One book title stood out for me in the past two months, while being super busy with work: Beth Kempton’s Calm Christmas. I looked forward to “landing” in Romania, considering that precise moment to be the moment my holiday starts. Only this isn’t quite true, I am still to translate the new Make It Happen tool into Romanian, to write next week’s newsletter (preferably before taking off again) and to tie some loose ends (which usually means “more work”). Also, Christmas celebrations in my family include half-a-day lunches and visits to and from relatives – a full on schedule of celebrations starting on Christmas Eve and ending after Saint John in the first week of January. It doesn’t sound like a calm Christmas, does it? And the truth is it never is a calm Christmas at the Urdea residence – and I love it just the way it is!
And yet, there is one date in my calendar that’s standing out and I am going to make regardless of everything else that’s going on around me. I love setting goals and while I do this all year round, just like many other people and perhaps you as well, setting goals at the end of December is extra exciting. I’ve looked back at my year and my decade, I’ve learned what I needed to learn and now I’m ready to dream big and take action!
What’s my recipe for goal setting?
1. Dream big: Next decade or longer
Forget about what’s “realistic” and “what’s stopping you”. Start by dreaming big and give yourself plenty of time. You can dream about where you want to be at the end of the next decade, or indeed you can go further and dream about where you wanna be 30 or 50 years from now. Two things to keep in mind:
- We people tend to think we can achieve loads in short periods of time (“tomorrow / next week I will do x, y, and z – all outlandish goals”) and very little in outrageously long periods of time (relatively small dreams albeit we can have a decade or more to achieve them). Now be sure to be ambitious, to dream big!
- This step is crucial! Dreaming big will enable you to determine what your shorter term goals should be, and therefore the big dream is what gives direction and purpose to your goals and actions.
2. Make it manageable: 31 December 2020
Looking at your dream, set your goals for this year. In other words, where do you want to be by 31 December 2020? If previously I encouraged you to dream, this time I suggest you formulate some SMART goals in all areas of your life. I wrote about this at length here.
3. Take the first step: 31 January 2020
Looking at your goals for 2020, decide what you want to have achieved by the end of January. This will be your first milestone towards your goals and your dreams and once achieved, when you can see progress, you’ll also notice feeling highly motivated to keep going.
4. Anticipate and avert challenges
If it were easy, everyone would do it and it’s the challenges that make a story good and a goal compelling. Some of the challenges that come your way will be unexpected thus testing your flexibility and ability to sort things out on the fly. There will also be challenges you can spot from miles away, or indeed today. Make it easier for yourself, anticipate and avert them early; eg. if you think someone close will later complain because you’re spending time on your goal, explain to them in advance what the goal is, why you are working on it and how important it is to you; if you think money will become a challenge later on, start budgeting for it early / find more money to fund it; if you think your fitness might become a challenge, start working out and / or change your diet and eliminate this challenge altogether.
5. Use everything you’ve got and more
There are people and resources that can support you to achieve your goals and dream(s). Do take 100% responsibility for your goal and at the same time enrol the people and resources you have at hand to support you – some people might know things or have abilities and skills you could find useful now or later and some resources and tools, online and offline, like Make It Happen, could prove useful when it comes to being disciplined and accountable and recording your progress.
Have I made you curious? Enter the Make It Happen tool
The new Make It Happen tool is fresh from print and available below. Get yours now, while stock lasts! Not sure this is for you? Let’s chat!
PS. I’ve read Beth Kempton’s Wabi Sabi in 2018 and loved it. I’ll get Calm Christmas after the holidays, I’m sure it’s packed with learnings I can apply all year round.
