Over the years my relationship with goals has changed.

That change started with reading The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte. Her message is that we have the process to achieve backwards. Our focus in goal setting is on all the things that we would like to accomplish or to get. And after accomplishing them we expect to feel fulfilled, to be a better leader. That’s backwards. In goal setting you start with how you want to feel as a leader, an employee, a parent etc.

So, revisit your word of the year of a 2017 goal and ask yourself, how do I want to feel as a leader at the end of 2017? Once you’ve identified the feeling, look at what things you need to do, what skills to develop etc.

Emotions and feelings keep you going. Don’t forget that emotions are a crucial part in decision-making and working on your goal requires tons of decisions. Small decisions like yes, I’ll spend the next 5 minutes on that. Or large decisions I need to spend this amount of dollars on an executive coach.

The other element that helped me change how I feel about goals was reading one sentence which main message was:

The main contribution of goals is that they help you focus.

Bingo.

That was a big change for me.

Focus.

Who doesn’t need more focus in this world of overload?

I certainly do.

Somehow that sentence changed my whole relationship towards goals. Now it’s not something that I have to do because I’m in some kind of competition with myself. No, now the goal helps me to concentrate on the things that I’ve decided are the most important things for me to do in 2017.

I like that.

Some other tips around goal setting:

1 — Visible

Keep your goals somewhere where you can see them daily. They’re so easy to forget.

2 — Don’t fix

Check if your goal is not all about fixing yourself or your leadership. Take care that reaching your goal requires using your strengths.

3 — Small

Create small steps. Break down the path toward your goal in small steps.

4 — Don’t dismiss

A tiny step is better than no steps at all. Even if you only have time for the smallest step ever – maybe too small even to call a step – do it anyway. It will make you feel better and even those little things count.

5 — Celebrate

Don’t wait all the way until the end of the year and you’re already thinking about your 2018 goals and can’t even remember why this goal was such a challenge. Celebrate your small successes towards your goal.

6 — Tell others

Tell your employees, co-workers, friends, and family about your goal. Inspire others. They love to support you.