Goal Setting

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Let’s chat about goal setting!  Before you eye roll and go “ goal settings in a pandemic?  What’s the point?”  Hear me out for a second.

I get it. It can be hard to set goals when the world feels so out of control. 

But what if you saw goal setting as a way of reclaiming your power especially when there are a lot of things outside your area of control or influence.  

For example.  I think “what can I control or influence?”  and start there.

 It could be small simple daily goals. Like; “today I am going to drink 8 glasses of water, go outside, go to yoga” 

Small consistent steps in the right direction get you to dreams.

I find if I am feeling particularly wonky, I will set an achievable decluttering goal.  Decluttering is a great way to regain a sense of control and is really important in the manifesting process.  Win/win!!

But you can set BIG! BOLD! Goals that you have to grow into as well.

Goals EMPOWER us to make our dreams come true. They are an underrated success strategy.  Look at what research shows us about goal setting the fact you are already reading this puts you in the top percentage of dream makers.

Why is it important to set goals?

  • Goals help us get clear about the direction of our dreams. They also help us get clear about the support systems we need to make it happen and the action steps we need to take to bring life to our dreams.

When setting goals 

  • It is important that we carve out time and space to dream up our vision.
  • When we don’t get clarity around where we’ve been and where we want to do, we get stuck in the same old place, same old routine in our same old habits.
  • We need to give thanks to our old “stuff” and let it go.   Giving thanks and letting go of all the old past stuff that no longer serves us to create space for the new.  
  • It is said “the universe loves a vacuum”  so when we create that space we can come up with juicy questions to help connect us to our next version of ourselves.

There are many goal-setting strategies out there. SMART goals is a really common approach and if you have been to any personal or professional development workshops this is probably the one you heard about. 

It works. But there are some tips and tricks I will share with you that will help you set and structure your goals in a way that will help you actually reach them, by adding a little more excitement!

 

Okay…let’s get started, babe!

S:  Specific

What do you want to achieve?  I like to get clear about this. It’s easier to start small and straightforward practice setting and achieving goals.  Remember baby steps – all small steps in the right direction get you your dream. It could be a simple, specific goal like.   

I am the woman who shows up for herself on a yoga mat at least once a week.

I enjoy preparing and eating healthy food each week

I go outside for at least an hour a day

I earn $X per month

M: Measurable

How will you measure it? I.e., How will you know you have achieved it?

This involves paying attention to the result you are generating.  For example. You can easily measure or check if you turned up to that yoga class or nature walk you promised yourself.

If it’s a financial goal you need to check your bank accounts. 

Maybe you keep a food diary or take photos of your meals to measure or check the quality of your food choices (and notice how your food choices make you FEEL) 

As opposed to having a goal like being fitter and eating better, earn more, which is vague and tricky to measure.

A: Achievable

Is your goal achievable?  Is it achievable for me to go outside for an hour every day? Is it achievable for me to prioritise my self-care and schedule a yoga class or two a week?

If the answer is no, listen to that inner voice and tweak it so that it feels a little stretchy and achievable. Maybe outside every day seems isn’t always achievable, but three times a week is.

Remember, start small and grow that muscle of self-belief.

If you are setting financial goals. The first step is to get honest with yourself. How much do you realistically think you can earn?  There is no point in setting a lofty goal that you don’t believe you can grow into. You may want to start by chunking it down.

E.g.: If I want to earn a certain amount per month.  Calculate what does it equate to per week? What does it work out to per day? And consider what you need to do to make this happen.  Is it achievable? 

Whatever goal I am setting I like to ask myself, “ Is this achievable?” Do I know of others who have done this?  And then give myself a little assurance by getting real about where I am and what my next steps need to be to get me there within a set timeframe.  

Turn your goals into action steps. 

R:  Realistic

Realistically can I achieve this?  What are my next steps?  Make a plan. Schedule it and make it happen.  Be the person who shows up for themselves.

For me a big part of making my dreams a reality is by telling other people.  I know when I tell others I am committed to it.  I have skin in the game, then.  Note: I am mindful of who I tell – naysayers are not useful people to share dreams with – tell your cheerleaders!

An example of this is when I decided to paint the Yoga Circle building in Central Ave.

I got specific about the colours.  This helped me visualise it. Painting the entire building within the scope of last year did not feel achievable or realistic, but I knew I needed to take steps towards it or remain on the not to be actioned list. So I chunked it down to a smaller task of painting just the entrance.

Painting just the entrance enabled me to visualise what the whole building would be like, test out the skill of a painter, share my vision with a group of people who would share and support the vision. I chose the entrance on purpose as it was the first and the last thing people saw when they entered and left the building. There is power in the collective consciousness.  

The other thing having just the entrance painted did was that it “erked me, it niggled at me each time I arrived at Yoga Circle that there was such a mismatch in paint colours.  I did on purpose.  I wanted to push pain point and keep the dream of painting the building a reality as it could fall off the list. And it worked! as I type this, there is now a painter assigned to the task of painting the house, and all of a sudden, the goal of painting Yoga Circle feels real, and there is a time frame on the painter for the month of January 2022.

IT FEELS GOOD to share this goal with you. 

T: Timed

As the example above shows, having a time frame on your goal is essential, and you know this.  We need to schedule the time to make our dreams happen.  Or put a finish line on them; otherwise, they end up on the never, never list and doesn’t get done.

E: Exciting

Every goal you set should excite you in some way.  It should be motivating.

You may think that goals are motivating by their very nature, but this is not true. Many people set goals in what we call “away from” terms. For example, saying, “I want to lose weight, I want to stop binge eating, quit mindless scrolling, reduce my anxiety and not worry.  These goals are not as motivating as they could be because they all focus on LOSS… not GAIN.

Without a motivational, exciting component, it is easy to become frustrated and give up on goals. Which can lead to unhelpful thinking like ” I’m no good at goal setting, goal setting doesn’t work for me, I don’t set goals.”

There are many ways to add a motivational component to your goals. Essentially you need to connect to the heart of why you want to achieve the particular goal.

Maybe you want to stop binge eating and lose weight, so you can fit a particular outfit or feel lighter and more energetic. 

Maybe reducing your scrolling and anxiety and worrying less is really about being able to enjoy the present moment with your friends and family genuinely.

So, when you think about your goal, check it gives you the feel-good feels! And feel into it as often as you need you.

It will keep you going when things get tricky, and things do get tricky after all. It’s life. So apply some grace.

 Because we all make mistakes as we learn and grow.  It’s part of the process, and remember.

GOAL!

So… follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to reaching those big beautiful goals of yours and making your dreams come true and…

I’m here to help you turn 2022 into the year you want.

It’s time to make a decision gorgeous, who are you in the process of becoming this year?  

Are you ready to make magic? and take the next step towards the next best version of yourself?  When will you carve out the time and space to make it happen?  Maybe your next actionable step is as simple as booking coaching time with me, and we can do it together?

It’s always easier with a coach on your side.  Why not book a free 15-minute discovery call and see how we can work together?

Or dive right in and make your booking for a session now.

P.S. if you don’t reach a goal it doesn’t define you. It’s just a matter of tweaking things and trying again.  Try chunking it down into smaller steps, giving it a  bigger time frame, and or hiring a coach or someone to help.  Keep going! As one of mentor’s Denise DT says “it’s your time and you are ready for this next step”

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