3 Keys to Goal Setting + Achievement
If you weren't able to join me this past Friday for my Visioning 2020 workshop: I get it.
You're busy. Maybe the time didn't work for you. Or perhaps you prefer to read blog posts and listen to podcasts versus hopping on a live call.
It's all good. Each of us are different, and each of us learn and digest information in different ways.
Which is why I'm sharing my three key takeaways from the workshop here today on the blog!
Missed the workshop invite completely and want to skip straight to replay (both VIDEO and AUDIO versions)? Click here.
These tips can be used at any time of the year, with both personal and professional goals. While it's best to go through the whole process that I walked through in the workshop, it's still beneficial to practice one or two of the strategies below, even in a super small or simple way.
Let's get into it!
Tip #1 - Get into your body
Most of us have been taught to make “smart” decisions. We’re used to making a pros and cons list and looking for the rational or most logical choice.
Using your brain and conscious mind is definitely a part of my goal setting process, but only a part.
You whole body has wisdom to share with you, and only when you’re able to drop into your body (and get out of just your head) can you start to hear those messages.
How do you do this?
There are many different ways to connect with your body: you can meditate, go for a run, do yoga, or simply take a few deep breaths. My personal favorite method is a short, body scan meditation.
Before you start your goal setting process, try this short meditation:
Tip #2 - Focus on the feeling
I have a clear memory of filling out a goal-setting worksheet at my corporate job years ago: I had to select a certain number of goals from a per-determined list within specific categories.
The goals were all achievement based (ie Do X number of hours of training in this subject, Learn more about Y methodology, Join Z networking group).
I enjoyed my job and was a top performer, and yet this process felt so superficial to me.
The most common approach to goal setting is similar to what I saw in my corporate job: come up with a list of accomplishments and then take steps to get there.
Don’t get me wrong: accomplishments and action steps ARE a part of goal setting, but don’t always end with you feeling the way you want to feel.
Some people want to feel accomplished. Some want to feel strong. Powerful. Valued. Healthy.
I’ve found much more success in my goal setting to first focus on the feeling (or feelings) that I want to feel, and then determine my desired accomplishments and action steps from there.
Getting clear on how you want to feel also helps you make small daily decisions outside of your goal action plan.
If you want to feel healthy, perhaps you choose to go for an evening stroll instead of reaching for a glass of wine. The weight loss or more defined muscles or increased stamina (which are more typical goals) will come from making daily decisions that support that feeling. And you’ll be able to feel that way you want to feel even before the accomplishment or outer result happens.
Instead of starting off with your list of accomplishments, focus on how you want to feel.
Be specific with your words. Take time finding the feeling that rings true to you. I’ve listed out a few positive feeling words below, but feel free to use an online thesaurus to get even more ideas!
POSITIVE FEELINGS
Healthy Abundant Calm Peaceful Joyful Free Clear Focused Fresh Intelligent Intuitive Connected Conscious Supported Rich Vital Inspired Excited Aligned Active Light Grounded Rooted Empowered Aligned Social Seen Trusting Faithful Proud Fulfilled Vibrant Confident Thriving Happy Centered Productive Rested Energetic Hopeful Lucky Secure
#3 - CREATE A Ritual FOR checking in
Having your vision is only one part of goal setting and achievement. Your goals and intentions are way more likely to actually happen if you also set up a process for checking in on your plan and progress.
You can check in every week, every two weeks or even every month. Find a cadence that works for you and then set reminders or block off times in advance to do your check in.
I personally like to sync my check-ins with the moon. The moon is an easy physical reminder - you can see where it is in its cycle in the sky most nights! Plus I’ve found bringing in the cycles of the moon and the astrological seasons makes my whole process feel a lot more magical and divinely supported.
If you’re going to choose the moon as your cycle, below is a quick summary of what each phase is best for:
New Moon - new emotional stories, new intentions, beginnings
Waxing Moon - building, growing, expanding
Full Moon - insights, more clarity, reflection, sharing, letting go
Waning Moon - shedding, releasing, contracting
You can do great things on your own, but goal setting and achievement is a heck of a lot more fun when you have someone else keeping you accountable to your vision and to the process.
Going after your wishes and dreams isn’t too hard when you have plenty of time and are feeling great about your progress. But when life gets busy, or we’re going through a tough time, or we feel less than stellar in our skin, our big dreams and personal rituals are often the first to go, even if this is when we need them the most.
You can work with a coach - there are many different types of coaches out there that can help you with specific goals (health, life, business, spiritual, fitness, etc).
You can join a group - there are also many different group coaching programs available, both in real life and online, many of which have specific focus areas or cater to people with common challenges. Outside of traditional coaching groups, there are programs like AA, Al-Anon and more.
You can partner with an accountability buddy - this can be a friend, family member or colleague that has similar goals or challenges. If you’re going this route, I highly suggest putting a structure into place to keep the relationship supportive to both individuals. For example: you might agree to talk on a monthly basis for 1 hour and each person gets 30 minutes for sharing and support.
And you don’t have to pick just one type of accountability - you can benefit from each of these different types of support.
Which is why I’m thrilled to invite you to join a very special group where you’ll receive just that: a coach, a community and even (if you’d like!) an accountability buddy.
Your Stellar Center is my NEW group coaching program and it’s now open for enrollment for 2020!
Your Stellar Center is your high vibe home base for connecting to your intuition and your personal hopes and dreams. It’s where you come for practical (and magical) tools to achieve what you want to achieve, plus the the accountability and support you need from others along the way.
Some topics we’ll cover in Your Stellar Center: astrological energies and moon cycles, tarot, human design, meditation, journaling, personal ritual, connecting to your intuition, boundaries, Taoist theory (from the context of my studies in Katonah yoga), breathwork, story medicine and so much more!
I created this program because it’s exactly the support I would want, PLUS it allows me to offer this support to you at a super accessible cost.
Enrollment is now open and there’s a special pre-launch price + additional bonuses valid thru this Friday 1/31.
Whether or not Your Stellar Center is for you right now, I hope this post and the Visioning 2020 Workshop provided you with at least one helpful tip or perspective shift when it comes to goal setting.
If there's one tip that stands out or that you know you'll want to implement right away, leave a comment below and let me know!
xxo