TSR #4: How to set impactful goals
5 minute read
What’s in this newsletter:
Why goal setting should start with your past
Auditing your current state to find what goals to prioritize
Steps of realistic goal setting
One actionable exercise for you and your team
Why goal setting should start with your past
Before looking to the future, it’s important to understand our past. This is helpful for a few reasons:
Our past can tell us a lot about how we see our current self
We often forget or discredit past accomplishments, and it’s important to honor these to remind ourselves what we’re capable of
Our current self needs to orient to look towards the future, and grounding yourself in the past can help point you in the right direction
Take a moment to reflect on your past.
Which goals have you accomplished? Which have you fallen short on?
Try our storylines exercise to reflect on your past, and determine a few values you’d like to embody moving forward.
Auditing your current state to find what goals to prioritize
There are many ways to set actionable goals for yourself, but a helpful place to start is with your values.
Values could be things like autonomy, creativity, or creating impact.
Take a few values that you hold close, and reflect on the following questions:
How are you fulfilling your values?
If you were to look at your day to day, are you really prioritizing living out this value?
If so, great! Perhaps we can focus on a goal that helps to reinforce and strengthen this value.If not, dig a bit deeper into what’s holding you back.
Is there a limiting belief you have that is getting in your way?
Limiting beliefs can be small, but they add up over time. They could also be big and suffocating, truly holding us back.
Example: I’m good at trying new things, but not so good at finishing them.
What do you feel you need in order to overcome what’s keeping you stuck?
Example: I need to finish a project that I’ve been holding off and try to sell it to one person to get feedback.
Whatever you need to do to overcome your limiting beliefs should be your top priorities. They are by far the biggest thing standing in your way of fulfilling your values.
Steps of realistic goal setting
Once you have a goal or two in mind, it’s important to break it down into something that is:
Specific
Manageable
Impactful
Consider the following:
How much of this is in your control?
The more a goal is in your control the more likely you are to succeed.
Do you need to get help?
This can be help in order to achieve this goal, or just to stay accountable.
Do you need to break down this goal?
Often if a goal is going to take longer than a month or two, you should break it down into smaller steps. Any more than 66 days and you’ll likely need to build a habit first.
One actionable exercise for you and your team
Start small and use accountability buddies to gain momentum.
Try this exercise with yourself and your team to take the first step towards understanding what’s holding you back, and using that to build impactful goals.
Try it out, and let me know what you think.
