As we come to the end of another year, it’s a perfect time to take stock of what we accomplished in 2019 and look ahead to 2020 – not only a new year but a new decade!
I’ve always been a proactive goal- and intention-setter, but never have I been more explicit about my practices around achieving these goals than this past year.We all know it’s one thing to set a goal; it’s a completely different thing to go out there and make it happen.
On a recent IRH webinar, we had the great pleasure of having a session with one of the world’s top communications experts, Michael Bernoff, and he talked about how we all have our personal average: that level at which we’re very comfortable and will return to again and again if we don’t proactively and consciously bust through.
A great example: have you ever set a financial goal, worked your tushy off to accomplish it, and then found yourself at the exact same place you were the year before? You may have even achieved that goal, but somehow your cash flow remained the same. Or suddenly you found yourself in a new tax bracket and all the extra income you earned went toward paying higher taxes. Or your expenses increased just as much as your income did, and so, at the end of the day, the money actually in your pocket was just the same as before?
This is your average at work. And without paying extraordinary attention to busting through subconscious patterns, we keep ourselves just where we are – professionally and personally – despite our best efforts.
One of the most effective strategies for actually achieving the goals I set and proactively living the life I want to live has been to follow a much more involved strategy. Here’s how it works:
1. Set one overarching goal or intention for your year ahead.
One of the things that trips up so many people is the overeager desire to change everything all at once. We go into a new year with way too many resolutions. “I’m going to be the best mom and go on two big trips with my kids, and then I’m going to double my business and write that new course. Oh, and I’ll also lose the last 10 pounds of baby weight…” Sound familiar?
When we do this, we set ourselves up for failure because it’s impossible to do it ALL. This is a recipe for either getting completely overwhelmed and doing nothing as a result, or doing multiple things poorly. (And wow, do I have LOTS of experience with both!)
Setting one unifying and overarching goal for the year focuses our attention and commitment. Of course we want to excel in all areas of our life, but getting clear on the one overarching goal will help you determine how the different pieces work together into one, beautiful puzzle.
For example, in 2010 I participated in a challenge called A Year to Live, and set out to live 2010 as though it were my last on earth. My one unifying and overarching goal was to leave my legacy, which was to share my thoughts and perspectives on food in a book. (That book – Eat Naked – was published a year later and was one of the first big successes of my career, setting me up for all sorts of new opportunities.)
Also: don’t be afraid to make an audacious goal that’s well beyond the one year mark. The bigger the goal, the more inspiring it is, and it may take many years to achieve it. Chances are you’ll go further and farther in this year even if you don’t fully achieve the goal than if you were to set something more moderate and doable. This is very different from treading water and staying at your average – it’s about setting a vision that’s big enough that it inspires the kind of change in you that is transformational. The expectation that everything will be accomplished in one year is a limiting belief that will take you out again and again. So ask yourself: Is your dream big enough?
(Recommended reading: The Magic of Thinking Big and There’s no Plan B for your A Game)
2) Set yourself up for success: What do you need to do or change in different areas of your life in order to achieve that overarching goal?
Let’s say your goal is professional – you want to be a leading expert in natural solutions for fertility. What is that going to entail?
Clearly, there are the more obvious things – continuing education, books to read, and marketing to get your expertise out into the world.
But what about the less obvious considerations? How might your goal affect your health? Can you maintain your family commitments while still supporting this vision? Are there any negative consequences you might not have considered?
In my example of leaving my legacy through a book, I set a health goal to run my first marathon that year because I get almost all my creative inspiration while running. So I formalized it and made sure my health goal would have me running a ton. And it worked! Any time writer’s block hit, I’d go for a nice long run and by the time I got home, I’d have figured out exactly what to write next.
Take the time to think through different aspects of your life and how they support (or not!) your overarching goal. How will the puzzle pieces of your life need to shift to support your goal? How might the other people in your life be impacted by the pursuit of that goal?
Brendon Burchard offers the following 10 categories to consider for setting your goals:
Health
Mental/emotional
Partner/love
Family
Friends
Mission
Experiences
Spiritual
Finances
Learning
(Recommended reading: High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard.)
3) Break down your goal into smaller increments that will help you succeed.
Once you’re clear on your overarching goal and how various aspects of your life will need to change to support your vision, begin to lay out a road map. Now that you know what needs to happen over the course of the year, what needs to happen each quarter, month, week, and day? Let’s see how this plays out.
Start with the first quarter of the year. Look at each area of your life that you’re considering – in the first three months of the year, what needs to happen? Write down your top action items for these 90 days. Is there a course you need to take? Is there a book you need to read? What needs to shift in your personal life to support these individual actions? Pick one or two priorities that you’re going to focus on and REALLY knock out of the park. And identify what small changes need to happen in those areas we identified in #2 in order to make this happen.
From there, at the beginning of January, what are the key things that need to happen in that month in order for you to achieve your 90 day objective? What are the milestones you need to hit? What are the key projects you’ll need to accomplish that will take you one step closer? Maybe you will register for the course and read the book. Maybe you’ll draft a webinar you’re going to give on the topic of fertility.
At the beginning of each week (I do this every Sunday night), take stock of your progress. What did you achieve last week? What needs to happen this coming week? Map it out in your calendar. Block off the time you’ll need to actually do the projects/steps you say you’re going to do.
Next, break it down into daily increments. Every evening, take stock of the day ahead. What do you need to accomplish the following day that will get you to your goal for the week? When you map out your day the night before, your goal the following morning is simply to execute. It’s shocking how empowering this one simple strategy can be. It keeps you focused and on-target.
One of the best resources I’ve found for keeping me on track is the High Performance Planner, created by Brendon Burchard. Having used it faithfully for the last year, I can easily tell you at any given moment EXACTLY where I am regarding any aspect of my life – and it’s helping me check off my goals, step by step. In fact, at the beginning of this month, I realized I’d achieved everything I set out to accomplish this year, with the exception of one key area. As a result, I’ve dedicated the month of December to finishing what I committed to in that area. I’ve never before been so proactive about attending to all the smaller details that are essential to helping me achieve the bigger dream.
Over these next few days as we wrap up 2019 and step into the new year and decade, I invite you to tuck in for a few hours by yourself, take stock of 2019 and what you want to create in 2020, and then set out the necessary steps to make this the year you get there.
In a couple of weeks, Anne’s going to share some powerful insights around the financial aspect of this process – something that many practitioners get stuck with. So dive in, and let’s make 2020 the absolute best year yet!
***
FAQ
These frequently asked questions expand on the goal-setting framework presented in this article and provide practical guidance for applying it consistently.
What is the most effective way to set goals for the year?
The article recommends setting one overarching goal or intention for the year. A single unifying goal helps focus your attention, guide your decisions, and align other areas of your life in support of that vision.
Why is focusing on one overarching goal better than setting multiple New Year’s resolutions?
Focusing on one primary goal reduces overwhelm and increases follow-through. Trying to improve every area of life simultaneously often leads to divided attention, making it harder to execute consistently.
What does “personal average” mean when working toward goals?
Your personal average refers to the level of performance or results you naturally return to unless you consciously change your patterns. According to the article, recognizing these subconscious tendencies is an important step toward creating lasting professional and personal growth.
Should your long-term goals extend beyond one year?
Yes. The article encourages setting ambitious goals that may take multiple years to achieve because larger visions can inspire greater personal transformation than goals designed only to be completed within a single year.
How do different areas of your life influence your ability to achieve a goal?
Achieving a major goal often requires adjustments across multiple areas of life. The article recommends considering how your health, relationships, finances, learning, and other priorities will either support or challenge your success.
Brendon Burchard’s ten suggested categories include:
- Health
- Mental and emotional well-being
- Partner or love
- Family
- Friends
- Mission
- Experiences
- Spiritual life
- Finances
- Learning
Why should you consider the unintended consequences of your goals?
Major goals can affect your health, family commitments, finances, and daily routines. Thinking through these potential impacts in advance allows you to make intentional adjustments rather than reacting to obstacles later.
How can your health support your professional goals?
The article emphasizes that health can become a strategic asset when it supports your larger vision. In the author’s example, training for a marathon created dedicated time for creative thinking, helping move a writing project forward.
How do you break a large goal into an actionable plan?
The article recommends working backward from your annual vision into progressively smaller milestones. Breaking goals into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily actions makes long-term objectives more manageable.
A practical sequence is:
- Define annual goal
- Identify 90-day priorities
- Establish monthly milestones
- Plan weekly action steps
- Determine daily tasks
Why are quarterly goals important?
Quarterly goals create manageable checkpoints between your annual vision and daily execution. The article suggests identifying one or two priorities for each 90-day period and focusing your efforts on completing them well.
How often should you review your progress toward your goals?
The article recommends reviewing progress every week and planning each day in advance. Weekly reviews help assess accomplishments and upcoming priorities, while daily planning keeps execution focused.
Why should you schedule goal-related tasks on your calendar?
Putting projects directly on your calendar increases the likelihood that they will be completed. The article recommends blocking dedicated time for the specific actions required to move your goals forward.
What role does a planner play in achieving long-term goals?
A structured planner can help you consistently track progress and identify remaining priorities. The article describes using a planner to monitor progress across different areas of life and stay accountable to long-term objectives.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margaret Floyd Barry, FNTP MRHP is owner and Executive Director of the Institute of Restorative Health. She’s a functional nutritionist, author, speaker, educator, and real food advocate. Through years of experience working with the most complex client cases, including reversing her own autoimmune condition, Margaret uses a powerful system for restoring health by addressing the root cause of illness.
Today, Margaret teaches fellow practitioners the same proven system she uses to get her clients life-changing results through the Institute of Restorative Health – a two-year comprehensive functional nutrition certification program for qualified health professionals. Margaret also runs Restorative Corporate Wellness, a team of Restorative Health Practitioners facilitating health transformations with corporate clients. She is the author of Eat Naked and its follow-up cookbook The Naked Foods Cookbook. She’s also the host of the Clinician’s Corner podcast, where she interviews some of the world’s top experts in the fields of functional health and nutrition.
