How we do we set goals that inspire and motivate us?
It sounds obvious, but if we don’t set goals, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, nothing changes and if nothing changes, we might be stuck in a very comfortable zone. How many times have you talked about doing something and you just can’t seem to get started? Procrastination is one of the main saboteurs to reaching goals.
Start with the end in mind
There’s no point climbing a mountain only to find you’ve climbed the wrong one. One of the first question I ask my clients is `when the coaching has been successful, what does that look and feel like’? Starting with the end in mind keeps focus on the results you want.
Taking time to plan your goals is crucial and you can do this by reviewing what’s working and not working both professionally and personally. In my coaching, I use a creative exercise with my clients to look at all the roles they play in both their personal and professional life. This could be anything from Marketing Director, Mentor, Wife, Amateur Photographer and Blogger. The list is then scored out of 10 to understand where you are and where you want to be. This is often where the lightbulb moments happen and give you the direction for the themes of the goals you want to commit to.
How to keep on-track
Once you have your goals set, you can then start to break them down into smaller milestones to understand what needs to be done. Do what works for you structurally – whether that’s a project plan or something simpler, so you can map, track and measure how you are doing. I use a tool called the curve that creates a simple plan that is scored every month, which then gives an ROI on the coaching programme.
Having a coach is valuable to keep you accountable and to coach you through the journey of change. Coaching digs deeper to challenge what you really want, whilst having tools and techniques to get clarity and to have a plan to get stuff done. And if you don’t have a coach, you can always ask someone you know to be an accountability buddy who you can check-in with.
Knowing what might get in the way is important to uncover the blind spots. It could be a limiting belief that is blocking you. Coaching helps with unhelpful beliefs by reframing them to be positive and understanding that they are not based on reality.
Celebrate the wins
Celebrate the progress you have made towards your goals and reward yourself. This is proven to help form new habits as you create positive associations based on reward for getting stuff done. If something has not been easy or hasn't worked, it’s the learning it has given you that’s important. There is no failure, only feedback.
Always happy to have a chat about what's important to you.
