spirituality. 
Example:

– Under each column write what you would like to see yourself accomplish in each of these. (i.e. in Relationship column, you could put “Date night”, “Girls/Guys Trip w/ Friends”, “Reconnect w/ Mom/Dad”, “Use my heart not my head”.)
– Don’t worry about dates/timelines yet. We will set dates/timelines and then 1-3 actions that need to happen to accomplish each of these.
– After you get your goals into each column, go back and re-read them. Make sure they are authentic to YOU. Ask yourself “Does this goal motivate me enough so that I will commit to putting in the effort to accomplish this?” “Am I limiting myself, thinking about what others will think of these goals, etc?”. Any goals that don’t make the cut, draw a line through or modify to reflect your true goals TODAY. Note: Goals are not static. You will need to revisit these daily/weekly/monthly/yearly. 
– Timelines/Actions are the final step. Depending on how many goals you have, you can add a place for timeline (put a Date like Nov. 17th, 2023) and a place for 1-3 actions you will commit to. Each of these actions needs a timeline, as well. This is VERY important. Many of us will write goals down and never commit to an action with a timeline. An example might look like this:

 
Goal: “Get Promoted to Director” 
Timeline: January 25th, 2024. 
Action(s): (1) Sign up/attend 2 leadership conferences by November 21st, 2023. (2) Read “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John. C. Maxwell and complete all workbooks/activities by February 25th, 2023. (3) Talk to my boss about my goals and get feedback on how to reach my next role by January 2nd, 2022.

– Finally, transfer to the goals over to a Poster Board, put check marks next to each action so you can check off when you accomplish. Pin to a wall or somewhere you will check everyday.
 
 

Goal setting is an important for:

  • Deciding what you want to achieve in your life.
  • Taking control.
  • Separating what’s important from what’s irrelevant, or a distraction.
  • Motivating yourself.
  • Building your self-confidence, based on successful achievement of goals.