The Missing Ingredient in Your Goal Setting

Have you ever known someone who sets lots of really great, lofty goals but never seems to get there? Or worse, someone who has given up completely on goal setting because "it never works"? There is a reason that people don't take the actions needed to reach their goals, and it's a simple but critically important ingredient.

The missing piece for many people is MOTIVATION, and motivation comes from having a very clear VISION.

You may think you're motivated to lose some weight, get in shape, or start eating a healthier diet, but have you asked yourself WHY? What will it mean to you to be in better shape? What will a healthier diet bring you? Who else will benefit from you reaching this goal? Is it really something that matters to you or are you setting a goal because someone told you that you should care?

This is why clarity is one of the most important habits of high-performing people. Clarity of vision brings us motivation. It gives us something to fight for. To be truly motivated to reach a goal, you need to have an emotional connection to the outcome of that goal. You need to have a vision of how reaching that goal will make your life and the lives of those you impact so much better. This vision needs to be so clear, and have so much detail, that you can't resist it.

Your vision will be the resounding reason underneath everything, and it will keep you going and help you get where you need to be. Without a vision, every sparkly thing will call out for your attention. You will get distracted, bored, or change your mind. With a vision, you can identify what does and doesn't support what you're after, and you are more likely to stay the course.

In August of 2021, my husband announced that we needed to move to LA to be closer to my dad. I hadn't seen my dad in almost a year because of the pandemic, and there's no telling how fast or slow Alzheimers will progress. My husband had a vision of us in Los Angeles to be able to enjoy as much time as possible with my dad and to be available as an additional support system to my step-mom. It was crystal clear to him. He saw what we needed, and he felt a strong emotional attachment to getting to what he saw. When he shared it with me, I knew that it was also something I wanted in the deepest parts of my soul.

We didn't know exactly how to make it happen, or what things would look like by the end of 2021, but we had some great motivation. From there we were able to make and execute plans until we got to where we wanted to be. It's been a year now, and every time I look back over the last 12 months, I am amazed at what we have accomplished. We have not yet hit every milestone we set, but the big picture is still strong motivation for us, and as I lay out my goals for 2022, this vision of having time to be with my family was still at the forefront.

When you go to set your goals for the coming year, remember to start with your vision. what kind of person you want to be, what kind of impact you want to have on the world around you, and most importantly what it will FEEL like to become this person who does those things. Really take the time to connect to this vision with all of your senses - what do you see and hear around you? Who is with you? What do you smell? What emotions are you feeling? Make it as clear and as real as you can. It can be a vision for a year from now or 10 years from now.

Then write it down.

Put it somewhere you can see it every day. Read and revise until it resonates clearly in you. Give yourself the time to connect completely with this idea before you even start to set your goals.

Once you have your vision, it can become your guidepost as you set your goals.

(Tune in next week for some tips on how to structure and state your goals for maximum effect.)