Goal Setting: Step 4!
We're back at it! Welcome to Step 4 of our Goal Setting Series (if you're joining us now, no problem, just check out Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 first!).
Today, we are Choosing a Priority Goal :)
Based on everything you've done so far, we're going to pick one important goal for you to focus on for now. I know some of you may want to tackle several goals at the same time, but for increased chances of success, it's best to focus your energies on one. Later on, you can re-do this process again as many times as you want, but, until you make some headway toward that first goal, let’s keep it simple.
So pull out your Wheel from last time and your Prioritized Values from Steps 1 and 2. Read over your Prioritized Values and make sure they still reflect your Top 10 Values. Have a look at your Wheel and think about which area of your life you want to work on most.
Once you've decided on an area, it's time to state your goal.
What is it you want? What would you like to accomplish? How to you want to improve this area of your life? As you choose your goal, it's crucial to state your goal in precise, positive, and actionable terms. What do I mean by this?
Precise.
Having a goal to "Be healthier," is vague and unhelpful. How will you do this? How will you know if you've achieved your goal? When will you have succeeded at being healthier?
In contrast, setting a goal to "Lift weights for 20 minutes three times a week for the next two months," is clear and precise. You know what you are setting out to do, you have a time period for your goal, and you will know if you have achieved it or not.
Positive.
Having a goal to "Not spend so much money," is negative (as well as vague) and feels discouraging. But, setting a goal to "Save $1,000 over the next 6 months to put in a CD," is positively-phrased, precise, and encouraging.
Actionable.
Having a goal to "Win a Pulitzer in the next 10 years," while precise, positively-phrased, and tied to a timeline, is unhelpful in that the awarding of the Pulitzer Prize is entirely out of your control. On the other hand, setting a goal to "Write an article every 2 weeks that can be pitched to a major news outlet for the next year," is actionable (as it is within your control), positively-phrased, and precise.
Got it? I'm sure you do :)
So go ahead and pick your Priority Goal! Make sure to specify a deadline or a timeframe for it. And to maximize your chances of success, make sure it's aligned with your Wheel results and Top 10 Values.
Here's your Priority Goal Worksheet to help you be crystal clear when stating your goal! The Worksheet allows you to start brainstorming steps to your goal, but we'll learn more about how exactly to break down your Priority Goal into bite-sized, actionable subgoals so we make sure that you can actually move towards and achieve it!
Until next time!
