Are you thinking about where you want to be and how to get there?
Have some goals you’ve created and started work on, stalled out or been put on the back burner?
Yeah, I’ve been there. I have some tips for reaching goals that I’ve learned for myself…
These are my top three tips for creating (and keeping) goals that will help your personal and professional life progress in a personally fulfilling way:
- Make Goals that MATTER (to you). I used to have goals like “I need to buy a house by the time I’m 30” or “I need to be in an executive leadership role by the time 40”. The unspoken reason those goals existed was I felt if I did not do them then I had not achieved success. Ugh. I tied my value to external accomplishments of success set by others. The problem was, these external goals did not have any personal meaning to me. When I reflected, I found that starting a coaching business doing work I love was a more personally aligned marker of success Sound familiar? Reevaluate your goals and make sure each one is aligned with what YOU find meaningful. A short journaling or quiet reflection time could spark a renewed sense of motivation, or lead to an ‘aha’ moment where you can create new goals.
- Forgive Yourself (and keep going). We all get distracted from our goals from time to time. We can often get lost in feeling like we’re not doing “enough” to make progress on our goals and intentions. But the fact is, Life happens and it can derail the best intentioned plans. If you’ve put any thought, any action, and desire into reaching goals then you are making progress. Do not focus on the size of the steps, or the time between steps, but instead, celebrate that you’re furthering this path at all! Being upset with ourselves about not making adequate progress, or straying from our goals, increases the time it takes us to get back on track. We spend so long being upset with ourselves and basking in “oh my gosh” frustration and disappointment that we don’t move forward. Take back your power by forgiving where you’ve been. Acknowledge where life has taken you and learn from the place you’re re-beginning from. This is the only way you can gain clarity on the best way to push through barriers and avoid stalling the next time you’re presented with them. Offer yourself kindness and grace, and then, try again.
- Picture the Finish Line (what does winning look like). I know that the pace and time frame for each of my goals will not look the same. Some of us like to have monthly goals, or yearly goals, or a much more long-term, “bucket list” intentions. All of these are valid, but the best way to truly make them do-able is to know with intense clarity what “Next” looks like. “Next” can be tomorrow, three months, six months, or whatever feels good for you. I ask myself what I want to be doing in a month and where I’d like to be. I spend energy imagining what life a month from now will look like so I can strategize how to get there. This imagining is detailed , providing enough clarity that I can plan backwards from that outcome through each ‘next’ that will allow me to get to where I want to be. Doing this helps develop a concrete plan of steps. Work backwards from you ‘finish line’ and figure out exactly which routes, resources, and supports get you there. Brainstorm and write down your ideas on what that end goal life looks like to maintain a clear vision and a strategic path to success.
The tips above insist that you know yourself and reflect on the future you-to-be. If they seem like big life questions that require some time to sort out, they do! By practicing the above tips, you’ll grow stronger in goal completion, but also become more aligned in articulating where you’re going and why it matters that you get there. This creates an amazing and useful sense of empowerment when communicating with others about your personal or business needs.
There is no one ‘right’ way to make progress and grow. If you’re trying to better yourself, 9/10 times you probably are – and no matter how long it takes or how you find your way to that future life goal, I am so proud of you for starting it.
If you are ready to build strategic and sustainable business goals centered on your values and niche in coaching, send me a message.
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Take good care!
