5 Steps to Impactful Goal-Setting

Hey friend. Welcome back.

Last week, we explored the power of Essentialism - the disciplined pursuit of less - and how it relates to goal-setting.

This week, we’re going to continue on that course and cover:

• The Compass Question and how it can help you navigate life

• The importance of solidifying your values before setting goals

• The four words for low-barrier, high-impact goal setting

• The question that matters here most.

And stay tuned til the end, where I’ll share my Compass Question and goals for 2024.

Before diving in, here’s a perspective from one of my favorite online writers, Dan Koe:

Goals exist for direction, not achievement.

This advice flies in the face of modern day goal-setting…

Goals are meant to be accomplished, right?

Nope. They can be, and that’s often great, but it’s definitely not necessary.

By releasing the thirst for achievement and embracing the clarity of direction that goals offer, you open yourself up to a whole new guidance system & way of moving in the world.

The Compass Question

From 2020-2023, goal-setting wasn’t my thing, especially around New Year’s.

Instead, I deployed the Compass Question, which is an intentional question framework that guides decision-making & creates sustainable change.

Last year, my question was: How can I show up to deepen, develop, and create?

Every big decision I made was filtered through that framework.

This approach to living has been incredibly instructive for the past three years, and I just published an article about it on Medium.

Check it out, if you’re interested.

This year, however, I’m feeling a pull toward specificity.

I’ll still have my Compass Question, but I’m gonna switch it up & create some goals as well.

Let’s dive in.

Values First, Goals Next

Before you start climbing the ladder, make sure the ladder is leaning on the right building.

You might be familiar with this common piece of career-planning wisdom, but it’s always worth a (re)visit.

Not every mountain is worth the climb.

What if, instead of learning about “SMART Goals” in school, we were taught how to create goals that actually mattered to us?

Who cares if a goal is specific, measurable, or actionable if it’s something you don’t genuinely want to pursue?

What’s achievable is not always what’s important. 

Rather, the key is alignment. What goals fall in line with your values?

And that step demands clarity on - yes, you guessed it - your values.

If you’re unsure about what those are, here’s an exercise I like to do annually - because as we evolve, so can our values.

Break it Into Sections

In my experience, creating “overall” or “life” goals can be challenging because of the vastness of what that can include.

Then once we decide on what we want, those goals are often vague and/or too general.

Specifying goals for various arenas of life forces us to zoom in & get specific.

For example, “what are your two biggest goals when it comes to your personal health & wellness” is a very different question than, “what two things are most important for you to accomplish next year?”

Approaching goal-setting in this way also encourages balanced growth practices– that is, not spending all your time working your face off, but rather, distributing your efforts across a multitude of life areas.

Here are the 7 areas of life that I’m using for my 2024 goal setting.

• 🏋️‍♂️ Physical Health & Wellness

• 🧠 Mental & Personal Development

• 🧘‍♂️ Spiritual & Emotional

• 🎉 Recreational & Fun

• 👩‍💼 Occupational

• 👫 Social & Relational

• 💰 Financial

Whether you want to use these life areas or create your own, finding specificity in the different domains of life will make it easier to find clarity. 

Less but Better

If you let your brain & ambition run wild, you could probably come up with dozens of goals for each of these life areas.

But let’s pump the brakes and remember: our time & energy here is limited, so every choice we make has a trade off with something else.

When we over-commit ourselves, we spread ourselves thin.

And when we spread ourselves thin, we underperform, become stressed, and maybe even, burn out.

I’m going to try my best to avoid this in 2024, by focusing on 2-3 goals MAX for each life area.

This will give me the space to approach these goals with intention and flow with life as it comes.

As Greg McKeown preaches in Essentialism: “Less but Better.”

Even Once, Ideally More

This saying popped out as I was crafting my goals for 2024.

It’s a low-barrier commitment to an objective that’s really important to you.

Do I hope to practice martial arts more than once in 2024? For sure.

But it’s way more likely to happen with this low-barrier goal than with ambitious targets, such as “practicing at least twice a month.” 

If there’s something that you know will be good for you, but it still seems scary, hit em’ with these four magic words.

Even Once, Ideally More.

The Question that Matters Most

As we move forward in the goal-setting process, it's essential to pause & reflect on the underlying motivation.

Why do you want the goal?

It's easy to get caught up in the "what" & "how" of goal-setting without diving into into the deeper layers of "why."

These deeper layers hold the key to motivation gold, and also can help your steer through challenges that may arise.

As Nietzsche wisely stated, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

In other words, your “why” is your key to accomplishing anything you want.

My Compass Question & Goals for 2024

How can I show up to focus, expand, and refine?

🏋️‍♂️Physical Health // Wellness:

• Stop Eating After 7pm (80% of the time)

• Complete a Sprint Triathlon and/or Spartan Race

• Practice Martial Arts (Even Once, Ideally More)

🧠Mental // Personal Development: 

• Publish 48 Newsletters (Every Friday)

• Read/Listen to 1 Book/Audiobook Monthly (24 Total)

🧘‍♂️Spiritual // Emotional: 

• Practice Yoga >100x (twice per week)

• Practice Meditation >300x (daily with some wiggle room)

• Volunteer (Even Once, Ideally More)

🎉Recreational // Fun:

• Learn to Sing

• Travel More (& Take Photos There)

💼Occupational // Career: 

• Complete the altMBA Program

• Get Promoted

👫Social // Relationships:

• Weekly Date Nights

• Bi-Weekly Phone Calls

• Monthly Social Outings // Dinner Parties

💰Financial:

• Become Debt Free 

• Increase Income by 20%

Thank You For Reading

If this resonated, let me know - what’s your biggest goal(s) for 2024?

Wishing you & your loved ones a happy & healthy year ahead.

With gratitude,

Aidan