Looking for a goal setting strategy that allows you to move closer to the big vision that God has planned for you? Today I am sharing a sneak peek of the goal planning process I have used to dream big while inviting you to join me in my live Goal Setting Workshop!
This is the perfect process for those of us who may feel like we have no idea what God is calling us to do next. In this episode, let’s discover a new way to set goals that resonate, energize us, and bring us closer to God’s vision.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- [01:00] Live Goal Setting Virtual Retreat For Clarity & Renewal
- [05:03] The Five Ws and H of Goal Setting
- [07:44] Goal Setting Step 1: Looking Back
- [09:09] Goal Setting Step 2: Looking Around
- [14:26] Goal Setting Step 3: Looking Ahead
- [17:00] Keeping Goals Manageable, Light, and Fun
- [19:11] Realigning Your Heart with What God is Calling You to Next with a Live Goal Setting Virtual Retreat
[01:00] Live Goal Setting Virtual Retreat For Clarity & Renewal
If you want to step into the big dreams that God has planned for you but are not sure where to start, I would love to help walk you through this. Today’s episode is an excerpt from Episode 145 where I talk about what you can expect in my special Goal Setting Virtual Workshop. I will be hosting this on November 9th at 1 pm PST (and do not worry if you can not make it at that time, there will be a replay). This virtual retreat is a great way for you to partner with God to discover what could be next for you!
This workshop is going to be different from any other goal planning you have done in the past. This is a process I do every year to keep myself focused on what God has planned for me and to unveil what else could be. We are going to work through this together and at the end, you are going to leave with a vision, plan, and the next steps to move closer to your next level.
[05:03] The Five Ws and H of Goal Setting
When we set goals, we need to answer the five Ws and H that relate to our specific goal setting scenario:
- What outcomes do we want to achieve? What are the things we specifically want to have happen?
- Why is the goal important?
- Where and when will the goal take place? It is important to have defined parameters so we know what is going to happen versus saying, “I am going to do that someday.”
- Who else will this goal affect? This is important to consider and will help boost our “why”. When we understand that accomplishing the goal not only affects us but also our relationships, careers, or jobs for God, this gives us additional motivation to work toward our goals.
- How do we want to achieve the outcome? What is it going to look like in order to make this happen?
We have to keep these things in the back of our minds during goal setting so we get a 360-degree view of our lives. We do not want to just blindly make these goals, which is why I created the goal setting workshop.
Whenever I am helping clients create new goals, we talk about it from three perspectives:
Looking back – seeing what was, and what happened in the past
Looking around – seeing what is going on right now
Looking ahead – envisioning what could be and what is possible
Having those three things in place allows us to create goals that are going to resonate, are appropriate, and will be effective. Today, I want to give you a 30,000-foot view of what we cover in the workshop and how creating a goal strategy from those three perspectives can give us a sense of accomplishment in making the changes that we want.
[07:44] Goal Setting Step 1: Looking Back
Step one in the goal setting process is looking back: This is where we look at what was, what worked, and what didn’t work. This also allows us to celebrate our victories and what God has done for us. If there were things that did not work out the way we wanted, we can look at them with compassion instead of shame or regret. We are being honest and noticing that we may have room for growth but , but remember that compassionate love that God has for us. He understands that we are not perfect and He is just calling us to sit with Him as we walk through life.
Reflection questions:
- What do I want to take forward?
- What do I want to learn from the victories that I had?
- What do I want to learn from what didn't work?
- What kind of a person did I have to show up as in order to have that victory?
- What kind of a person was I when I didn't maybe necessarily have the victory that I wanted?
When we take an honest look at what happened in the past we can operate in a more full perspective as we move forward.
[09:09] Goal Setting Step 2: Looking Around
Step two of the goal setting process is looking around: This is where we see what is going on right now and we determine what we want to change. An important question to ask ourselves is “What depletes us and what energizes us?” The goals that last are the ones that energize us.
For example, several years ago I had a goal to begin working out six days a week. I was able to accomplish that goal but I found that it was depleting me. Although I was not finding joy in it, it was working in the sense that I was able to tone my body, feel healthy, and get endorphins for my mind. I asked myself “How can I bring the joy back in?” and I found that I could switch the action instead of the habit to get more energy around it. This made a massive difference in my ability to show up.
When we start something new, there may be times when we have to push through. But if you are constantly feeling dread, that is a sign that things may need to change. This step also allows us to see what burdens we need to lay down and what we are holding on to that is not ours to hold anymore. These things are important to consider when figuring out where we want to go. Oftentimes, our worries and fears are born out of us trying to control things. If we can look around and notice where we try to control and what is really our responsibility, then we can let go of huge weights and focus on what is ours to change in a situation.
Reflection questions:
- What does God want me to change?
- What are the character traits or habits that we feel God working on?
- What am I trying to control?
We always want to make changes based on what God has for us and there should not be pressure to get it “right”. It is an opportunity to begin to sense what God might want us to do and to approach all of it with curiosity.
[14:26] Goal Setting Step 3: Looking Ahead
The third step of the goal setting process is to look ahead at what could be: This is an exciting and freeing part of this strategy where we get to look at what God could do for us! In Episode 144, we talked about having a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. I had a fixed mindset for a very long time and I berated myself if I could not figure something out. I avoided anything that seemed difficult because I was scared of failure. We need to free ourselves from that and operate from the standpoint of, “I am loved, I am enough, and God is going to take care of me. And if He leads me toward this, it’s going to be enough. I’m going to be able to do this.” We can step into a safe space where we dream and imagine what could be. It does not mean that God is going to give us our desires in this moment but it allows us to think about the desires of our hearts that He has awakened in us.
At the end of the day, we are not going to accomplish anything without dreaming first. Within the goal setting workshop, we do a practice called creating a “dream bank”. This is where we list ideas of what could be in each of these different categories of life. This is such a fun process because we always find out new things about ourselves. I often find things I had forgotten about that were important to me, or things that I wanted to try, explore, or discover. Sometimes God brings something up that is new and I can see how it has grown out of something else I have tried.
[17:00] Keeping Goals Manageable, Light, and Fun
The dream bank activity is not meant to put pressure on ourselves, it is meant to help us see what is in our minds. We can then look at the dream bank and begin to narrow it down to one or two of those dreams that we want to welcome in. There should not be any heaviness around doing these things and nothing needs to be figured out instantly. Instead, we can think about the very first step with an attitude of prayer and begin to mentally prepare ourselves for what we can do to obtain this goal.
Reflection questions:
- What physical tools will I need to make this goal happen?
- What can I do mentally to make this light and fun?
- What can I do to loosen up my expectations around success?
- How can I celebrate small wins?
In the book “How to Change”, the author talks about ‘temptation building’ and how you can pair new habits with something fun. This makes it much more likely that you are going to stick with it! With goal setting, we also need to consider whether we have mindset patterns that are getting in the way. We need to address those and see what we can do to work through them.
[19:11] Realigning Your Heart with What God is Calling You to Next
I hope you hear my heart when I talk about goal setting and dream building. It does not mean that we abandon our life, it means that our dreams might perfectly align with the season of life we are currently in. It is a chance to step out of the daily chaos and go to the mountaintop with God while celebrating what has happened, seeing what is available right now, and looking forward & goal planning with him. We do not have too many opportunities to do that in everyday life and it is important to correct our course!
I hope you take advantage of the Live Goal Setting Workshop. There will be a handout with all of the directions and a few surprises along the way! You will walk away with some new visions, new ideas, and celebrations, while also filling your soul with what has happened and an excitement for what could happen. This is so important to pursue and instead of saying “What is my resolution?”, you will be stepping into the revitalized side of yourself while seeing what could be for 2024 and beyond through God's eyes and His power.
RESOURCES:
OTHER RELATED EPISODES:
144: Creating New Mindsets for Fresh Starts + New Beginnings in the New Year
227: Stop Letting Disappointment Steal Your Dreams
Live Goal Setting Workshop:
What if goal setting allowed you to honor your life, celebrate God’s blessings, and renew your perspective on what’s possible? This is how goal planning was meant to be.
I want to help you become more energized and joyful in the coming year, help you create a specific plan for change, and celebrate your wins.
Join us in this Goal Setting Workshop and let's discover a healing, Gospel-based approach to asking God to direct our next steps.
I can't wait to help you find clarity, renewal, and a new passion to love God and enjoy your life!