At the beginning of this week I was sitting with a much-too-long list of goals in front of me when a sense of overwhelm started to kick in. I managed to whittle it down to five (this about all I can do as a mompreneur and nap-time warrior) but I still felt quite flat about the list. I wasn’t excited.
It was time for a little bit of goal innovation.
As I was praying through things (I am getting better at doing this instead of worrying) I started to see what I was missing. The list was just things to get done. One thing I love about my business is that I get to see individual lives transformed. This isn’t tasks on a sheet of paper but relationships and real growth.
How could I bring this into my goal-planning?
The result was a small chart where I answered the following questions:
1. Who am I serving with this goal?
2. What unique talent am I using / developing by doing this goal?
3. How can I serve them excellently with this goal?
In coaching we use the SMART goal-setting method quite frequently (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely). It looks like what I needed was two additional letters: Impactful and Extraordinary. So, let’s call it SMARTIE goal setting.
After I did this additional step the goals became more than just words on a page – they had a face. I saw the lives of the people I hoped to transform… one day. I started to think more about their needs and their desires. I put myself in their shoes and thought about what would serve them best.
Then I looked at what I was bringing to those faces. I had to look at my unique approach and gifting. If it wasn’t something I was going to do joyfully, I reassessed or delegated. I took time to think of how the goal was building me and then how I could use that to bring excellence.
I also saw the ways the goals were transforming me – building on my own strengths. I was consciously choosing to do the things that I was uniquely equipped to do and delegate the things that others could do better.
In the end of my planning session there were a number of goals that shifted or got replaced. There were things I saw I was doing just for the sake of doing them. As I dove into my work for the week I had a renewed sense of optimism and a desire to use my whole self.