Welcome to this continuing series of engaging approaches to reflect on past goals and prepare for the year ahead. Let’s face it—some goals fail to ignite our enthusiasm. This method transforms the process, helping you set goals that energize and motivate. Follow these strategies to make goal-setting a lighter, more rewarding experience, paving the way for meaningful progress.
Building on the Year in Review
This blog continues the theme from the prior post, Year in Review, where we introduced the framework for evaluating your goals from the past year. By categorizing them into three buckets—goals met, partially met, and not achieved—you created a snapshot of how 2024 unfolded. Now, it’s time to dig deeper into why some goals succeeded while others fell by the wayside.
Why Goals Succeed or Fail
Drawing on patterns I’ve observed in myself and with clients over the years, several common reasons emerge for why goals either flourish or flop:
1. The Goal Wasn’t Yours: Goals set to please others often lack personal connection, making them harder to sustain.
2. The Goal Was Too Big: Overly ambitious or audacious goals can feel overwhelming, leading to paralysis.
3. Emotional Blocks: Past pain or unresolved emotional wounds can sabotage progress toward something you genuinely want.
4. Lack of Visualization and Emotional Connection: Goals that remain abstract in your mind, unanchored by visualization or emotional resonance, often lose momentum.
5. Procrastination: This all-too-common hurdle needs a nuanced understanding. Saying, “I procrastinated” isn’t enough; explore the specific type of procrastination you experience.
I’ve written multiple blog series on this if you want to dig deeper, to better understand your unique procrastination tendencies.
A Common Reason Goals Fail
When goals fail, they’re often crafted solely in your head—mental constructions that typically begin with phrases like “I should…” or “I need to….” These phrases are yellow flags indicating that your goals may lack a deeper, personal connection.
The Workaround: Feel Your Goals
The antidote to intellectualizing a goal is to slow down and check in on a physical and emotional level. Ask yourself:
Does this goal resonate with me?
Is this truly “my” goal, or am I pursuing it for someone else?
By doing this you’re seeking a sense of truth—a gut-level recognition that this goal aligns with what you genuinely want. This reflective process takes time, so go slow so that you actually feel it in your body.
Visualize Your Goals
Once you’ve confirmed that a goal is authentically yours, move to the visualization stage. Treat it like scripting a movie:
· What are you doing?
· What are others saying about you?
· Who is present?
· What smells and sounds surround you?
· What physical sensations are you experiencing?
· How are you feeling?
Close your eyes, get quiet, and spend at least 5 minutes visualizing. Some clients during VIP One-Day sessions have extended this phase to 15 minutes or more, finding it profoundly clarifying and motivating.
The Path Ahead
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to spend adequate time on your Year in Review because there is so much you can glean from the past experience and apply the insights to the new plan for the year ahead in 2025.
By incorporating these strategies, you can transform goal-setting from a chore into a
meaningful and energizing process. In the next blog, we’ll explore how to craft actionable plans for 2025 that align with your most resonant goals, The Year Ahead.
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