4 Areas Of Life Every One Should Check in On Before 2020 Begins (Especially If You've Got Big Dream Energy)
Unpopular opinion: SMART Goals are on my "nope" list.
As someone with obsessive, anxious tendencies, concrete goals threaten to send my inner perfectionist spiraling into unhealthy territory.
I used to live and die by one, five, and ten year goals I'd set for myself. Taped to the wall of my dingy studio apartment, my goals taunted me daily. They'd do more than keep me "accountable" — they'd keep me up at night.
But crafted from what my brain told me was good to aspire to, they lacked heart or passion.
They did not spark joy.
So, I don't believe in goals or resolutions. They don't work for me, and if you believe every stupid click-baity headline you read on the internet they don't work for most people.
However, I think that having some roadmap for your future is important. You don't need the exact GPS coordinates of every step of your journey, but you do need to at least know which direction you're traveling in — especially if you're thinking of launching a project, business, or something else equally exciting in 2020.
I've found that it helps me to stay sane and on track by breaking my BIG VISION for what I want to do with my life (and business) into four parts: Growth, Resource, Retention, and Impact.
Breaking down what you want to accomplish in a year (or in a quarter, or in a week — use whatever lens you want) into these four areas helps you make sure that you're nourishing all the aspects of your business or project ... and yourself.
When you're in the middle of it, it's challenging to keep the big picture in mind. Your life is like a garden: At times, some areas will bloom, while other areas remain dormant. But you don't totally ignore those non-blooming plants — you keep watering them just the same, knowing that at some point, they'll be the flowers that shine.
Consciously paying attention to these four areas helps you to keep watering them, even when they're not in bloom.
Growth
This one is kind of easy — growth is ALWAYS on our minds.
How can I make more money?
How can I get a better job?
How can I be a better person?
How can I get my hair to grow faster?
Oh wait, that last one just me? Nvm.
Growth is just what you think it is — how can you expand?
At work, that might look like setting a goal to hit a certain number of website views, or podcast downloads, email subscribers, or clients helped.
In your personal life, that may look like becoming a better partner or mastering a skill.
Ask: How do you want to grow? What areas of your life do you want to see growth in? Why?
Revenue / Resource
Revenue is the money you make. If you're sketching out your 2020 business goals, this is a pretty straightforward question. How much money do you want to make this year? What are the revenue streams — products, services, etc. — that will help you get to that financial goal?
If you're busy crafting your personal goals, you can think of revenue as "resource." Being well-resourced doesn't just mean that you have money (although it can). Someone who is well-resourced may count their resources as things like emotional support, time, energy, health, well-being, a roof over your heard, or tangible skills. Resources are things that add to your sort of theoretical, emotional bank account — they fortify and support you in some way.
Ask: How are you making money or earnings? What tangible skills did you acquire? What would make you consider yourself well-resourced?
Retention / Maintenance
In my experience, this is the category most people overlook. While we're busy nurturing our growth and scheming how to make more money, we often get into a cycle of pushing-pushing-pushing. We focus on constant output, without any attention on the input — and eventually, that leads to burnout.
You're only thinking short term if you're only concerned with acquiring new clients. It's equally (if not more) essential to focus on retaining those clients and serving their needs long-term. Having a high client retention rate means that you're good at what you do, because people keep coming back to you! If your retention rate is low — or eek, non-existent — that's good feedback for you to take into consideration.
In terms of your personal goals, how are you building in nurturing practices or moments so that you don't burn out?
Ask: How will you maintain your growth so you don't burn out? In business, how will you nurture and retain the clients you already have?
Impact
This one is my favorite. Impact is your legacy. It's the mark we leave on the world. It's our "why."
If you are not consciously planning toward impact in your business, it's easy to let it fall by the wayside. But, guys, impact is necessary to the lifeblood of your business (or life)! It's the passion!! It's the big vision!!!!
With impact we ask how we can look outside ourselves to make a difference in the world around us. When we lose site of our impact, we lose our drive to keep going. Because let's be honest, the motivation to make money will only serve as fuel for so long. After a while, even that gets old.
Your impact goals should excite you and scare you. Because they are the ones that really matter.
Conclusion
I hope that 2020 is totally, 100% magical for you. You deserve it all. And I'm crossing my fingers that as you lay out what you want your year to look like, breaking your vision down into these four goals makes it way more manageable to explore!
