As we move into 2020 and per our family tradition, I encourage each of you to write down your goals for the year ahead. As usual, I like to think about Stephen Covey's 'Whole Person' concepts and the best sentence Covey ever wrote (IMO) . . .
Say this sentence out loud to yourself every time you write or review your goals:
IN 2020 I WILL . . . "tap my talents and fuel my passions in a way that rises out of a great need in the world that I am drawn to by conscience to meet – for therein lies my voice, my true calling, my soul’s code.”Here's a post on goal setting from a while back: Whole Person Goal Setting Process.
I always start with a list of annual goals in each category, in my own hand-writing. Typically between 3 and 5 goals in each group. Goals should be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Timebound. I start each month with a list stating what I plan to accomplish or what I plan to focus on in each area. I like to use a Black 'n Red notebook, where I also keep other journal entries. What type of journal, type of paper, pens, or pencils do you like to use?
My yearly and monthly goal worksheets typically look like this, with bold type credit to Covey again:
To love (family, friends, social, emotional, passions, goals of the heart):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To leave a legacy (faith; world view, spiritual, goals of the soul):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To live (fitness, golf, physical, needs, food and drink intake, goals of the body):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To learn (financial, Autodesk (work), mental, intellectual, talents, books, goals of the mind):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
It can also be helpful to draw the circles above on a piece of paper, noting that the 'sweet spot' is in the middle. Then use the circles as a worksheet writing words in each circle that can later be expanded into SMART goals. (You will know when you are living from that sweet spot. This is sometimes called 'flow.' Covey calls it 'finding your voice' or 'your true calling.') We have talked about the importance of oscillating in and out of each discipline (or circle) throughout each day. This is the key to living a balanced and healthy life, as you learn to recharge and recover in one area, while you are stretching, growing, learning in another.
