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The start of a new year is a common time to set new goals for oneself. Typically, personal goal setting follows team or organizational goals for the year, often manifesting as New Year resolutions. Traditional goal setting tends to focus on actions, and might look something like this:

Traditional goal setting examples

Personal goals: 1. Lose 25 lbs. 2. Run a 5k. 3. Travel to Paris. 4. Clean out the attic.

Business goals: 1. Launch new product. 2. Increase sales by 20%. 3. Find a new job.

At the end of the year, determining success or failure is straightforward: did it get done? Yes or no. The dopamine hit from achieving these tasks feels great, but the satisfaction is often fleeting.

The Shift to Experience-Focused Goals

What if we set goals based on the experiences we want to have and how we want to feel, rather than what we want to do? A mentor challenged me to do just that a few years ago, and my life has shifted significantly as a result. I am more fulfilled, more satisfied, and my Hyper-Achiever is quieter with new benchmarks that serve me and my mental health much better. My goal-setting process now looks more like this:

New Approach to Goal Setting

In the coming year, I will be:

 More calm / less anxious

 Healthier

 Curious / learning

 Playful

 Caring for others

 I will achieve that while I:

 Grow leaders via coaching and teaching

 Prioritize going to the gym

 Take adventures & regular trips

Artfully create (e.g. painting, small home projects, yummy foods)

 Spend more quality time with family and friends

Measuring success differently

This process also provided a better way of measuring my success. I know I am successful when:

1. My life is simple, easeful and fun.

2. I am healthier each year than the year before.

3. I have quality time for my relationships, my family and my friends.

4. I regularly do things that excite and/or scare me.

5. My work & business create more freedom for me and my husband every day.

6. Our revenue enables me to engage in 1-2 significant personal or professional development opportunities each year.

7. We make a bigger impact and contribution each year than the year before.

The benefits of aspirational goals

I am not saying I hit every benchmark I set for myself. These goals are more aspirational ways of being than the endless treadmill of doing I used to run. I still create to-do lists to help me achieve these goals. Instead of hyper-focusing on the milestones hit and missed, however, my eyes stay focused on the longer term vision of what I want life to be, making set-backs less disruptive.  

Conclusion: Embrace “To Be” goals

Try setting “to be” goals for yourself, and see how it transforms your life. Let me know what you learn and how this approach impacts your personal and professional growth.   

Thanks for stopping by. We hope you found at least one little nugget you are taking away with you. What will you do to bring it into full living color?

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