Slay Your Goals and Achieve Your Dreams: Take the First Step In Goal Setting
/
I hope you're reading this post because you've resolved to do something different this year. I'm glad that something happened to cause that shift in you and caused you to realize you had to take action toward your dreams. Sometimes that something is bad. But that's okay. Perhaps you've heard the saying:
Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place.
I truly believe this. In my own life, I've been through situations that seemed unbearable, unsolvable, and all-pervasive. But as a result of those things happening to me, I was forced to dig deep and figure out a way to get through it. Don't get me wrong. It took me a while, but one day I finally decided I'd had enough of the self-pity, anger, resentment, and frustration. I resolved to demonstrate to my kids what it was like to pick myself up after failure and to take action and at least try to get to a better place.
Developing Self-Awareness is Key
So what's that one thing I did to press ahead and move forward? Becoming self-aware. Getting clear on who I was. Who I wanted to be. What I wanted to achieve. What my dreams were. Why I wanted to achieve those dreams and goals. And how important it was for me to be my best self.
So, the first thing to do when goal setting is to reflect and clearly define what your goals and dreams really are. You'll need to identify why they're important to you (your "why"), and what's keeping you from either getting started or achieving them. This is what it means to develop your own self-awareness! In this post, you'll find some tough questions designed to get you really thinking. Engage your heart and soul and be honest with yourself. Give yourself the freedom to dream big.
"You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it is better to listen to it." --Paulo Coehlo (The Alchemist)
Even if your dreams and goals are big, scary, and seemingly unachievable, write them down anyway. It'll serve as your guide post, your North Star. This is how I put my big, scary dreams into perspective:
When I'm 80 years old, will I regret playing it safe and not at least trying to live my dream life?
Be as specific as you can here. Why? Because it's impossible to reach a goal that isn't defined! For example, if you're thinking, "I want to have a better life", this is not specific enough. What does having a "better life" mean? It means completely different things to you and to your neighbor, sister, or BFF. Instead, be clear and say, "I want to leave my 9-5 job to pursue being a freelance writer to (1) give me the flexibility to be with my kids and (2) pursue my passion of writing." Your BFF might say, "I want to earn $10K in bonuses this year so I can plan a family ski vacation next winter." And your neighbor might say, "I want to quit my corporate job to become a yoga teacher and open up my own yoga studio to share my love of yoga with the world."
Got it? Then, when your answers are clear, you'll be ready to take the next step in figuring out how to achieve your goals and dreams.
Side Note: If you're interested in a more detailed self-assessment, I've created a beautiful, 14-page self-discovery workbook containing 50 questions. Sign up to download it below. If you'd rather not, no worries, simply scroll down and get started!
Without further ado, here are 25 self-evaluation questions to reflect upon your life:
1. What matters most to me in life?
2. What is going well in my life right now (relationships, career, family, etc)?
3. What is not going well in my life right now?
4. What is my ideal self?
5. What are the core values that I live my life by?
6. What is my big dream or goal?
7. Why am I trying to achieve this big dream or goal?
8. Am I living the life of my dreams? Why or why not?
9. What steps have I taken to work toward this dream or goal?
10. What is stopping me from living my dream life and achieving my goals?
11. Who are the most important people in my life?
12. Am I giving those people the attention I want to give them?
13. Am I not accepting someone I love for who they are? How?
14. Is there someone who has hurt me in the past that I need to forgive?
15. What expectations do I have for my children that are more about me than about them?
16. What is causing me the most conflict and stress in my life?
17. How much time do I spend worrying about the past or future?
18. What am I most worried about in the future?
19. What are some past events that are preventing me from moving forward today?
20. What is my biggest regret?
21. Am I taking responsibility for the things I can control in my life?
22. What limiting beliefs am I holding on to? What evidence do I have that the limiting beliefs are true?
23. What am I taking for granted in my life?
24. What am I avoiding out of fear?
25. What do I need to do to take the next big step toward my dreams?
What did you think? How do you feel? Once you've got all of your answers written down, remember to refer to it often. Keep your goals and dreams fresh in your mind--don't let them get away from you and fade off into oblivion. Then, begin the process of setting goals in alignment with your purpose, values, dreams and goals here in our next post.
I hope you found this post helpful. If you did, be sure to share it with a friend or pin it to your Pinterest Boards! Aloha...