Last week a client told me that she knows that her ambition came from parents who loved her, but also asked a lot. It felt like conditional love.
She had to win, and while that’s made her very successful for 15 years, it’s also led to burnout. She hasn’t felt motivated in a while.
“Great insight” I said, “Now let’s take a look at your goals for the next three months.” And when she did, I said, “You realize it would take a team of ten to accomplish what’s on this list, right?”
I then asked how motivated she felt by the goals list. “Mmmmmm, actually I feel dread.”
It’s great to have insights into our saboteur voices. But the trick is to catch those buggers when they show up in real-time.
In the end, we broke some of her goals into smaller pieces, pushed others to the second half of the year, and eliminated a few altogether.
I then asked how she felt and she shared a big, happy sigh.
As you start to think about 2022, I offer you my favorite annual review process. It’s designed to make your goals reachable, so you eliminate the dread, embrace the joy, and find balance.
1. Taking out your 2021 calendar, pick 1, 2 or 3 things you accomplished for each month.
2. Put these into one of two lists: Energized me (or my team) or Did not energize me (or my team).
3. Taking only the list of things that energized you, answer four questions:
· What is the accomplishment?
· Why is it important?
· What would further progress look like?
· What, if any, are the immediate next steps?
4. Using the learnings from 2021, make two goals list for 2022: 1. Work and 2. Personal.
5. Then, don’t jam all the goals in Q1. Instead, assign them to a quarter so they cascade. You will make much more progress if you focus on 2-3 goals at a time.
That’s it! Instead of feeling clobbered, let the past year’s successes fuel your confidence and wisdom, so you feel focus, progress and joy in the new year.
My best,
Claire