One of my goals is to go to Lofoten Norway! What happens when you hear the word goal? Is your first thought "ugh" or do you think about goals you were once successful at? I'm guessing most people, myself included, say "ugh" when they hear the word goal. It means committing to something or maybe even following through with something that feels scary. It might even mean I have to push myself out of my comfort zone and that really feels uncomfortable!
I looked the word goal up in my trusty thesaurus (remember when that was an actual book?!) and found many other words that don't feel so hard or scary as the word goal. The word intention is a synonym and I hear that word used a lot these days. Just yesterday I was in yoga and we were setting our intention for the results from our class. Now that was easy, my intention was to find the joy in moving my body through yoga. Had the instructor said "set your goal for the class" I might have come up with the same thing or quite possibly made a different goal. I like the word intention, the dictionary says it is: an aim or plan. That feels much safer and gentler than the word goal. I looked the word goal up and came up with this for a definition: an aim or desired result. Isn't that interesting that they both mean very much the same thing (and why they are synonyms!). Isn't it funny how 2 words with the same definition can feel so different?
I often hear people talking about "setting their intention" for the short term, like a yoga class or listening to a lecture and fewer people talking about setting goals. I've been told that only 3% of people actually write down and set goals for themselves. And the act of writing down a goal leads to a much better chance of actually accomplishing that goal.
I did write down my goals at the beginning of the year and I have accomplished some of them, some I have changed and others I am working towards. Yes it means stepping out of my comfort zone and yes sometimes it feels scary but on the other hand there is tremendous joy in the accomplishment.
A good way to begin with your goal or intention is to start small and simple.
"My goal for this week is to exercise 6 days."
Then at the end of the week when you write down all your successes you can begin with: "I successfully completed my goal for the week." Or "I did not meet my goal this week and am reevaluating to create a new goal." This gives us an opportunity to look at the resistance to doing something we really want to do and set a new goal about it.
My point here is that goals do not have to be big scary plans that we can't achieve, instead they can be small, productive goals that make our lives better. It's what we are aiming for and striving towards in our lives.
If you are ready to set some goals and would like a place to share your goals and more importantly to share your successes then join the small, safe accountability group I am starting. Click here
I looked the word goal up in my trusty thesaurus (remember when that was an actual book?!) and found many other words that don't feel so hard or scary as the word goal. The word intention is a synonym and I hear that word used a lot these days. Just yesterday I was in yoga and we were setting our intention for the results from our class. Now that was easy, my intention was to find the joy in moving my body through yoga. Had the instructor said "set your goal for the class" I might have come up with the same thing or quite possibly made a different goal. I like the word intention, the dictionary says it is: an aim or plan. That feels much safer and gentler than the word goal. I looked the word goal up and came up with this for a definition: an aim or desired result. Isn't that interesting that they both mean very much the same thing (and why they are synonyms!). Isn't it funny how 2 words with the same definition can feel so different?
I often hear people talking about "setting their intention" for the short term, like a yoga class or listening to a lecture and fewer people talking about setting goals. I've been told that only 3% of people actually write down and set goals for themselves. And the act of writing down a goal leads to a much better chance of actually accomplishing that goal.
I did write down my goals at the beginning of the year and I have accomplished some of them, some I have changed and others I am working towards. Yes it means stepping out of my comfort zone and yes sometimes it feels scary but on the other hand there is tremendous joy in the accomplishment.
A good way to begin with your goal or intention is to start small and simple.
"My goal for this week is to exercise 6 days."
Then at the end of the week when you write down all your successes you can begin with: "I successfully completed my goal for the week." Or "I did not meet my goal this week and am reevaluating to create a new goal." This gives us an opportunity to look at the resistance to doing something we really want to do and set a new goal about it.
My point here is that goals do not have to be big scary plans that we can't achieve, instead they can be small, productive goals that make our lives better. It's what we are aiming for and striving towards in our lives.
If you are ready to set some goals and would like a place to share your goals and more importantly to share your successes then join the small, safe accountability group I am starting. Click here
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