For some, it’s less of a thought-out approach to goal setting and more of a spontaneous goal thought up on New Year’s Eve. Ever done that and you’ve already given up on it by the end of the first week ?

This year I want to set empowered goals, ones which will drive me and inspire me to create something great. I wanted to share my process with you to enable you to do the same. I’ve often found goal setting to be a results-oriented task.

The truth is, goal setting shouldn’t focus merely on the outcome. It’s about the journey it takes to get you there.

Think of it like reading an amazing novel – if you read it purely with the intention of getting to the end, you’ll be left with a feeling of ‘what now’ once you finish the book.  Goals can be the same. Too often they are outcome-based and focused purely on the end result. Once you tick that goal off the list and the initial elation from the sense of accomplishment wears off, you’re left feeling lost and wondering where to next.

Take the time to savour the journey you on in order to reach that end outcome instead.

What have you learned upon the way?

What skills and attributes have you gained or had to summons within you to overcome adversity?

Step back and take stock of the growth you have had, knowing that if you were able to achieve something amazing this year, then you’ll be able to build upon it for the next. This year try the following goal-setting process and feel more empowered!

1. Visualise and Manifest

Create your vision for the next year. Think specifically about what it is that you would like to achieve.  How will you have developed as a person? Where will you be and what level of success will you have achieved?  Visualise in detail what it would be like to achieve this vision and what it would mean for you in your life.  What would it look like? Who would be around you? How do you spend your day-to-day life? How would it feel?

Think in terms of your senses and really experience it! It is important to be very clear and specific here. Write it down, draw pictures, and speak about it aloud. The intention here is to take your vision from the abstract form and give it substance.

2. Set Aligned Goals

Now that you have created your vision and know what you want, it’s time to set goals which will drive you in this direction.  These goals shouldn’t purely be around business and career – think in terms of the categories and key areas of your life. And yes, this means pleasure as well!!

Maybe you can see you and the family exploring the jungles of the Amazon as I do. This particular vision appeals a number of my highest values (which include family and travel) and should be included within this section. The idea is to provide you with a sense of direction as to how you’ll achieve that vision. Think in terms of:

• Professional (career, leadership, business)
• Personal (family, fun, adventure)
• Physical (health, strength, fitness)
• Profitable (finance, savings, purchases)

You’ve likely heard about SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. When setting your goal, keep these factors in mind, however, also consider the following additional points. Make sure these are your goals, not someone else’s. It can be very tempting to see what someone else has achieved and think “I want that!”  When the goal doesn’t align with your values or vision, you’re more inclined to abandon it.

Own the goal!

Otherwise, you won’t feel passionate about it or driven enough to pursue it. Create your goals and then take space. Step away from them for a week before returning to them to ensure they really resonate with you. Speak in positives, not negatives.

Identify what you will achieve rather than will avoid. This puts our minds into a positive space and enables us to think bigger! Which brings me to my next point…

Think big enough that is scares you!

Don’t choose a goal which you can easily achieve if travelling along your current trajectory without increasing your effort. Extend yourself to a point which is uncomfortable. Discomfort is where growth happens. Aiming for something that makes us question ‘how can I achieve this’ sets us up to think big and think outside our normal realm of possibilities. It can be daunting but it will also drive you and lead to questioning whether your current systems and processes will enable you to achieve your goals. Or do they require redefining and streamlining?

Asking “How can I?” is such a powerful question! Something to note is that often our goals are bigger than the year ahead.

There is nothing wrong with having 5, 10, 50-year goals.

In fact, this is a smart way of creating goals which drive you towards the bigger vision. Now, what that means for the purpose of creating your 2020 goals is that the deadline for this goal doesn’t need to be December 2020. There’s nothing worse than hitting the end of the year with a list of incomplete tasks. Instead, spread the workload for this goal across the entire period with certain tasks being accomplished by the end of the year. You’ll be left with a sense of accomplishment and a feeling that you are on your way to achieving that greater vision.

3. Create a System and Milestones

Whilst it’s great to have a vision and goals. Having a system is what will enable us to get there. A big goal can appear unobtainable, however, through creating your system with mini-milestones you’ll be kept accountable and the goal will feel achievable.

Your system will be a series of repeatable steps which progress you toward that goal. The best way to derive this is to begin with the end goal and then work backwards.

Say your goal is to create your own part-time coaching business which pays an annual income of $50,000 by the end of 2020.

Now that may seem like an overwhelming task at first but let’s break it down.

$50,000 spread across a year equates to $4,166 per month.

You know that you can charge $150 per hour session. So per month, this equates to approximately 28 hours of coaching.

Let’s say that means initially you need to bring on 20 new clients as some clients will want to see you multiple times per month.

Then moving forward it equates to only 5 new clients per month due to repeat sessions whilst accounting for some client’s dropping off.

In the first month, you need to gain approximately 1 new client per day. You know your conversion rate is 10%, therefore for your first month you need to contact 10 people each day to gain your 20 customers.

From the second month onwards, you can focus more on your current clients and need only to only contact 2 people per day to attract 5 new clients over the month.

You’ll then set up your schedule accordingly to provide sufficient time to achieve your daily milestones which connect to your greater purpose. Each month set aside time to review your numbers to keep yourself on track.

4. Review and Reflect

As this process is just as much about the journey as the end outcome, it’s important to take the time to stop and reflect upon your progress. When creating your system, schedule in time to reflect where you’ve come from and where you’re going.

Acknowledging the progress that you have made and seeing how far you’ve come is motivation in itself. It’s a way of reminding yourself that you can do this!

Consider what has worked, what hasn’t worked and what can be refined. What did you find difficult or easy? What should you do more of and what should you stop doing altogether?

Though considering how far we’ve come, it’s possible to imagine how much further we can go! Do this process on a monthly basis and then take time at the end of the year to repeat it whilst considering whether you lived up to your full potential and whether there are any lessons you can take forward into the next year.

What happens when the going gets tough and you fall off the wagon?

Understand your reason why! Why is it important for you to achieve this goal? What does it mean in terms of your overall vision?

Your reason why needs to be so big that the thought of not achieving it becomes inconceivable. When you make it about something than bigger than the doubt you are experiencing in that moment, you will be propelled forward and back into momentum.

So how was your 2019?

Did you achieve what you wanted to achieve? What does your 2020 look like? I know what mine looks like!

Amanda xx