You might be here because you’ve tried setting goals for yourself but found that getting that first step in place has always been a challenge. Over time, those goals start deflating, before you convince yourself that the passion has burned out too. Yet that desire to do something different from the norm, the desire to start that passion project is still there.
Or you’re here because you have a vision to be better. A greater version of yourself from where you’re currently at but the confidence to turn that inner talk into meaningful action just seems to be lost in the void between your brain and the physical manifestation of it. It’s not that you have a specific project in mind, but the desire to excel in your entirety.
Here’s a method that I’ve been using for the last 3 years, and while I haven’t specifically mentored people into using it; many who have seen my process, have said that they find it a useful approach to their own goals too.
It began in 2020 when I first started bullet journalling. I had grand hopes for myself and my future, and the method I chose then meant that even a sudden global pandemic couldn’t get in the way of my dreams. I could no longer use external factors as excuses because the inner drive was now written on paper; it was a reality that was I faced everyday (literally because it was on my wall, and in my daily planner), and it started to infiltrate into intrinsic motivation.
Back then, (be prepared to cringe with me), I used the letters of my first name to create an Acrostic poem (primary school vibes much?). It forced me to think creatively about the different areas of my life that I wanted to see change in. For example, an ‘F’ stood for ‘financial’. An ‘S’ stood for spirituality. An ‘R’ stood for relationships. The key here is to think about all the areas of your life that make you, YOU. So you can get creative. I wonder though if it could be an issue if you have a particularly long name because you don’t want to get overwhelmed with all the changes.
The next step is to set a goal in the form of a dream or an aspiration. You don’t need to get too specific here (in fact, sometimes it works better if you have a vague idea as it can allow scope for forgiveness and flexibility). Once I had established my categories, I then set a maximum of 2 SMART targets for how I will improve myself in that particular area. For example, you could have:
Relationships: “Go on at least 1 date in the next 3 months.” Or “Visit my friends in the Midlands at least once every 4 months.”
While your overall categories might represent the growth you want to make across an entire year, each SMART target should be achievable within the first 3 or 4 months. This way, when it come to revisiting and reflecting on those targets, you either consider them achieved and therefore can set a new challenge, or you tweak and adapt it before giving it another go. Consider it like checking in on the baby steps towards your bigger dream.
The important part of any future mapping, is to not let it go! To revisit and reflect is crucial in measuring whether it was an appropriate target or not and it keeps your eye on the end goal. And again, it certainly helps to have it as a visual reminder, somewhere that you can’t escape from! I chose the wall directly above my desk and created it using washi tape and post-it notes that were blue-tacked on! (Still using this method 3 years on!)
Let me know if this method works for you! And keep an eye out for my second method!