WARNING: This post may help you overcome your fears and accomplish more of your goals. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to goal setting I’ve been taught to set goals that are SMART-Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. While this method has proved to be helpful in forming my goals over the years, it puts all of the focus on WHAT we’re going to do to achieve our goals and HOW we’re going to do it.  

The piece that’s missing is the “WHY.” Has anyone asked you, “What’s your why?” Or more importantly, have you ever asked yourself the question? What are your reasons for wanting to accomplish your goals in the first place? Your “why” is bigger than your “what” or “how.” Getting clear about your “why” has a significant impact on your overall success. I so wish someone would’ve shared this with me when I was younger. Your “why” helps you cast a vision for your future and it’s the motivating and driving force for going after what you want most in your life.    

I’ve set enough goals in my life (and I’m assuming you have, too) to know how easy it is to get stuck in the “what” and the “how.” You know the conversation. I’m going to do this, this and definitely this and here is exactly how I’m going to do it. So how do we get ourselves unstuck or better yet just avoid getting stuck altogether?  We start by thinking about and writing down our “why” and we let our “why” lead us in everything we do. (Side note: It’s OK if your “why”scares you, pulls at your heart strings, or makes you a little emotional. It should.). We then develop what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it from our “why.” We review our “why” whenever we’re frustrated or discouraged, or experiencing a road block or setback. And we must remember that our goals don’t equal our happiness. They’re the actions or steps (the “what” and the “how”) we’re going to take on the path to living out our “why.”