Goal setting with Clarity

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When I’ve lost clarity about my goals, or I’m feeling overwhelmed and can’t figure out what I’m supposed to be doing, the first thing I like to do is bake something to clear my head.

I bake with a recipe that gives me clear directions to follow. 

How comforting to know that if I follow them well, I’ll (most likely) end up with something good and delicious in the end.  

So where do we find a recipe with clear directions for life?  

“Just tell me what to do!!!”  I have silently screamed (to the heavens, universe, myself, or anyone who is listening).

Well, after I enjoy a warm, soft-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside chocolate chip zucchini muffin (here’s that recipe), I go through a process that helps me create my own personalized recipe with directions to achieve my goals.  

A recipe that directs me, with purpose and meaning.

So, Grab your favorite journal and pen, and let’s hand write our way to clarity.

Creating A Recipe For Life With Goal Setting

Take your time with this process by honestly answering the questions below.  

I allow myself to break it up and do it over a few days or so.

These questions will take you through a process of doing an inventory of the recent past, so you can see where you’ve been, figure out where you want to go, and orient yourself towards that vision.

You can decide whether you’d like to look at the last year, the last 6 months or even the last 3 months to do your inventory.  Do what feels right for you.  

I’ve listed a couple of references at the end of this blog if you’re interested in an even deeper dive into goal setting.

Grab your pen and let’s start writing.

SIX questions to goal clarity for your recipe:

1. What were your accomplishments? None are too small to acknowledge. What’s working? Consider what actions you want to keep or do more of in your life.

2. What were your disappointments? Get them all out on paper. Consider what’s not working?What are some actions you can let go of?

3. What roles do you play in my life and how would you rate my satisfaction with them? Up to 10. (For me these might be something like:  Mom, Wife, Homemaker, Family Member, Community Member, CEO, Self-coach, Student, Voice Teacher, Artist)  

4. Which of those roles would you like to see the most progress this year? Choose just one that you’ll prioritize.

5. What are all the goals you’d like to achieve in each of  those roles? Once you’ve made a list of everything you’d like to achieve in each role of your life, and then, narrow that to three per role, starring the ones that make you feel the most excited. 

6. Which 10 goals are your priority? Making sure you keep at least one goal for each role, and keeping in mind which role where you’d like to see the most progress, pick your top 10 goals. 

Tips on Choosing your Goals

If you are feeling stuck around what kind of goals to set or how hard they should be, follow these S.M.A.R.T. goal guidelines.

Set S.M.A.R.T Goals

• Specific

  • Narrow it to be specific so you can do effective planning and really envision yourself achieving your goal.

• Measurable

  • How will you measure your progress?

  • Consider whether it’s best to set a process goal vs an outcome goal.  

  • For example: Practice voice 30 minutes a day 4x per week VS Learn to sing through my break.

• Attainable

  • Don’t make them too easy just to protect yourself from failing, but don’t make them so hard that you give up next week. 

  • Make sure it’s something you can reasonably accomplish within a timeframe.

• Relevant

  • Do your goals align with your values?

  • Do you feel excited about achieving them?

• Time-Based

  • Be realistic AND ambitious about setting a time frame for your goals.

  • Break your outcome goals down into steps and set timeframes for when you’ll accomplish each step in the process.

  • Start from the end date and work your way backwards.

    • Where do you need to be at the halfway point?

    • What needs to happen by the first quarter?

    • What needs to happen right away?

Now that you have completed the questions, take a moment to appreciate the work you just did.

See yourself accomplishing your goals.

How will you feel?

How will you celebrate?

Bonus points:

Forward this to a friend who you know is working on clarifying their vision.

The only thing better than finishing it, is completing it with a friend who you can hold mutually accountable to accomplishing what you said you would. Accountability is key.

I hope this gives you some inspiration and tools to create a RECIPE for a life you love. 

Bookmark this blog can come back to it a few times a year. I like to reevaluate mine every 6 months.

This simple process works really well for me, but if you want to go even more in depth.  You might enjoy a book called My Best Year Yet by Jinny S. Ditzler which you can find here. 

I’m also a former member of Brianna Brown Keen’s philanthropic group The New Hollywood where Brianna created a workbook for her goal setting process called Manifesting Your Mission, which you can get here. 

Please note that I am an affiliate for some of the resources I recommend. As an affiliate, I may earn a referral fee if you purchase these products based on my recommendations. Rest assured, I ONLY recommend resources I actually use myself.