How Design Your Life by Setting Goals

A lot of people are getting ready for the new year and making New Year’s resolutions. But a study has found that 90% of people don’t continue a new year’s resolution beyond the first couple of weeks. The conclusion of the study was that the ones that failed had no plan and they had no “why”. With my goal setting workshop, you’re more likely to succeed because you must not only find the goal but also ask yourself why you’re committed to achieving these goals.


I’ve created a Goal Setting Workshop that you can download for free – read this article first (because there’s some additional information here) and then use the guide when you’re ready for setting the goals.


If you talk about it, it's a dream. If you envision it, it's possible. When you schedule it, it's real.

Tony Robbins

Don’t overthink it – it’s usually your first idea that you should go with – even if the idea seems either like a stretch or too small a goal. Because it’s the likely thing that will drive you and small goals are ok. Set a deadline according to the size and effort needed. I’ve worked with students that were high achievers and set super ambitious goals and with students that preferred smaller goals that were easily achievable and then a new goal. Do what’s right for you – the whole idea with a goal is to achieve something you dream of and then commit to not let it be a dream but to see it materialize in real life. A goal will give you clarity of what you want and it’s a way to design your own life.

Goals can be personal development goals, health goals, relationship goals, spirituality goals, “thing” goals, or charitable goals.

I encourage you to create your own 2023 Goal Setting Workshop. It’s fun to think about what you would like to achieve and it’s also fun to look back and see what you’ve achieved. Read through the steps before getting started on the workshop.

Step 1: Get in the right state

You need to be in an absolutely outstanding state of mind when setting new goals. Find a location that inspires you. For some it’s walking in nature and bringing a notebook, others like a vibrant environment for example a café (make sure you won’t be interrupted though) or on a bench overlooking beautiful architecture, water or some other setting that is a delight to the eye and your spirit. Decide to feel good and think about 3 things and people that you’re grateful for and about something that happened in your life that you’re proud of.

Now you’ve primed your mind and you’re ready for the goal setting.


Step 2: Brainstorm Goals

Set a timer for 90 seconds / 1 ½ minute and write down all the ideas that comes to you in 4 categories:

  • personal growth,
  • finance goals,
  • things you want to own
  • and the last category is a mix of anything career, health, relationships, giving, spirituality etc.

Each category gets 90 seconds. If you run out of ideas, don’t worry. Just go with the flow and don’t get stressed. If you have many ideas, you must stop at 90 seconds. Limit yourself.

You now have a list of goals. Some might be achievable within a year, and some might take 20 years to achieve. After each goal, write the time horizon you think it would take to reach the goal – you can choose between 1 year, 3, 5, 10 or 20 years. Set a timer for 90 seconds and quickly write the timeline you’re committed to achieving the goals. The reason for setting the timer is so you don’t overthink it – go with the gut feeling.

 

Step 3: Choose the top 3 goals

You've brainstormed goals and you've estimated the time it would take you to achieve the goal.

Was one of your long-term goals something that made you really excited? If so, make it your ”North Star”. A North Star goal is the long-term direction you're heading in. My North Star is

Then choose your top 3 goals with a one-year horizon out of all the goals in all categories. Yes, you need to limit yourself to the 3 goals that you're most passionate about.

 

Step 4: Finish with asking these questions

It's critical to know your "why". As you can see in my North Star I'm driven by getting to spend time with my family and experience the beauty of our planet. The why is the juice that will keep you going even when times are tough. For each of your three goals ask yourself these questions:

Why am I absolutely committed to achieve this goal now?

Why am I committed to achieving each of the goals within the next year?

What is an action I can take now to achieve my goal? (Call someone, research a price on a website, book a Financial Freedom Session with me).

 

Last but not least: I like to create a vision board with my annual goals. I find photos online and stick them in a PowerPoint (you can use a word document too) and then I print the page out.

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