Did you set goals last year that you thought you will hit? Or you didn’t even set them because you thought you wont hit them anyway?
If your goals die by mid-spring, it’s not necessarily a character issue. I see it way more likely to be a system issue. How to set goals you are actually going to hit?
I love the topic of goals. Because I love to be around people who are alive and motivated, not simply just existing. I strive to be the same way.
There have been times in my life where I set unrealistically big goals, didn’t have the tools to achieve them and missed them; feeling disappointed and tired. There have been times when I set out to be number one and I surprised myself doing it 40% over because I was over-prepared. There have been times when I am simply too tired to even try to plan to hit a goal.
Since December is sharpening-the-tools season before the new year kicks in, I invite you to explore the topic of goals and perhaps challenge you to commit to spending some time with them this month.
Some people say: “Shoot for the stars, at least you’ll land on the moon”? Maybe. But to me that’s more like a vision. Inspiring, but too foggy to guide your real growth. I’m a bigger fan of accountability with myself. I want goals that are clear enough that I can’t wiggle out of them, and specific enough that I can transform them into daily systems and action items to step by step execute on them.
My yearly system is simple:
Three main goals for the year. Why 3?
Because you can achieve anything, but not everything at the same time. Three keeps focus but at the same time it diffuses risk – it doesn’t make all success depend on one single bet.
I like having different ways to win the year, so my three usually hit different areas between health, family, physical environment and work goals.
Not all eggs in one basket. But also not seven baskets you can’t carry.
What is my process of uncovering the 3 most important goals for the year?
1. I brain-dump everything I think I want next year.
2. Then I zoom out into long-term vision (I have a long-term vision carved out for me til I am 120 🙂
3. And ask myself some important questions: If I could only nail one thing, what matters most? What would be one keystone step i want to reach that is a milestone of where I want to end up? Will this happen anyway (not good goal material) — or do I need to create it, prioritise it and actively work on it?
4. narrowing down 3 goals
5. working with those 3 goals to make them failure-proof
6. break them down to weekly controllables ready to be acted upon step by step
So here’s to deciding how you want to spiral up in 2026. To choosing some great goals to put you in the flow.
If you want my planning template for the goals, then I would be happy to share. Feel free to shoot me a message and I will share.