Setting Goals | Create A Life You Love

Setting goals helps you create clarity and intentional choices for your life. What do you want to do? Create? Be? A determined person with a plan is unstoppable. In addition to fueling your boss self, setting goals has been proven to positively impact happiness. “Goals are the means by which values and dreams are translated into reality" (Locke, 2002).

Are you ready to create a life you love? Setting goals will help you get there, but before we go too far, pause. You have made it this far, you are an incredible human, and you have accomplished so many things. Let's celebrate our past and what we have learned so that we can effectively set goals for our future. Ok, no regrets, let’s move forward.

5 Steps to Setting Goals

Step 1: Ask yourself, "How do I want to feel?"

Drop the quantitative metrics or “the thing” you are dying to accomplish (we will get there). Instead, focus on the emotions you want to experience.

Example: I want to feel strong, confident, and purposeful.

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Step 2: Generate ideas

Now that you know how you want to feel, create a list of things you might do to create that feeling. If it comes to mind, write it down. We'll filter bad ideas later. Just get it out of your head.

If you are stuck, ask yourself; What is something I want to get better at doing? What is something I've always wanted to do but never had the time? What might be difficult, but I really want to do it?

Example:

Strong: Join a gym, Run a marathon

Confident: Say no more, Take care of myself

Purposeful: Volunteer on a regular basis, Join a small group at my place of worship

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Step 3: Narrow down ideas

By now, you have a lot of ideas, let's start narrowing them down. Put a star next to ideas that resonate with you. Create your own idea filtering criteria or use one of these prompts: Is this an idea I am actually going to enjoy? Does this idea provide me an opportunity to grow? Does thinking about accomplishing this idea invoke the feeling you identified? Don't take the easy way out!

Example:

Strong: Join a gym*, Run a marathon

Confident: Say no more, Take care of myself*

Purposeful: Volunteer on a regular basis*, Join a small group at my place of worship

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Step 4: Revise your ideas and create your goals

Okay, now for the hard part. Look at the ideas you noted as goal-worthy. Revise them and do a bit of research to turn them into a goal you are passionate about pursuing. I like to use the following phrases to help clearly frame my goals:

To feel (emotion) I will (do the idea) and to start my next step is to (what will do you do next?)

By _____ I will have done _______ to help me feel ________.

Example

To feel purposeful, I will volunteer at the local homeless shelter as a tutor, and to start I will sign up for a volunteer orientation.

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Step 5: Keep yourself accountable

Create a visual. Tell a friend. Make your goal known. According to Shteynberg and Galinsky (2011), people who share goals are more eager to make them happen!

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Bonus Step: Celebrate!

You. Are. Awesome! You just took time out of your day to create a life you love! Remember, as life happens, your goals may change based on new emotions you want to experience and that's okay!

Sharing is caring here! Share your goals or goal-setting tips with the #30ishcommunity below.