Goal Setting That Works
Written by Alisa Goz
Back in December, I was feeling really motivated to set some goals for 2022.
But with the excitement of celebrating Christmas and New Year, wrapping presents, and eating cookies, I never really got around to setting my goals. January rolled in. About midway through the month, discouragement set in as I realized I’d let the goal-setting opportunity window close. I had failed at my goal of setting goals for the new year. How pathetic.
I had shared with a friend in December that setting intentions for 2022 was on my mental to-do list. Near the end of January, we were catching up over FaceTime, and she asked me what goals I ended up setting. Phew. It was uncomfortable. I didn’t end up doing it, I admitted.
Later that day, I found myself returning to that conversation. My friend’s question of “have you set your goals?” pulled me out of my routine and brought me into a more mindful space. If I wanted to do this, what was holding me back? Yes, I’d missed the “ideal” time for goal setting. It was a month into 2022. Already 8.3% of the year was behind me. But would a loss of that time really keep me from using the remaining 91.7% of the year well?
I pulled up a blank Word document on my computer and started asking myself questions to reflect on the past season and set some goals.
Doing this exercise a month later than I had hoped, I realized I felt less fixated on thinking about the whole year. As I was writing down potential goals and directions to move in, I recognized these were things I wanted to be working on during the coming weeks or months. Things I wanted to get done by summertime.
I found myself experiencing an “aha” moment—I have the freedom to bring new intentionality into my life whenever I want.
If you’re waiting for a sign to rethink an area of your life or start fresh on some path, take this as your sign.
You have the freedom to start over. You have the freedom to set a new goal. You have the freedom to make it a one-year goal or a one-month goal. You have the freedom to reflect on the last five years and think about how you want to move forward. Or you can look back on the meeting you had earlier today and set a new goal based on that. There is no perfect time for goal setting. The deadlines of calendars, years, and months are arbitrary, so why not pick an arbitrary time to set some intentions that serve our growth?
I wanted to share the questions that helped me get started with my reflection and projection for the next season. And whether you want to evaluate the past three years and set some big goals or look at something really specific, like your exercise habits or sleep routine, these questions are here to help. So here we go:
- What are you grateful for during this period of time? What went well? Jot down anything that comes to mind.
- What are you proud of having accomplished? Write down at least three things!
- What was hard during this period of time? What brought you negative emotions?
- What was your most meaningful challenge?
And now for the goal part:
- Write down 5-10 things that you want to see happen in your life or in this area in the coming month/quarter/year. These are goals that you are thinking of setting. You don’t have to commit to them yet. Just write them down and see how it feels.
- Of those goals, circle the ones that are most exciting to you.
- Rephrase the statements in active form (i.e., ‘I want to go on vacation’ becomes ‘I am going on vacation’). Make any other edits as needed. Write down the revised versions.
And finally:
- For each goal you choose, write down the first step. What is a small thing you could do today or this week to get started on the goal?
After my reflection at the end of January, I realized I didn’t want to wait another year to evaluate the directions I’m moving in. So, I put it on my calendar to have a personal reflection day in two months. That is the timeline that felt right for me, based on the goals I set. I encourage you to return to these questions as often as makes sense for you. And maybe, just maybe, consider sharing your goals with someone else. When we say it out loud, it’s more likely to happen.
I hope these questions help you in your growth journey. Because that’s where the real magic happens—within you, not while reading my story.
Cheers to reflecting on the past, celebrating, and moving forward whenever is right for you! You have more freedom than you can imagine.
Related Resources
Are You Suffering from Toxic Productivity?
You have worked non-stop around the clock since early Monday morning. It’s been a jam-packed week of go, go, go, and it’s finally your day off from work. You’re ready to relax. So, you start the day by running, then clean your entire home. You might also do two loads...
5 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Professional
I recently celebrated a birthday that launched me from my early thirties into my mid-thirties. Already I feel more settled in myself and more confident in my choices. Since then, I’ve started to think more about where I want to grow in my career, and it got me...
Three Lies You Can Leave Behind This Summer
What if you could slide into fall feeling freer, lighter, and nimbler this year? What if this year you got to be the one who defined what success looks like for you? It’s possible. But in order to bring the free vibes of summer into the next season, you’ll need to...
