Planning with Purpose (Part 2): Building on a Solid Foundation
It’s only two weeks away now, the start of a brand new year. Having spent time last week evaluating, taking stock and looking back, my hope is that you’re ready to shift into a new gear. It’s time to create a solid plan for 2020.
Often at this time of year people consider setting “new year’s resolutions” and engaging in goal-setting. These are forms of planning, for sure. The planning I want you to engage in, however, has a different spin on it. It’s planning that’s rooted and anchored in the learning that you’ve gleaned from your reflecting (and if you haven’t reflected, then I suggest you reread last week’s article, here: https://www.stellarcc.com/the-blog/2019/12/2/losing-focus-heres-how-to-get-it-back) .
The planning I want you to engaging in isn’t about setting arbitrary goals. It’s not about resolutions. Instead, it’s about setting objectives within a broader context that can be defined in numerous ways and are rooted in who you are and who you want to be.
So, as you did last week, grab a journal or some paper, and a pen, and follow this process.
As you look ahead to 2020, ask yourself:
1. How do you want to define 2020? What word or phrase will you use as your overarching theme?
2. What 3-5 objectives do you want to accomplish? What is it about these specific objectives that matters? How do these relate to your theme?
3. What stopped you from achieving these objectives last year? What got in your way?
4. What will you do – and how will you be – different in the year ahead?
5. How will you apply your greatest learning from last year to the new year?
Notice that these questions have a “straddling” quality to them. There’s a way that I am inviting you to take all that you gleaned from last year – to not lose sight of those learning nuggets – and apply them as you move into the year ahead. Learning loses its power if you don’t do anything with it.
When it comes to goal-setting, you’ve likely heard of the importance of SMART goals – goals that are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Based. When I took my leadership course several years ago, the importance of this acronym was reiterated for us, with a twist. Rather than “Realistic”, we were encouraged to think about goals that are Resonant. Resonant goals, aren’t necessarily unrealistic; however, resonant goals are those that speak to you, that ignite your passion, those that call you forth and pull you forward. There’s something really inspiring about “Resonant” goals and as you hold the questions above, doing so in the context of Resonance will ensure that your goals are truly meaningful to you.
Bottom-line: ‘tis the time of year to plan with purpose, to set goals that are meaningful. You want goals to light a fire in your belly, to fulfill you, rather than feel like a weight that’s dragging you down. So set goals that are rooted in a sense of who you are, who you’re becoming and how you want to show up in the world. Choose goals that are resonant. And be clear on how you will do things differently as you set about working to achieve them.