Taking Charge Of Your Goals

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The only thing stopping you from accomplishing your goals is yourself. We let fear and doubts hold us back. During this exercise we ask that you give yourself the space and freedom to show up as you are and remember that progress over perfection is always the goal. You were put on this planet to do some pretty special things my friend, so let's go conquer them!

​Going through this exercise and writing down your goals will help get you one step closer to accomplishing them. “People who very vividly describe or picture their goals are anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish their goals," says Mark Murphy, founder of www.LeadershipIQ.com and a New York Times bestselling author, in his Forbes article, “Neuroscience Explains Why You Need To Write Down Your Goals If You Actually Want To Achieve Them."
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Download the following goal setting worksheet, print it out, and follow along as we take you through 5 steps to take charge of your goals today the ULA way.

​Step 1: Brainstorm
This is the fun part and sets the foundation for taking actionable steps. Take some time to envision what you want your life to look like in 3-5 years. Play some inspiring music, light a candle or diffuse some essential oils, and let’s start the process. Some questions to help you brainstorm. Think in terms of 3-5 years.

• Who are you and how do people describe you?
• How do you want to feel?
• Who is in your life?
• Where do you live?
• When do you feel the most alive?
• What does your day look like?

Once you better understand how you want to feel and what you want your life to look like, this will put you in the right head space to start brainstorming actual goals. Jot down all the goals that come to mind that will help you get closer to that version of yourself.

Get real with yourself to determine if each goal is unapologetically you.

In order to stay committed to your goal, you need to ask yourself if these goals are truly UNAPOLOGETICALLY YOU? Do not... I repeat DO NOT, set goals because "everyone is doing it". If running a marathon doesn’t do it for you, then GIRL don’t make that one of your goals. What a waste of your precious time. If it will make you feel how you want to feel, then CHASE THAT GOAL! This is not a competition, this is your life. BE YOU. Don’t try and impress anyone, this is for you.

Don’t hold back and write down the goals that have been on your mind for awhile! ​

​Of the goals you brainstormed above, let’s circle 3 of them to focus on and for the purpose of this exercise, pick the one goal that will drive the needle. The one goal that if you focused all of your energy on, would get you the closest to that upgraded version of yourself!

Stay motivated.

Now let’s dig deep to help keep you MOTIVATED.  Your why holds the most power in determining whether or not you will accomplish your goal. If your why is not strong enough, you will not be motivated to stay on course when it gets tough. So take some time to ask yourself what your greater why is.

To give you a personal example, I am working towards gaining my pre and post natal exercise certificate. One level deep, my why is because I want to help women have a healthy perinatal experience through pregnancy, birth, and recovery. To take it a second level deeper, I know that without proper diet and exercise I personally would have been a hot mess from a mental standpoint during and after pregnancy. Food and movement have always aided me in being the best version of myself, especially when faced with adversity. To take it a third level deep, I had a TOUGH birth and recovery due to some complications and I had a realization in the shower in the hospital room after my delivery, that I went through this experience for a reason. That reason was to help other women during this phase of life. To empower them and be a resource for support. To go even deeper, I would eventually like to create a flexible career and business with the knowledge and tools I begin to obtain so that I can spend more time with the girl that changed my life, my daughter. You probably get the picture by now, I essentially want you to dig DEEP AS HELL and KNOW YOUR WHY for those moments of doubt or for those moments when you want to give up. We all have those moments and the difference between those who don’t give up and those who do is simple, it’s how strong your why is.

Step 2: Set SMART Goals
Okay, now let’s make that goal ACTUALLY HAPPEN by making it SMART. I know, I know… you have all had to set SMART goals since middle school, but this old school practice is tried and true. For those of you who may not be as familiar, SMART stands for the following:

S: SPECIFIC
​M: MEASURABLE
A: ATTAINABLE
R: REALISTIC
T: TIME BOUND

The worksheet you downloaded will help you unpack and write down exactly how to make your goal SMART.

To use the same personal example from above, here is how I made it SMART:

• Specific: I did the research to find the exact program I wanted to do in order to become certified. Dr. Sarah Duvall’s Core Solution.
• Measurable: This one is easy, I have to complete the program. I pulled out a calendar and put pen to paper on when I would complete each lesson. More on this below. Each week, I am able to gauge if I am behind and where I can catch up.
• Achievable: For me I purchased the online course so that I could do it on my own time and schedule. Going to an in person seminar just wouldn’t be possible for me right now.
• Relevant: Yes, this goal helps me get to my greater goal and why.
• Time bound: I set the goal to have it complete by April 14th. This helps me stay accountable and reverse engineer my goal.

Step 3: Maintain Focus
This is imperative!

Write down potential obstacles and solutions for each. Also, know upfront that you will need to be flexible. Obstacles will present themselves and it’s okay to pivot. As long as you stay committed to yourself, give yourself grace to keep marching forward.

For example, I know that I have a busy life and that in the evenings my husband will want to hang out. As much as I want that time with him, I know that I need to set up specific days where I will be committed to studying and get on the same page with him to ensure he feels valued, while still understanding my why to achieve this goal.

Obstacle: I won’t have enough time for family.
Solution: Set up precedent to get my family on board and understand my greater why. It’s for them!

This should be an ongoing exercise. Check in and look at your challenges each month. Determine how to modify your goal, plan, or priorities.

For example, I have had to push my date back due to other priorities, but by being honest with myself and determining how I could re-prioritize, I was able to get back on track. Specifically, I downloaded the Kajabi app and started using my bus commute to get through the lectures and then got granular with when and where I would study.

Step 4: Take Action
This is where pulling out your calendar comes into play.

Seriously do it!

We don’t realize how busy we are until we look at our commitments and dedicate chunks of time to working towards our goals. This will help you determine whether or not your goal is achievable and whether you have realistic timing.

Reverse engineer your goal. Determine the steps that need to be taken. Whether that is the number of miles you need to run each week or the exact action steps that need to be taken by certain dates.

For example, if you are trying to incorporate meditation into your daily routine, talk through what action steps need to happen:

• Research the app you want to use (by Friday)
• ​Make a list of the potential places in your home to meditate (by Saturday)
• ​Wake up 15 minutes early (starting Saturday)

Step 5: Find Accountability
Last but not least, bring someone along for the journey. Going through the above steps is great, but once you tell a friend who will keep you accountable, the likelihood of you completing that goal is significantly higher.
I personally told Ives about my goal and asked her to keep me accountable, funny enough she is also obtaining the same certificate so that helps! I have also made my community aware that this is one of my goals.

Okay friends, we hope you found this helpful! We are here for you. Let us know if you give this exercise a try and feel free to share your goals with us below to help keep you accountable!

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