Last week, I wrote to you about Why not to set goals. The idea was to share an alternative to goal-setting, not to get rid of goal-setting.
For the goals that I do set, here is the process I follow (credit to Stanier's 'How to Begin'):
1st draft:
Create a worthy goal, i.e. a goal that is:
- Thrilling: deep, visceral YES - antidote to feeling of obligation
- Important: goes beyond yourself, you give more than you take - antidote to selfishness
- Daunting: gets you sweating, not impossible but definitely making you feel uncomfortable - antidote to staying in the comfort zone
To help you brainstorm, think about these boxes:
- Sphere (work, non-work)
- Scale (intimate, broad)
- Class (project/doing, people/interaction, pattern/being)
2nd draft:
Edit your 1st draft based on these tests:
- The spouse-ish test (ask your spouse or a spouse-like person)
- "For the sake of..." (what bigger goal is this connected to)
- Goldilocks Zone (is it just right? Not too big/small, too familiar/unknown etc)
3rd draft:
Score each element of a worthy goal - Thrilling, Important, Daunting - on a scale of 1-7. If the sum is less than 18, then the draft needs more work:
Try specifying, not necessarily making the goal bigger and bolder, but by setting limits around:
- Commitment
- Reach (audience)
- Time
- Scope
- Standard/quality
- Outcome
Oh, and I don't know who said it (probably Arnold Schwarzenegger 😀), but:
Never create a goal without immediately taking the next step toward achieving it.
🎙️ My latest podcast
Next episode coming out next week: 16 January 2024. I'm excited for some great guests coming up.
Who else would you like to hear from? Let me know at daniel@politicwise.org 🙏
📚 What I read & listen to
I'm reading the new book by Gaia van der Esch, guest on my last podcast How Women Are Re-Defining Leadership.
🖋️ My favourite quote
"Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life." - Unknown