Stay in Relationship to Your Soul and Strategy

You did it! You broke out your shiny new planner and set some goals!

And then and real life intervened… and you might be frustrated.

But you CAN stay on track.

There is no failure, only feedback.

Learning from the past and adjusting for the future is real progress. The most important part of achieving your goals isn’t SETTING them. But instead having an ongoing RELATIONSHIP to your goals.

Let’s lay out the three questions to ask when reviewing your progress, to stay in relationship with your goals.

Is this goal still important to me.

As you take action, you learn more about how those actions impact your life, your dreams, your gifts and frustrations, and your values. As you take steps, you may realize that the specific goal you were aiming for no longer resonates with you. For example, if you are trying to grow your coaching business using paid traffic, as you step farther into that zone you may realize that it doesn't feel authentic to you. This is great news! You can make adjustments to your vision or your actions.

Does this goal make sense in the context of my life?

How many times have you tried to tackle changing your diet, your workouts, your business, and improve your relationship, all at the same time as you’re tackling a major project somewhere else in your life? Last year, I put my coaching business temporarily on hold when COVID hit at the same time I was moving into a new home and planning my wedding, and that was a trade-off I was willing to make for my sanity.

It’s important to understand what goals are a “someday” goal, but not a “right now” goal. Or, to define a smaller action or habit that can contribute to your future vision but is more easily attainable given your season of life. Check out the resources below for ideas.

What did I learn from the outcome of my actions?

The most important part of maintaining a relationship with your goals is learning from the actions you take - or those you don’t take. 

You may learn that you did not have the SKILL to make progress towards the goal, and so the next step is to learn how to improve that skill. 

You may learn that you did not have the WILL to make progress towards the goal, and so the next step is to choose a smaller action or re-evaluate the goal for you (see 1 or 2).

You may learn that you did not achieve an OUTCOME, but don’t know where it fell short. The next step then is to set process goals, your “leading” actions that will build to your desired outcome.

Are you ready to get back to your strategy and your soul’s mission? The time is now!

Key Resources:

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg

Feel Better in 5 by Rangan Chatterjee