One jump at a time
I love the feeling of a new year. The possibility and promise. The chance to reorganize, assess and map out what you want and need to be achieving over the next 12 months. It’s the perfect time of year to get yourself sorted.
I have been goal setting every January for about 5 years. The last 5 years for me have seen some enormous and truly unprecedented changes. My goals haven’t always seen what’s coming. But they have been able to steer me through, kept the bigger picture in mind and given me a direction and focus that frankly, has sometimes felt like the only stabilising factor I have!
So as I finalise my plans for 2015, I thought I’d share a bit of the process I’m going through with you.
- Start with the vision. Some people like to do the imagined epitaph you write about yourself as if it’s ended at some point in the future. Or you can think about what your ideal life in 10 or twenty years looks like. This will give you a broader idea of what you want.
- Break it down. Look at all the aspects of your life – career, family, lifestyle, health, finances, spirituality. What do you want to achieve in the next 12 months which will help you reach this vision?
- What are you key words? It helps here to think about how you want to feel. For example – empowered, calm, resourceful, connected, powerful, brave, driven, creative. Pick 3-4 words that will represent your year. It can be difficult to narrow down but once you know how you want to feel, decision making is so much easier.
- Get clear. List the key things you want to achieve under each feeling you’ve selected. A goal doesn’t fit a feeling. Maybe it’s just not right for you. Maybe you need to rethink it.
- Narrow it down. You can’t do everything. Some things will jump out as being more important than others. Focus on the top 3-4 actions under each feeling that will happen for you this year.
Looking at the list, it probably terrifies you. My list does! But we can’t move forward without pushing ourselves.
My words for this year have moved on from the Brilliant, Thriving and Harmonious of the last 2 years. 2015 will be Accomplished, Strong and Connected. I create pinterest boards to inspire. I have a vision board as my desktop wallpaper, I keep my goals in notebooks for easy reference. I tend to get stuff done!
How have you gone with getting ready for 2015? Need any help with goal setting? I’m wondering if there’s any interest in a planning workshop? If you’re in Melbourne, email me and I’ll see what I can pull together! It’ll make me feel ‘accomplished’!
Cultivating Place 