How many of you are really good at goal setting and prioritizing your core values? Often times it's easier to go by our feelings, but that isn't a great strategy if you'd like to make big progress, or even steady progress. Well, for me it's definitely not a good strategy...maybe you can manage better! Going on what we feel all the time can keep us in a holding pattern. For me, I've struggled with pattern that coasts on my successes, and maybe highlights some of the areas where I could improve, but ideally it's not that bad, so improvement doesn't have to be the priority if I are comfortable and doing good things, right?
WRONG. This is a bad way to exist because it breeds complacency. Take as an example me 'saying' that I want to save more money. I say this is a goal for me but if you look at my American Express bill from this past month, you would draw different conclusions based on my Nordstrom purchases. Likewise, I'm planning a ski trip this winter. Am I REALLY wanting to save more money? The answer to that is no. I have too many places where I am incongruent for that to be true. Ideally, of course I would love to save money, but I continue to choose an updated wardrobe, experiences and comfort/fun over saving money. I bought my dog a $4 sandwich from Starbucks and a $2 coffee this morning. My goal is definitely not saving more money. That cake I ate for breakfast? Really not going to get me closer to my supposed health goals.
So how do we make better strategies in our goal setting and keep our values hierarchy at the forefront? If they aren’t written down, they aren’t real, so write them down in a place that you see every day. The values hierarchy is an ordered list that helps us make informed, conscious decisions according to what we personally value, which is directly linked to our goals, if we are really serious about achieving them. I like this list of Core Values: https://jamesclear.com/core-values and gave a sample of some of the things that are important to me, though are not ordered (which I need to do!)
Authenticity
Autonomy
Growth
Kindness
Meaningful Work
Love
Fun
Once our core values are in place, the goals can follow. In order to stay on top of the forward motion, we need to keep values AND goals at the forefront EVERY DAY. So, here is some great advice from the man himself, Mr. Brian Tracey:
■ Plan each day, week and month in advance.
■ Plan each month at the beginning of the month.
■ Plan each week the weekend before.
■ Plan each day the evening before.
The 12-Week Year is a phenomenal book that I have been through twice now, and each time I improve. The first time I set out with this plan, I think I reached about 50% of my goals, and the second time I was up to about 80%. I can't wait to implement my core values into my goal setting and strategy.
What has worked for you?