Remember those goals and visions you laid out at the start of the year? Regardless of whether you’re making steady progress toward them or you’ve long ago fallen off track, and maybe even given up, now is a good time to evaluate, adjust, recommit or reframe.
It’s also a good time to set new goals and dream new dreams. Today is a good day to sit down and gut-check where you are and here you want to be… and to make a plan to get there.
You don’t need to wait for January to set new goals and cast your vision. Let’s repeat that: You don’t need to start year-long goals (or any goals) at a specific point on the calendar. You don’t need to wait for specific life milestones to start a new growth plan or to change course. You don’t need to completely derail from your goals to reset.
And all this applies to recommitting to goals you may have lost track of as life crowded out your good plans in the first half of the year. The path to setting, adjusting, recommitting, and achieving your goals is within your control and your time. Starting (or restarting) a goal can happen in January, July, November, or any time in between. Don’t let the calendar be an excuse to delay.
Recently I pulled out an old 90 Day planner and a box of my old planning supplies. I took some quiet time to simply dream. What may seem messy to some is really a support system as I randomly placed different notes and images throughout the 90 Days. It is amazing at how these randomly placed things pop up on a day when that word or image is needed!
Sure, this planner was a bit busy for a business meeting. That’s what my electronic calendar is for. This was my personal planner where I go each day to make sure I am on track and can plan with paper and pen in advance. Everything goes in here and only I get to see it this way. It allows me to sit quietly with a cup of coffee before the house wakes up and see how far I have come on my goals for the year, the quarter, the week…and it allows me to support or change course where necessary.
This may not be the format that works for you, of course. The key isn’t to replicate the method. The key is to get creative and find the goal tracking system that helps motivate and inspire you to keep moving forward.
Grab a notebook with fresh clean pages and just start writing. Don’t worry about whether the notes you jot are achievable goals or tasks at this stage. This is just about getting down everything you might want to tackle. Ask yourself questions like: What do I find myself thinking about repeatedly? What unsettles me? What excites me? Who am I in my wildest dreams? Write the answers in your new notebook.
Then ask: what would it take to be that person I dream about being? What changes would I need to make? Why do these things unsettle or excite me? Is there something I can do to embrace the good things or address the uneasiness? What achievable goal could I set around these answers?
You’ve dreamed a lot in your draft notebook. Now ask yourself the hard question: is this really a goal I want to pursue? We can dream about a lot of things. That doesn’t mean everything is attainable or, frankly, that we want to put in the work required to attain it.
What is this particular goal going to cost me? Is it worth the investment of time, energy, and money to reach it? When you’ve separated the proverbial wheat from the chaff, make a plan. What steps do I need to take to achieve this goal? Map out the plan. Start with big milestones and then add in the small steps.
For example, if your long term goal is to complete your Masters degree in a particular field of study, you’ll need to begin by identifying potential programs you could attend to take classes and earn your degree. What’s the plan to identify those programs so you can begin to apply to them? Small steps might be researching colleges and universities. It might be determining whether you want an online program or in-person classes.
Do you want to go part-time or full-time? Do you have career experience that can be applied to course credits? Do you need to take your GRE or secure previous transcripts? When will you complete these goals? And then, what happens next?
Map it all out and then start to execute against your plan on your way to success.
(908) 345-0382