If you get excited about the idea of making your next year the best you've experienced thus far, keep reading. This exercise is all about you accelerating toward your best you.
(Note: This exercise comes from a chapter in a book that I'm co-authoring. Hope you enjoy this.)
I've been doing this particular goal setting exercise for 7 years now and I can say that every single year, my life gets better and better. It's not that the situations are getting easier and easier, I'm growing, in a good way. This is an exercise that I tend to share with friends and clients (life coaching) from time to time. I thought I'd put it together in the form of a guide that others can follow.
PRO TIP: If you are in a romantic relationship that you want to exponentially grow, do this exercise together.
When I first did this exercise with my girlfriend, it really solidified our relationship. As we journeyed through the year, it really felt like our relationship was going to the same destination. Something I have never experienced with a romantic partner. That was 6 years ago. We're married now :) And our marriage is good. We even have a little one running around and she's the cutest thing ever. I'm a dad now, and I love it.
Goal Setting in a 6-Step Process
Though this 6-step exercise is designed to be done before you start the next year, don't worry if you are just starting it now. Do it today! This weekend! Soon! You'll earn yourself bragging rights in mid January when your friends are chatting about New Years resolutions. This roaring lion process makes resolutions look like dandy lions. See what I did there? I can .. I'm a dad ;)
All in all, this is meant to serve you and give you ideas. Not bog you down.
The steps are as follows:
- Start from a place of gratitude
- Give the previous year a name... this helps you to let go of the past.
- Give the “next chapter of your life” a name
- Brainstorm goals that (1) begin with a verb and (2) are s.m.a.r.t.
- Determine your most important goal(s) (and scratch out ones that don't make sense)
- Identify specific behaviors to make sure your goal happens*
You'll first get you in the right mind-set to craft your ideal year. Then dream. Then prioritize. And finally you will learn how to put your goals on auto-pilot.
PRO TIPS:
(1) Block out at least an entire morning, afternoon, or evening. Though this can be done in 1 hour, I recommend taking your time with it. You are planning an entire year of awesomeness.
(2) Make sure you are in a good physiological state (rested and fed) before doing this exercise.
(3) This exercise is very powerful to do with a spouse or life partner.
*My favorite apps for tracking daily behaviors to form habits are Coach.me and Way of Life. My favorite apps for tracking recurring weekly and monthly behaviors is Nozbe.
I realize that I should probably submit my own #1 goal here:
My number 1 goal for 2018 is to establish a habit: A solid 30-60 minute morning routine that moves my spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical health into an ever increasing positive direction. If nothing else gets done this entire year, this WILL get done. I'm committed to it!
Even I need to proclaim what I'm committed to making happen. Thanks for reading :)
You are going to be success bro!
Great article @samh. I only just came across SMART goal setting recently and I'm a big fan of it.
I'm really grateful for the year I had last year and the opportunities that opened up. This year will be about focus and balance :)
Thanks. I'm right there with you.. Balance is something that I'm working on too. I know that focus and balance are sort of hard to containerize. Can you expand a bit on each? I'm curious to know how you define each and what plan you have in place to make sure you grow in those areas.
wow - you're making me really think hard about this! :) I would say for me, focus what helps me achieve balance. My focus comes from taking time to clear my mind and let go (usually with music or exercise) then focusing on what is actually important to me or what I am trying to achieve.
The balance is about trying to stay centred and balance ALL the different things in life that are important to me (eg. family commitments, my own wellbeing, work and chasing dreams).
Without the focus it is easy to get obsessed with one component and lose the balance with everything else.
Excellent approach!
According to your avatar you must be a surfer... are you?
Upvoted, resteemed and following for future posts... I'd say that's my 100% :-)
Yes I do surf, but not nearly as much as I'd like to. I would say that I'm more a runner and hobby bball player than anything else at this point.
Cool! I've been playing basketball during my college and high school time :-)
Nice post..followed you
Thanks.
Very interesting. When will your book be complete?
That's a great question! It should be in a couple months. I'm just a contributing author, not driving it forward at this point. It's being curated by an awesome friend of mine. It's a self help culmination of tips from 100 different life coaches.
sounds great. hope there will be post telling us when its ready.
Great tips.
TY ^.^
WOW!