033: Making Sense of Your Goals

We all have a list of goals longer than the amount of time we have to be able to accomplish them. This can be overwhelming and even discouraging.
 
In this episode, we are going to cover 4 tips that can help you make sense of your goals.

Someday Maybe List
A list of all of the ideas that you have but that you can’t get to immediately.
· Keep one list for work and a separate one for the rest of your life. When you change jobs, the one for your work can just be tossed.
· At least once per year, review the list to remove anything that you’ve already accomplished or that isn’t relevant anymore. In addition, determine if there is anything on the Someday/Maybe List that should be moved to your current projects list.
 
Get Clear About Your Priorities
Create a North Start List. What are the areas of your life that you must fulfill?
· Family obligations
· Work obligations
· Community obligations
· Personal obligations
Every goal you undertake needs to tie back to your North Start List.
 
Review Episode 1: North Star List
 
Understand What Type of Goal it is
“Why” Goals: Goals where you need motivation to keep you moving toward your goal
· Longer term
· Future oriented
 
For example: I want to lose weight so that I have more energy to play with the grandkids.
 
“What” Goals: Goals that are more concrete, difficult, or complex
· Detail oriented
· Shorter in duration
· Happening in the near future
 
For example: I am going to eat 3 vegetables today.
 
Know When to Give Up
Finding the balance between persistence and knowing when to give up is not easy. Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself to help you determine if you’ve reached the point where it may make sense to give up on a goal:
1. Is it a good use of your time? Given the limited amount of we all have, is this something that you should continue to invest your time in?
2. Is it costing you too much? Money, relationships, or some other opportunity cost.  When you got into this goal, did you realize how much it would cost you? If you had know, would you have made the same decision to pursue the goal?

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter and you'll get a guide for each episode.