It’s that time of year where you might be setting your professional and / or personal goals for 2021.

When you set your goals, do they spark the feeling of excitement and inspiration in you as you work towards them?

Do you find that over time you struggle to make progress, keep your momentum going or stay excited?

Usually when we’re in the second boat, we either push, push, push ourselves through or we keep at it with a sluggish pace until we finally drop it.

And this can be a signal that the goal you chose (or were given) isn’t a good fit for you!

So this goal setting cycle, I invite you to ponder if a goal is a good fit for you before you settle on it.

I have several questions I pose to my clients to ascertain if a goal is a good fit. One we don't always consider but is really key in your ability to reach your goal is:

Will you enjoy the process of working towards this goal?

Yes, the outcome can be really cool if you reach it, but if you don’t enjoy the process of moving towards it - is that really where you want to spend your time, energy & and maybe even money?

Here's an example - in late 2015, I sat in a conference listening to how training for endurance sports can help us really understand & improve how we approach our business. I was in a room of 300 people, caught up in the excitement and absolutely sure this would turn me into a kick-ass business woman. So obviously, I signed up right then and there for this year-long program which was training for and completing 2 half-marathons (the 1st half-marathon was in La Jolla, CA which sounded like a fun place to visit).

In January 2016, I received my training plan. It spelled out exactly what I had to do each day from January through the La Jolla half-marathon in mid-April. So there I was, with my brand new sneakers & puffy coat, bundling up each day to train in the cold, running through the streets and parks of DC. Then in mid-April I flew to warm, sunny La Jolla and managed to run/walk 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 55 mins (my goal was to finish in under 3 hours) to complete my first half-marathon.

I achieved my goal. I learned some things about myself & how I approach my business in the process. I can forever say I ran a half-marathon.

The hilarious part???

I absolutely HATE running!!!

So, yes, I achieved the goal, but think about how many hours (& how much energy) I chose to spend those 4 months doing something that didn’t bring me any joy.

(After that, even though I'd paid for it, I continued with the sluggish pace I mentioned at the beginning, until I dropped out).

Wouldn’t you rather be spending your precious time on something that you want to learn, that you’re curious about, that brings you a spark of joy?

Know someone who could benefit from this message? Please forward the link to them.

Cheers,

Vidya