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A Fresh Look at Goal Setting and Creating a Vision for the Future
For the past couple of years Brian and I (Victoria) have taken a few days to step away from home and our day to day work and get away for a planning retreat. It may seem counterproductive to step away in the midst of running a business or during busy seasons of life, but we have found that if we don’t it is easy to let the busy and the new year run us right over.
During our retreats, we enjoy focused times of planning, both for our personal lives and for our businesses. We plan individually and together. We take breaks along the way to soak up nature, admire sunsets and have meals with one another and friends. As we return to our normal routine, we feel refreshed and focused as we dive back in.
There is a saying that goes “To go fast you must go slow.” How true we have found that to be. If we want to move strongly into the new year then we must first step back, pause, plan and even rest before we head into the fullness of a new year.
What Victoria and I (Brian) have learned to do is to build goal setting around a vision for our lives. We write out this vision though an exercise called: “come as you will be.” We look ahead a few years, currently we use three years, and write out a vision for what we want our lives to be. We look at various areas of life that are important to us, from our spiritual life, family, work, relationships, finances, personal health, etc. You would use what is important to you, it might be different for everyone. Then we look at: where am I now and what do I need to do next to move closer to that vision for my life. Goal setting becomes small pieces of that puzzle. When we set goals without having a “why” behind it, it’s easy to get off track from them.
For example: If my goal is to be healthy and strong so that I can play with my grandkids (which haven’t been born yet), then I will exercise and eat well. My goals are built on the fact that it’s important to be healthy and strong for the season of life that I am moving into, with the people that are important to me. It helps us figure out what is important to us and channel our energy into those things.
Take some time to think about what you want your life to look like and let that become the foundation of goal setting. Regularly look at your life to evaluate this is where I want to be going and this is where I am now so this is what I need to do next.
Setting goals then becomes an on-going practice, not just at the new year. We revisit our vision and goals on a quarterly basis, if not more often. Goal setting becomes the structure to make sure that we spend our time, efforts, talents, resources, etc. on what is most important.
We encourage you to carve out some time in the next few weeks to slow down first. Find time to nurture your soul, to seek solitude, to plan and reflect. The new year isn’t going anywhere. I promise it will be there when you’re ready to jump back in. Take the time to discover the vision of what you want your life to be, evaluate where you are and determine the next steps to get there.
Come as you will be.
Thoughts and encouragement from Brian and Victoria Mininger based on what they have learned both personally and through their MasterMind Communities.