The Planning Mistake That Can Sabotage Your Success

This is the time of year when many people set goals and plan how they’re going to achieve those goals.

For many, the starting point is the ending metric: how much money you want to make, how many books you want to read, and so on.

As I discussed in a separate post, one big mistake many people make at this stage is not questioning the goal. With any metric based goal, it’s crucial to question where it comes from and what you really want.

The Silo Planning Approach

There’s another problem I’ve seen with the typical approach to goal-setting: it’s often done in silos.

What I mean by that is that most people look at one part of their life and set goals for that part of their life without considering the other parts of their life.

For example, you set goals for your business without considering what you want for your health or relationships. You create a business plan that doesn’t incorporate your life plan.

This isn’t about work/life balance, because that isn’t a thing. And that’s the point. Your work or your business is one piece of your life; it’s a slice of the pie.

We live in a culture that tells us to keep dreaming bigger and aiming for more, and that tends to be the default for goal setting.
If you’re thinking only about your business goals without considering the other areas of your life, you’re destined to run into conflicts.

Holistic Planning

As you set your targets one area, you must consider them in the context of the other pieces of the pie.

For example, if you’re starting with your business goals, some questions to ask:

• What will it take to meet your goals in your business?
• How much effort? What will your energetic investment be?
• What support will you need?
• What will you need to give up to make this happen?
• Is this realistic for you without sacrificing what you need to show up at your best?
• Is this sustainable?
• What else do you want to do this year outside of your work/business? Will your plans give you energy for that?

It’s crucial to create space in your life for what fills you and what enables you to show up at your best. Otherwise you’ll sabotage your efforts in your business or you’ll sabotage your mental, physical, or emotional health.

It’s important when planning to consider how you will meet your needs, not just your goals or desires. The measure of your life is more than how much you make or how many deals you close or how many books you read.

How will you show up in life as your whole self?

If you’re not planning holistically, you’re not planning sustainably.

Holistic planning starts not with goals but with a vision: a picture of what you want your life to look and feel like in every slice of the pie.