Are You Setting Great Goals?

Setting goals is amazing! It’s a fantastic way to set direction in your life and work. Even better, goals enable you to be that much more intentional when it comes to getting where you want to be!

Here’s the challenge: what if you are setting the wrong goals?

If goals set the direction for your life and work, then it makes sense that you want to be quite certain the goals you are setting are the best goals for you.

It’s all too easy to set goals that are…

• Actually what you think others want you to do, but aren’t something that is really important or compelling to you.
• Strictly focused on achieving professional or business success, but ignore what you actually need to pursue right now.
• In conflict with one another.
• Not in alignment with your values or priorities in this season.
• Ignoring the underlying issues that you need to address.
• In excess – you are trying to chase too many goals!
• Focused on what you do, rather than who you are.
• Good, but not best for this season of life or work.

Maybe you’ve experienced the goal burnout that occurs when you set goals that are great goals for you.

Here’s Another Way to Think About It…

Visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico had been on my bucket list for quite a while. When my husband and I planned a trip to finally explore that city, it was absolutely essential to know where we would be visiting Santa Fe from. Purchasing plane tickets from Chicago, New York, or Paris would have been crazy when we would be leaving from Chattanooga.

If you think of Santa Fe as our goal, the destination we wanted to get to, knowing where we would be starting our adventure was critical! Yet we rarely take the time to truly assess where we are right now when setting goals, just where we want to end up!

Sticking With The Travel Theme and Goals…

There are two ways to approach a road trip. You can pack your suitcase, load up the car, fill your car up with gas, and see where life takes you.

Or you can be more intentional, pick a destination, plan out a route, determine how far you will go each day, what activities you want to be sure not to miss, and people you want to see along the way, before packing, loading, and gassing up the car.

At first glance, you might say approach #1 is goal free, and approach #2 is all about goals. I want to challenge that thinking! In reality, there are goals involved in both scenarios!

Setting out on a road trip to see where life takes you is about experiencing life, being in the moment, and savoring life. You might not consciously articulate it that way, but freedom, the chance to go where your curiosity takes you, and engage with the interesting people that cross your path, is a goal.

There are all sorts of goals. They all provide some kind of direction. Some goals drive your experience, while other goals ensure you get somewhere specific. Both have the potential to be GREAT goals! The key is to be sure that they are the most relevant goals for you right.

Getting Practical

Let’s say you set a goal of adding 50 new clients in the coming year. There’s literally nothing wrong with that goal, assuming you are poised to handle that influx of clients. But what if you have health issues? Then setting goals that are focused on your healing and well-being might better serve you. That might be the “GREAT” goal for you and if you focus on your health; it will probably make acquiring clients easier.

What if you’ve experienced a major loss, transition, or move recently in your life? Or a change in jobs, you are pursuing a certification, or _____. Perhaps there are goals that would support you better in this season than simply continuing to chase more clients.

Ideally you want to set goals that will enable you to grow in beneficial ways and that take into consideration the needs you have in this season for slowing down, letting go, or practicing healthy self-care. Great goals are goals that are made from a more holistic approach that take all of you into account.

Another Interesting Factor

Your personality also has a role in how you approach goals. Each of the four personalities tend to tackle goals in very different ways. Take a look:

Setting goals and putting in the effort to work toward them is beneficial for all personality types! Here are a dozen reasons for you to set and pursue goals:

Goals…

• Provide direction like a compass.
• Create purpose.
• Invite you to manage your time and resources.
• Improve your decision making skills.
• Encourage you to take responsibility for your life and work.
• Help you prioritize and refine your focus.
• Have a way of increasing your awareness along the way.
• Reflect your passions and/or your way – what gets you out of bed in the morning!
• Lead to discipline and increased productivity.
• Invite you to be more resourceful.
• Get you where you want to be faster.
• Boost your confidence when you reach them!

The reward is not in the setting of the goals, but in the setting of meaningful goals and accomplishing them because they get you where you want to be! It’s a process!

Ready to Set Some “GREAT” Goals?

If you are a “D” or a “Driving Drew,” you probably already have goals in the works. If you are a “Steady Steve,” you might be glazing over right now. Whatever combination of the four personality types you are, setting goals gets easier with practice. I want you to enjoy all the many benefits I’ve already mentioned! Here are a few tips to help you choose goals and reach them that you will be especially excited about!

1. Take Inventory

What areas of your life need some attention – areas you’ve put on the back burner or you’ve been ignoring, but would make a positive difference if they were nurtured? Don’t limit yourself to exploring a small corner of your life evaluate how you are doing in your…

• • • Career
    • Relationships
    • Finances
    • Growing intellectually
    • Mindset, attitudes, and emotions
    • Habits
    • Creativity
    • Health and well-being
    • Sense of fun and adventure
    • Activities that make your heart happy
    • Ability to meaningfully contribute and make a difference
    • Spiritual life and relationship with God

2. Reflect

Now that you have a sense of where you are, it’s time to slow down and reflect. What do you really need in this season? Where are you enjoying some happy traction in your life or work? What do you want more of? Less of? Where do you need to grow?

3. Dream

Life often feels rushed, but goals aren’t meant to be set in a hurry. Give yourself the chance to dream! What seems a bit out of reach, but exciting to you? Where would you like to be in 5-10 years? What really excites you? What would be truly compelling to pursue?

4. End In Mind

When setting goals, you want to begin with the end in mind. Where do you want to end up by the end of this year? In 5-10 years?

5. Break It Down

Once you know where you are and where you are trying to get, it’s time to figure out what it will take to get you there. How might need to grow? What habits are needed? Are there skills you need? Be sure to include these in your goal strategy.

Along the way you may find additional steps you overlooked. Don’t be afraid to adjust your timeline if adding those steps would make a positive difference in the long run.

6. Be Positive

Put the effort into framing your goals in a positive way. Rather than setting a goal to “stop making silly mistakes when you give presentations,” set a goal to “become an engaging, polished, and relaxed presenter.”  Keep that perspective as you come up with your baby steps too!

7. Write Them Down

Don’t just come up your goals and try to carry them around in your head. Write your goals down and keep them in front of you. To keep my goals top of mind, I have a copy of my goals on my desk where I spend a good bit of time.

8. Small Action Steps

Your goals might be big, but your daily action steps are better when they are small. If you try to take steps that are too big every day it often feels overwhelming. On the other hand, successfully completing the baby steps – now that’s quite motivating!

9. In Your Control

Your daily (or weekly) action steps towards your goals must depend on you, not others. For example, if your goal is to get a promotion your small steps should be steps that you have the power to control like…

• • • Regularly asking for feedback to highlight growth areas.
    • Working with a coach.
    • Taking the lead on one or two projects.

10. More than Just A Target!

You need more than just a goal or a target. You need TIME:

• • • Target
    • Infrastructure
    • Mindset
    • Energy

11. Be SMARTER

Make your goals…

Specific: State clearly what you want to accomplish.

Measurable: How will you know you’ve met your goal? Will you measure with money, time, or something else?

Attainable: Is your goal dependent on you? Is reaching it possible with focused effort and some stretch?

Relevant/Risky: Is this the best goal for me right now? Is it in conflict with other goals? Is it just risky enough to be compelling?

Time-Bound: Your goal must have a deadline and your smaller action steps need designated times.

Evaluate: How will you systematically evaluate your progress?

Re-Adjust: After evaluating, what about your strategy needs adjusting?

12. Rewards!

If you are internally motivated, simply reaching your goal may be enough. However, if you are externally motivated, it may be helpful to identify a reward for reaching your goal.

Goals are about more than simply advancing in life. Goals are about enjoying the journey too!

What’s been your biggest challenge when it comes to setting GREAT goals?

–> Looking for more tools when it comes to goal setting? Join me for The Secret To Successfully Mapping 2026.