After setting yearly goals now for about 7 years consecutively, it’s become a habit. If done right, goals can be inspiring, fun, and productive. But sometimes even great habits like goal-setting can become boring and unproductive.
I have a longer process for goal setting that’s tied to my vision and 7 life priorities or key life areas. So, I have an overall vision, 7 priorities, and goals (short and long-term) for each priority.
But today we’re going to skip all that and focus just on the goals. And like Simon Sinek says, let’s “Start with why.
But why even set goals?
Well, how can we achieve anything without knowing what we want or having a plan to get it?
You can’t win championships without a plan.
Goal-setting is the best tool I know for creating the habit of focusing our energy on the things we believe matter most. It’s also is a system for replacing poor habits with better ones.
Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Habits shape whom we are becoming. But how often do we actually shape our habits?
Goal-setting gives us the opportunity to not only choose what type of person we want to become but to focus our greatest resource- our time. And similar to a GPS with a set destination, our brain works best when given coordinates to lock into. Otherwise, it’ll just create random habits on its own without our input.
But sometimes even positive routines like this don’t lead to the results we’re looking for because we’re uninspired and just going through the motions. Warren Buffet explained this way when he said, “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”
That’s why sometimes we need a little change and get out of our mental routines. Initiating change in ourselves is hard but there’s help. This is probably what personal development expert Jim Rohn had in mind when he said, “We generally change ourselves for one of two reasons: inspiration or desperation.“
The point of these questions is to light your creative spark so you can reflect on the possibilities that keep you excited. These are also great questions to use in your journaling.
Okay, so here are my 5 questions:
- What would make next year awesome?
For example, get a pilot’s license, give 10% to church, meet with a financial planner to create a retirement plan, start a business, go back to school, or buy 10 investment properties. The point is to THINK about stuff that matters to you and excites you.
2. What are the three most important things I want to achieve in my lifetime?
This question helps us refocus our energy and thoughts solely on those things we care about the most. These are long-term goals but we can break it up into smaller yearly goals.
3. What do I want to experience more of next year?
This is a great question to be more intentional about the things we want to experience more of or less of. Being intentional and deciding is the beginning. Everything starts with a decision.
4. What do I really really want?
As a leader, I suspect you’re not selfish. But think about yourself for this exercise. Be selfish; ignore cultural expectations, and get specific about what you really really want out of life- in your health, finances, career, etc.
5. What is one skill or hobby I can learn next year that I’ve been curious about for a long time, but have been putting off?
Recently my daughter started taking drum lessons. One day, I decided to take a lesson as well because I was curious. And I loved it. What are you curious about?
Next, write down all the ideas that come to mind –on paper- when answering these questions and then choose a few that get you the most excited.
Lastly, turn them into goals using the SMART framework: Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Timebound.
Do you have any great questions that can help others plan for the new year?
PS: The problem with most goals is that they are not tied to our overall life mission and vision. If you want to learn more about this topic check out my book Leader by Choice.