I am sure by now you may well be a bit over hearing about new year’s resolutions, the new you, the ‘special’ offers etc.  For some people it can be hard to get off the start line in terms of creating goals, maybe there is so much to change, might not be sure where to start, or maybe some of the gremlins start piping up again – the not good enough story, don’t deserve XYZ, whatever it might be.

When it comes to goal setting, there is often talk about SMART goals, and again that can work for some people, but not everyone.

Here are three steps you can take to help you identify where you want to be heading this year, you may want to print out this sheet, or copy it out.

STEP 1.
So I invite you to take a pause and think about what you would like to feel more of this year?

Here is a cheat sheet if you need some ideas, but it could be anything like:

  • joy
  • calm
  • adventure
  • creativity
  • connection
  • …

Write down 3 different feelings that resonated, maybe jumped out at you.  Maybe you haven’t felt it for a long time, or never felt it and would love to. Don’t worry about the how or the what just yet.  Just focus on the feelings you want to feel this year.

STEP 2.
Then look at this list.  What of the words there resonate?

They are loosely grouped to not overwhelm you.  If you were living true to your values, which of those words would help you feel more of what you identified in Step 1.    For example, you may have identified wanting to feel more energised in step 1, so maybe step 2 could be values of adventure, wellness, relaxation, and solitude, (depending on how you get your energy…)  Sometimes these are values, sometimes they are human needs.

STEP 3.
What in the past has given you the feelings you identified in Step 1?  What action steps can you identify to help you live true to that value or meet that need that you identified in Step 2?  Don’t forget we are talking about small steps here. 

In the final column pop down some of the action steps that feel most doable, which will help you connect with the value or need in the middle column, which will ultimately help you feel the feeling in the first column…

This can give you a glimpse of your direction for the year and what steps to take… Focusing on how you want to feel can sometimes be more of an incentive or doable than something headbased, or potentially creating a goal around something that is not actually important to you.

It can also help us to think outside the box, think of different ways that we can feel that feeling and head towards that focus, as opposed to being stuck on what we feel we should be doing or the goals we think we should be creating.

This is your life, you are the creator, the designer of what it can look like and feel like, and this exercise can be a great start to get us out of our heads, and drop in to our heart to identify what really is important to us…