Goal setting
Goal setting is one of the best ways I know to provide direction and purpose in life. Whether you dream in your mind and think about what you want or you decide to write those dreams down and come up with action plans for them. It’s all about knowing what you want and going for it.
Growing up I would start a list on a piece of A4 paper called Things I want to Do, Be or Have next year. I would list anything that was on my heart at the time. It included things like get a full time job in London, get my own flat, becoming a qualified accountant, getting married and so on. I loved the feeling it gave me seeing what I wanted in black and white. Like it was more possible and real now. It also created a focus for my year and kept my dreams in the forefront of my mind. The only thing was that I would put the piece of paper somewhere then only find it years later. It’s a feel-good thing but had I of kept the paper and checked it weekly those dreams could have come true sooner.
Fast forward years later and I use one planner for my goal setting – the Powersheets Goal planner by Cultivate What Matters. They are my all-time favourite tool and I love all the products that Cultivate comes out with from pens to notepads and stickers etc. This company puts a lot of effort into creating products that help you to be intentional with life. It also helps that these products are SUPER colourful! I’m not an affiliate, I just love the whole brand and their entire team of 12-13 women. They have the feel of a global company whilst providing the small touches that only a close team can provide. From their products to their Instagram lives they make a difference.
When it comes to using my Powersheets and goal setting here are some of the big things I’ve learned that will help you with goal setting for anything you want in life:
1. Have a strong why – this isn’t some woo-woo way of saying visualise your dream and it will just come true. It’s about having a deep routed why for what you are doing. When you are deeply connected to your reason for doing something it will be easier to keep going and on hard days you will find a way through. When your why is weaker it will be easier to give up. For example if you decide to lose weight to look like people on Instagram at first it might motivate you but there may come a time when you think to yourself “I’m not a personal trainer so why am I trying to look like that?!”. But if the why was because you want to live longer and see your grandkids play then the motivation becomes a much bigger driving force. You will feel naturally driven to keep going. Writing down the why helps to keep it in front of you
2. Vision board/picture board – people tend to get a bit closed off to this one. What I mean here is having a page or board of what is important to you. Again, this is similar to the first point of having a why. It keeps you going on the harder days to know why you want what you want. It is easier on New Year’s Eve to set goals but a week later that excitement and energy can disappear. A vison board and a strong why give you longer term motivation and drive. For me this is a one page spread in my powersheets where I stick in photos of my parents, my siblings and their other halfs and also one of me and my boyfriend. Then I stick in pictures from magazines on health, home and travel etc. It boosts my positivity and ALWAYS makes me feel good. What photos make you smile when you look at them? Start with these for your picture board and enjoy the process.
3. Think big picture first – when you first start the goal setting journey think of everything and anything that you want and write it down. There is no limit. You write down things like make a million pounds or buy a huge home etc. Just get it all on paper. Then once you have all the ideas out of your head you can divide them into long term versus short term goals. From here you can then pick a few goals from each time frame. It’s good to have a mix of long term, mid term and short term (daily) goals so that you have a variety of things to work on. Remember you’re not working on everything at the same time!
4. Daily check-ins – here is where the magic of goals really comes in. Goals aren’t achieved in huge chunks. They are achieved by the small small actions we do on a daily consistent basis. They move you towards the big picture dream life that you want. What small thing can you do today to work towards that big goal that you want to achieve?
For me one of the big picture goals back in 2018 was to launch my blog (this website that you are reading now hehe). I broke it down into steps: find hosting platform site, come up with blog name and logo, decide blog topics, determine writing schedule and then start! Each of these steps took me a few weeks at a time as I was working a full time job and managing professional exams. Now that the blog is up and running my goals have changed to: write regularly, create monthly content and create community with my readers.
What is one life long goal that you are really keen to work on? I challenge you to take one tiny step today to move towards it. I would love to know what you are working on in the comments below. Also please do come say hi on Instagram. I love hearing how people are doing with their personal goals and helping in any small way I can.