In the previous post, I shared with you how a Vision Book could help to inspire and motivate you to go after what you most desire in the New Year. But unfortunately, a vision without action is merely a dream. Here is where goal setting and implementing your goals come in and so I’d like to dedicate the next three posts to the process of setting inspiring goals and how to actually achieve them.
Today, I’m going to explore the process of setting inspiring and meaningful goals.
Note: if you only want to focus on setting professional goals, it might be worth it that you also connect to where you want to take your business or career from a strategic point of view before diving into specific goals.
‘Goal setting is linked to higher motivation, self-esteem, self-confidence, and autonomy.’
~Locke & Latham
My first memorable experience with setting goals takes me back to my former corporate life. Every company I worked for had a formal goal-setting process to mainly measure individual performance and it was heavily skewed towards what was good for the company but not necessarily for me.
Once I started working for myself in 2017, I was happy to say goodbye to a process that felt very restricting for me. But I soon realised that without a plan and some structure, my ideas did not move forward and I was also not very focused and kept jumping from one thing to the next. So I spent the next few years testing what really works for me and I’d like to share the outcome of that with you today.
If you have ever set a goal for yourself, you probably heard about SMART goals and you may even successfully use this process. Or perhaps, you don’t really use any framework and find it difficult to stick to your goals or you set goals that you might forget about a few weeks later. Whatever camp you fall into, I would like to introduce you to a model that I’m using and that may also resonate with you.
Enter EXACT goal-setting – a model which was developed by Carol Wilson, Founder of Culture at Work and Performance Coach Training.
It stands for:
Comparing this to the SMART goals model, there are two main differences. EXACT asks you to form positively framed and inspiring goals. The other difference is that the EXACT model requires you to add an element of challenge which means that your goals should be achievable but they should also provide a potential for growth by moving beyond your comfort zone.
When writing down your goals following the guidelines above, I also suggest that you write them in the present tense as if you already completed them. So rather than ‘I want to…’, write ‘I have…’ or ‘I am…’. This way of writing goals is going to tap into your subconscious mind and it will signal to your brain that you are already succeeding. It’s also a great way to check if you can actually imagine yourself achieving this goal.
Write your goals on a big piece of paper and display them somewhere where you can see them every day to be reminded of them.
And here’s the final exercise to help you set goals that are meaningful and inspiring to you. For this task, I’m asking you to deeply connect to why your goal or goals mean so much to you. Take a piece of paper and write down your Why. Find up to 30 reasons. Some of them might be superficial but if you keep going, you are very likely to tap into something really meaningful. Be aware that this exercise can evoke a variety of emotions – joy, gratitude and happy tears. Once you’ve reached a place where you can pick your top three to five reasons, the ones that really moved you, then add these reasons underneath or next to each goal.
If, throughout this process, you notice that one (or more) of your goals no longer spark joy or are inspiring and meaningful, then feel free to re-write them or decide to not go forward with them.
And that’s it, you have just set yourself very inspiring and meaningful goals!
In the next post, I’m going to share with you the actions that you can take to help you achieve your goals.