Goal Setting Tips and Tools

Goal Setting

Do you set goals? Do you set BIG Goals? 

I recently presented a short goal setting presentation and as I prepared, I noticed that I have resistance to setting goals. So, I got curious! 

I also wondered how many of us experience this and don't realize what's actually happening.

Now, to be clear, I had goals floating around in my head. I also had a huge goal written down. But, I wasn't serious about it. I wasn't showing up in alignment with it. 

When I got curious, I discovered that I really wasn't intentional with the goal and I didn't believe the goal was possible. I hadn't connected with the goal. 

My coach taught us that when you set the big goal, something in you will change in that moment. I didn't experience this change. And I didn't take the time to figure out why. This time I did take the time. 

I found it interesting that when I'm presenting these ideas to someone else, I have higher standards for myself. I don't want to tell someone to do something that I'm not doing myself. It was an empowering feeling!

When you set a goal, you are setting an intention for yourself. It gives you direction and accountability. This might also be why we avoid setting a goal. It was for me. I knew if I was serious about the goal, I would have to take action to achieve it. That felt like work. Duh. When I called my brain on it's lazy crap, I got clear about setting the goal and why I really wanted to set the goal. Because I wanted to accomplish the goal. 

Yes, it will take work. Yes, it will take redirecting my brain - daily. But when I imagine the goal completed, the feeling is worth the work ahead of me. 

When you set a goal, your brain will offer all the reasons why it's not possible. And previously, I just listed to this. I didn't realize it at the time, but looking back, I was believing this negative story. Know that your brain will do this, and plan to redirect it anyway. You can still believe in your goal, even if your brain offers you the alternative. You can thank your brain for doing it's job, trying to keep us safe, and tell it we are going this direction instead. When you tell your brain the new direction, it has a purpose to look for ways to accomplish the goal. This doesn't mean it won't start each day with negativity, because it will! This is how it's designed - survival brain. Redirecting will be a daily process. And believing in yourself will be a daily process. 

Practicing believing in yourself will set you up for success in all other areas. This is a skill that can take you anywhere you want to go. When you want anything in life, this believing in yourself skill will be how you get it. 

Here are the top 3 reasons to set a BIG Goal:

1. It will challenge your current thinking and expand your brain to figure it out.

2. It will require practicing believing in yourself, beyond your current self.

3. It takes you out of the "one how" way of thinking. If you think you've exhausted every option, you are wrong. You'll only know when you've achieved your goal. 

Secret Tip I stole from Alex Hormozi... 

In a presentation he did called "How to Win at Anything", he offered a way to find the "how" or in his case the "what to do". His method is called Inversion. When you set your big goal, you can utilize the negativity in your brain to your advantage. Ask yourself all the ways you can fail at that goal. Your brain will be excited to give you all the ways! Then you simply invert each one. 

If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, your brain might offer that the easiest way to fail at this is to eat whatever you want, never exercise, etc. When you invert these, you get eat on protocol and exercise regularly. I loved this trick. It's listening to our negative brain and using it to our advantage.

It's also practicing the awareness of what our brains already offer. I think the precursor to this step is knowing that the negative thinking is coming. Every. Damn. Day. Knowing it's coming, preparing for it, and handling it properly. 

We should never be surprised when it offers the negative AND we should never listen to it. In my case, I didn't even realize I was listening to it. (This is where a coach comes in handy!) It took me from last year at this time when I actually wrote down my goal, to this year when I realized I wasn't believing in the possibility. When I dropped into really believing, I could feel the shift inside me. I could really align with the possibility. I am thinking differently. I am planning my next steps. I'm moving the needle. 

If you're setting a new goal, or working on a current one you set for 2025, these tips will take you to the accomplishment. Connect with your goal. Believe in the possibility. Believe in yourself - Every Day. Think bigger. 

If you want an accountability partner, let me know. Telling someone else your goal will make it even more real. Maybe even a little more scary. I believe in you. Let's do this!