Try This New Spin on Goal-Setting

arrow hitting targetRecently I listened to an interview with Chalene Johnson, who introduced me to a new idea for goal-setting.

At first I was skeptical, but when I actually went through Chalene’s steps, it worked!

Here’s what she suggested:

1. Set 10 goals.

WHAT? TEN goals? That’s too many, isn’t it?

Trust Chalene. Write down 10 goals across a wide range of areas of your life.

Here are the areas Chalene suggests for your goals:

  1. Educational (a “get smart” goal — something you want to learn more about)
  2. Pure joy — something just for the fun of it
  3. Love life
  4. Family / friends
  5. Spirituality
  6. Environment — Meaning where you spend much of your time, such as your home or workplace
  7. Purpose / profession
  8. Financial
  9. Fitness / nutrition
  10. Mental wellness — I like to think of this as emotional well-being.
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The Secret Cost of Pursuing Your Dreams

“Should I start walking, or stay here and buy another pair of cute earrings?”

If you have a dream and you try to make it a reality, you might fail. Then you won’t have your dream anymore.

This is the hidden cost of pursuing your dreams. It’s not just the risk of failure that’s off-putting, it’s the loss of potential success.

I’ve found this to be a common reason why people with goals don’t move toward them. Read More

6 Questions to Ask When You Don’t Reach Your Goals

why didn't I reach my goal?This week I taught a class on goal-setting.

Somebody raised a question that I hear so often, I was inspired to write about it today.

The question was this:

“What happens if I give myself a deadline to achieve my goal, and the deadline comes and goes, and I didn’t achieve it?”

When that happens, it’s time to dig in and find out what went wrong. NICELY.

Don’t brow-beat yourself; assume you did the best you could in the circumstances, and that whatever went wrong, did so for a reason. Read More