Don’t Make This Goal-Setting Mistake

When setting goals, do you consider the most important question —

How do you want to get there?

I’m not talking about breaking down a goal into milestones with targets for what you need to hit every week or every day. That’s certainly one part of how, but it’s likely you already do that.

The Energy of Your Process

When I speak about how I’m talking about the energy of your process.

Here’s a metaphor: If you want to travel from NYC to Los Angeles, you have options:

• Drive
• Train
• Hitchhike
• Fly

If you fly, you can travel coach, first class, or private jet.

If you drive you’ll need to plot out where to stop. Where will you stay when you stop? A cheap roadside motel? A luxury hotel? With friends? At an AirBnB?

There are numerous paths you can take, each with options for the style in which you want to travel.

Each choice creates a completely different experience of the journey.

Where you’re going is important.

How you plan to get there is also important.

In some ways it’s more important.

The journey consumes way more of life than the destinations, which tend to be short-lived.

Essential Questions to Ask Yourself

Just as you’d consider your travel needs for a trip, you want to consider way in which you want to pursue your goals.

How you plan to get there includes these questions:

• How do you want to feel on the journey?
• What’s important to bring with you?
• Who is important to bring with you?
• What’s the energy you want to inhabit?
• What is non-negotiable for you?
• What activities are important to you to fit into your schedule on a daily or weekly basis?

These questions get to the energy of your process.

Your answers reveal what matters most to you.

Does It Feel Too “Woo”?

If you’re quick to dismiss these types of questions as irrelevant or “woo” or “soft,” consider the scenario where you achieve your goals but at the price of your favorite activities and most important relationships.

Will it have been worth it?

Very few people would answer Yes — if they’re being honest with themselves.

The answers to these questions are the sign-posts to your values.

Achievement without alignment is suffering.

Fulfillment is the Path

The questions about how you plan to achieve your goals are the most practical questions you can ask yourself.

And you are the only one who can answer them.

Happiness and fulfillment are not waiting behind some magic door once you reach your destination.

They are the path you take to get there.