5,000 Goals for 2014 and Beyond
Designing Your Future
My business coach, Christine Kane, recommended the book: A Happy Pocketful of Money: Infinite Wealth and Abundance in the Here and Now. The book suggests developing a list of 5,000 goals.
In private law practice, I annually set goals and then reviewed them at year end. For each goal that I put at the top of my priority list, I identified what I needed to do by the end of the next -- six months, three months, and one month -- to meet it by year end. I then set smaller steps to that goal each day and week. With very few exceptions, I met my prioritized goals and also many that were lower on the list.
Just by listing the goals, you bring them into awareness. Then: "Energy flows where attention goes."
For over two years, I have been using a tool Christine Kane calls the "Sunday Summit." It functions as a weekly reflection and planning tool. On the first page, I answer the following reflective questions -- every Sunday:
- What have I accomplished this week?
- Is there anything I wanted to accomplish, but did not?
- What a-ha's or awakening have I had this week?
- What challenges am I experiencing?
- If I were coaching myself, what would I tell me about these challenges?
Then, I answer three questions about the coming week:
- What are my top priorities for this coming week?
- If I could get nothing done this week but ONE THING, what one thing would I choose to do? What one thing would make me happy and proud?
- How do I want to feel this week? Who do I want to BE?
I love this tool. It reminds me of just how productive I am every week and gives me space to goof off when I need it. Second, it helps me plan my week efficiently. Third, it makes me accountable if I don't get that ONE THING done that I had prioritized. Fourth, it helps me identify why I may not have gotten that ONE THING done. I can make adjustments in the coming week.
I have noticed, however, that I have not regularly engaged in yearly planning since joining the academy. But that changes this month! I am setting goals in the following areas of my life -- 5,000 all together.
- Career/Business
- Financial
- Education
- Family
- Artistic
- Attitude
- Physical
- Pleasure
- Public Service
- Spiritual
- Home
- Transportation
I am considering, as the book advises, anything, big or small, I can dream up:
- Places to visit
- Things to have
- Residences
- Experiences
- Partners
- Skills to acquire
- Things to do
- People to meet
- Projects
- Charities
- Health
- Habits
And, in imagining these goals, I need to be specific. It's best if I convert them to visual images I can review regularly, even daily. Some people use vision boards to help them visualize their important goals.
And then, I need to take regular steps in the direction of each goal.
Why 5,000 goals? Because you are more likely to reach more goals if you have a long list of them. Have one goal. You will achieve it. Have 100 goals. You will achieve them. 5,000 goals . . . . You see the point.
I know this process works. I remember the year I simply wrote as a goal: "Get published." I began looking for publication opportunities immediately. Soon, I had a column in the monthly newsletter of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Now, I have authored over 50 book chapters, law review articles, and op-ed pieces. I also have 156 blog entries.
This goal setting process works for the simple reason that everything begins with an idea.
Jan. 8, 2014 Update: And here is an explanation of how goal setting and their achievement affects the release of dopamine in your brain. Dopamine, in turn, affects motivation. Setting micro-goals will enhance motivation.
Jan. 8, 2014 Update: And here is an explanation of how goal setting and their achievement affects the release of dopamine in your brain. Dopamine, in turn, affects motivation. Setting micro-goals will enhance motivation.
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