My Goal Setting Process
Now that 2023 is here, we all know what’s at the forefront of everyone’s mind: goal setting.
I love learning about different goal setting methods, reading self development books, and learning from personal growth teachers. The commonality I’ve noticed between all of these is that a confident mindset and persistent action must coalesce to get to where we want to be.
Here is the goal setting process I came up with that’s inspired by my favorite books and motivational speakers. I follow it to the best of my ability (remember, no one is perfect!) when working towards my dreams.
1. Goal
The first step is to identify what it is that we want to achieve. I like to daydream and visualize where I want to be, and then create my goals from there. Throughout the goal setting process, I try to not hold myself back because I don’t believe I can achieve something. I shoot for the moon, and encourage you to do the same! If it’s a big goal though, I like to break it up into a smaller, more manageable goals so it doesn’t feel so far away.
2. The Why
Why is it important to achieve this goal? Knowing exactly why we’re working towards something is so powerful because it gives us purpose and motivation. I find this also helps me stay patient, even if things aren’t moving forward as fast as I’d like.
3. Self Belief
Of course, being the positivity princess that I am, I believe an optimistic mindset is a critical prerequisite to setting and achieving any goal. I know it sounds cliché, but we first have to believe that we can achieve our goals. To overcome the negative inner dialogue and limiting beliefs that can affect us all, I like to affirm positive mantras to myself. Also, I hope you already know that with anything in life, we should never settle for anything less than what we deserve (which is the very best, my dear.)
4. Mindset
One of my favorite principles that Ed Mylett teaches is blissful dissatisfaction, which means that we’re grateful for everything we have, while also working towards more. This state is amazing because it's the convergence of gratitude and motivation – we’re completely blissful, thankful, and joyful in the present moment, while simultaneously knowing we can accomplish more.
5. Consistency
Baby steps add up. I believe the most self-compassionate and sustainable goal setting approach is to focus on consistent small steps forward that add up every day. Because even if we feel like we’re not progressing forward right now, our actions are compounding.
6. Inspiration
When I’m not feeling motivated, I look to friends, family, books, influencers, and my vision board for a major dose of inspiration. I guarantee this will reignite your motivation if you find you’re lacking, which is completely normal. I also want to note that when seeking inspiration, it’s important to remember to not negatively compare yourself to others, because someone else’s light doesn’t dull our own.
7. The *Feeling*
Feel like you have what you want before you actually do. This is something I’m personally working on by affirming positive thoughts and instilling unshakeable self esteem. Everything starts in our mind, so I try to embody my best self, with thoughts, words, actions, everything — all the way to the vibrational level.
8. Action Steps
I like to outline what my action steps are to accomplish this goal and how I’m going to integrate these steps into my routine, or just schedule when I’m going to do them. Just like with the goal itself, I recommend starting by making them small and manageable, then increasing as you make progress.
9. Action
Now it’s time to take action steps towards our goals! Taking action feels so empowering and proves to ourselves that we are capable. The hardest part is simply getting started and taking the first step. Then, once you start you will build momentum, and the rest will come so much easier. I guarantee that you’ll feel so accomplished and proud of yourself!
10. Resilience
Lastly, don’t forget to give yourself compassion and grace while working towards goals, because we all deserve it. Even if I hit a roadblock or mess up, after taking some time to rest and reset, all that’s left to do is pick myself back up and get right back to it. I encourage you to be resilient, because as long as we’re taking those small steps and striving to be a little bit better each day, we’re bound to reach our goals!
