Being instead of Doing

Try setting a different type of goal this year!
How many of you reading this have set goals for the year (or for the decade)? How many are thinking of setting goals? How many are perfectly content to just wait and see what life brings? And, how many are just shocked to be reminded that it's January already!

Whichever category you're in, you might want to look at goal setting a bit differently this year. Instead of planning what you intend to be doing, or hope to be getting (which is what we tend to do), what about setting goals for being? How do you want to experience the coming year? Who do you want to be? How do you want to feel?

It makes a lot of sense to start here, because after all, everything we ever do is an attempt to be a certain way. If we decide to join a gym it's because we want to be healthy, or fit, or attractive, or disciplined, or whatever. But, I think we often miss, or hurry through, the step of deciding what we want to be before we jump into deciding what we're going to do. So, here are other approaches you might incorporate into your goal setting this year:

* Different goals for different roles. Decide what's the most important state of being for each of the many roles you play in your life. Who do you most want to be in your work? Leader? Collaborator? Innovator? As a boss, what do you most want to be for your staff? Motivating? Instructional? Protective? And so on, as a parent, a sibling, a friend, a spouse, community leader, etc. Yes, no doubt you will be many different things in all your roles, but by choosing the most important one (or two or three if you wish) you will have already set your focus to make those stronger in the coming year.
* Past and present. Review how you are being in relation to your current life. Sometimes we get so used to being a certain way that we forget to make necessary changes. An example is the person who remains extra fearful and careful about money long after they've gone from poverty to financial success. Or how about someone who remains as nervous in doing a task the hundredth time as the first time. What ways of being just don't make sense for you any more?
* More or less. Consider some tweaks. Set some goals around what you want to be more of, or less of. More happy, less angry. More committed, less random. More tolerant, less judgmental. More emotional, less logical. Or more logical, less emotional. Etc.

Just by giving thought to some of these, you will mentally set some new intentions, and chances are all kinds of opportunities will start popping up for you to be the new way you want to be. And of course, you can also set more specific action plans for what you want to do in support of what you've decided you want to be. It will be a good foundation for any specific goals you've set or will be setting.

Just one more thing...is it really mid January already?!!