I’ve been doing a lot of work, in my self coaching, around goals and goal setting.  I’m starting to be more playful with them, just to see what’s up and to be sure that I’m using goals for my benefit, well really for my clients benefit and the future of my business’ benefit.  

Goal setting is a mindset process………when we stay in an active goal setting process we are so much more likely to hit our goals. Especially the ones that are a reach for us.

In the past, I didn’t really use my goals to leverage or guide me.  If I didn’t HIT any goal at 100%, it was a failure.  (I cover this on podcast #10).  THAT was not helpful and truly I think it slowed down my ability to experience healthy growth as a business developer and coach.  

So for today I’ve come up with 3 questions that you can use to sift through and choose how to be thinking of your goals this year SO that your goals are working FOR YOU. And let me be clear, our goals are working FOR us and our business growth if we are setting them as a guide to how we spend our time AND if they inspire us to take inspirational action/brave action. 

I’ve come up with 3 questions to help you process.  AND goal setting and working on your mindset around your goals is a process.  It’s like a faulty New Year’s Resolution if we only think about it once, we actually should intentionally have it top of mind and do our work on it.  That’s what these 3 questions are for:

1.  Understand why you’re setting this goal  WHY? Why this goal, why this measurement? Why is this important to you?
2. How do you feel when you  say this goal out loud (even to yourself)? What are all the reasons you can’t hit this goal? What is your mind really believing here?  This seems counterintuitive…..but this is Gold.
3. What are ways you can intentionally think about this goal that fires you up?  A way that makes it feel possible, that makes hitting it……..inevitable? This is THE FUN part of the goal setting process and something I’ve been having a lot of fun with this year.  

Why?  Why  are you setting this goal and measuring it this way?

I rolled into January exclaiming, I’m going to triple my revenue this year.  I’m so excited.  So proud that I’m brave enough to set this goal.  AND this is a bit of a pattern for me.  I state goals that make me proud……..it’s so funny, I’m so proud that I’m brave enough to set a really high bar for myself.   But it is not enough. 

 If I set a goal to prove to myself or even to others that I Can hit this goal…., I’m creating an empty journey of simply proving my worth to ……myself.  Really no one else cares.  I’m onto this pattern now and actually getting playful and curious about why I’m setting a BHG this year.  

Again understand your why, make sure the goal isn’t coming from I should hit this goal, or I’d be amazing if I hit this goal. Really slow down and look at your values and how you want to contribute with your business.  Why are you working so hard?  What amazing results would you love to see…..measure that.  Really dig into why.  Do you want to provide more income for your family? Do you want to serve more people?  Do you want to create some new sources of revenue by doing something new?  NOTE every thought that fires you up.  Every thought about your goal that gives you the energy that you know you’d keep going no matter what. Write them down, they are important and great to look back at when you hit bumps along the way.

Your reasons WHY you  do something is so important because if our why’s are shallow and not inspiring to us, we will never move through the inevitable obstacles along the way.

As I dug in with this topic (in my own mind) this week, I realized that yes I’d love to triple my revenue and give myself this huge pat on my back. But you know what I’d really like to do, show up and create so much resourceful content and show up so powerful as a coach and serve more people.  That I would have a bigger impact in the community of business owners helping them by connecting my community.  Now that is motivating.  How about I just triple my impact.  That gives me a lot of information on what my ACTION steps should be.