One common reason people don’t always achieve their goals, then get discouraged and feel like they’re failing, is that they were focusing on goals that sounded really good on paper, and maybe would have felt impressive to achieve, but weren’t truly aligned with their priorities. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before creating your goals.
1. How do you want to feel this year?
Do you want to feel secure, free, creative, independent, confident, healthier or stronger? Write it all out.
2. What are three things you can do to create more of those feelings?
This is a good start for creating your list of 10 goals!
3. Who are three people who can help me?
What do you need to reach your goal? We all need help: Do you need expertise? Support? Coaching? Accountability? Education?
When creating any subsequent goals, now put yourself in the shoes of your future self who has completed the goal. Imagine what your life looks like and really take a little time to feel those emotions. You might find that some ideas you had thought that you were invested in are not actually compatible with the life you want to lead.
Here’s an example from my own life, some time ago: It might be impressive and lucrative to build a chiropractic practice to seeing 50+ patients every day, and be in-network with many insurance companies to build a huge practice quickly — but all the additional paperwork would take my focus away from my patients and my children, and I want to feel 100% focused on what my role is wherever I am, and feel like I have the attention and time to give to patients when they need individualized care. Having that kind of huge practice would make me feel scattered, rushed, and like I wasn’t giving patents the care that I would want my own family to receive from their healthcare experience.
Note that this isn’t a judgement: Some doctors might be completely capable of doing both, but for me with two kids under age 5 at home, it wouldn’t be right at this stage in my life, and I know I would feel drained and stuck. If I want to feel like my work is play, that I’m giving patients the best individualized care that I can, and that I’m present with my children at home, then I need to design different goals for my work and personal life that will support that lifestyle. Right now, while life is by no means perfect, I really do feel like I’m living the life that I dreamed of over 90% of the time because I have so carefully crafted my goals, and taken consistent action toward designing it so.
How do you want to feel in your life in 2020? If you need more personalized support learning how to identify and create powerful goals, break them down to be manageable, and make progress toward them every single day without struggle and overwhelm, then please consider joining me in a unique hands-on workshop called Launch Your Life 2020, this Saturday, the 25th, Chinese New Year. It’s going to be fun and energizing, and really help you unlock your potential this year. Older kids are welcome, too, as I really believe everyone should have been taught these techniques in school, but most of us never learn them. Check out Launch Your Life 2020, as well as our Power Lunch accountability group for holistic entrepreneurs on my events page!
