How to make effective goals that will take you to the next level
Photo by Saad Chaudhry on Unsplash
Jan 7th, 2022
Ann Collins
Clients often tell me that they don't like the pressure that comes with making resolutions for the New Year. They make them with the knowledge that they're not going to keep them, so feel a sense of failure right from the start! Not fun and certainly not very motivating!
Setting goals, intentions or resolutions, or whatever you like to call your own ‘call to action’, is not an exact science and varies greatly depending on your previous experiences and your feelings around your capacity to change.
Here are two key steps to setting goals that will motivate and energise you!
Step 1: Rethink your purpose: what is important to you at work and in your life?
Starting here is vital! This is your fuel for the future and will give you the motivation to continue when times are difficult and when you encounter failures or disappointments.
Rethink your purpose for you, as you are now - not as you were! We change, our purpose changes and every day changes. You are not the same as you were!
Ask yourself: What do you want to be remembered and known for by your friends, family, colleagues? How could you make that a central part of your life and every day?
This is where step 2 can provide the starting point for the goals, intentions or resolutions that are going to motivate you!
Step 2: Let go of SMART goals and create a clear vision instead!
"It doesn't matter how slowly you go as long as you don't stop." Confucius
SMART goals are very useful for short-term projects where the plan is precise, the actions are easy to determine and it is a linear project with clear results. The results are measurable, concrete and visible. When we're working on our personal development, the results are very often visible but not so easy to measure. If we're transforming the way we live and work, the vision and the result needs to be very clear, but we may not know at the outset how we're going to get there.
If that's you, try relinquishing the pressure of the time element, especially if you are committed to a life-changing goal and instead focus on what that will look like when it's achieved. Write it down in as much detail as you can and ask yourself: what will your life look like when you have achieved that goal or resolution?
And then start. Take action. Every day.
Does it really matter if it takes a little longer than the whole year? Probably not, because you are changing along the way and this is the change that counts. It is about "the journey", not the destination (although the destination will likely change too!) and being open to that is truly a resolution worth keeping!
If you'd like to do some live planning out of your year ahead, why not join us for our free webinar on the 24th January: Plan for your next year in leadership. What's next for you?
You are invited to join me as my guest for a special free one hour coaching style webinar that will walk you through how to start thinking through the options, plan for your next career goals, plan for your year ahead and how to accelerate change in your career (and life) with ease.
In this webinar you will discover different types of goals and learn to set personal goals effectively, how to make sure you reach them by understanding how to generate and maintain momentum to make the changes you want to see and to actually enjoy the journey!
You will experience a taster of what my clients experience every day: a challenging yet supportive, energising and insightful session that will encourage you to commit to concrete action to start making changes you want to see!
To see our current free events, click here or email me for more information: bluebottlecoaching@gmail.com