Make Your Goals a Reality With This Much Needed Self-Retreat


Ready to take some risks?  Commit to this DIY goal-setting self-retreat and you’ll be ready to achieve your goals!

The practice of innovation & risk—taking to move you into the future

“A goal without a plan is just a wish list.” Antoine de Saint-Exuperys

You have back-burner goals, I know you do.  We all do. Those goals you’ve though about along the way, but just have not had time for them.  Dust them off, or get ready to set new goals.  It’s time. By yourself or with a group of colleagues, solopreneurs, or friends, it’s time!

Plan your DIY retreat

Choose the date, location & people to invite.  The intent is for people to feel relaxed and taken away from the daily grind and think strategically about the future.

Prep question:  What’s your vision for yourself/your work for the next 6 months?  Why?  How will this increase the quality of your life/your work? Give a high-level answer written on ½ a page or less.

At the retreat – structuring the day with a group

If you are doing this as a group, be sure to structure the day with some connection and plenty of alone/thinking time. You may want to:

  • start with everyone sharing their vision
  • share goals and ask for input at mid-day
  • end the day with this question “how can we support you?”

Getting started

After ruminating on your 6-month vision, brainstorm ideas you could accomplish the next 6 months.  They need to connect to the vision.  Need ideas?

  • Study for and pass a certification exam
  • Improve your on-board process for new hires
  • Declutter your office or home or email inbox or computer files
  • Create a process to execute your company’s strategic initiatives
  • Improve self-care

Once you have a list, select 1-5 initiatives to move forward on. It’s better to do a few well than tackle too many and get sub-standard results.

How to

Sink into your chair and start mapping out each initiative. Create the specific actions that will help you reach the finish line.  Type, write, draw…whatever works best for you.

What to consider:

  • Positivity. When writing each initiative, frame in the positive. (Like walk opposed to don’t run.)
  • Specific. Be as specific as possible.  Include dates, amounts, and what success will look like.  How will you measure if you’ve reached your goal? Instead of lose weight, say lose six pounds by Thanksgiving by jogging for 2 hours per week at Buffalo Park.
  • Why. Think about “why.” What will you or the world gain if each initiative is reached? List every reason.  Write the reasons down where you can see them every day. Danielle LaPorte is known for connecting our goals to feelings.  What is your desired feeling by accomplishing each initiative?  Learn how you become 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams, simply by writing them down on a regular basis.

Execution

Be proud!  You took the time to get clear and now you can make great time going in the right direction. A few ideas:

  • Just do it. Don’t wait for the motivation to come; if you do, you may wait a lifetime. Just get to it.  Put one foot in front of the other, and soon enough, you will have momentum. Set checkpoints along the way to your larger goal.
  • Mentor. Find people who successfully do (or have done) what you want to accomplish.  Ask their secrets to success.  Meet with these mentors for maintained support and to discuss your progress.
  • Accountability partner. Connect with a friend or colleague once a week to check in on each other’s progress.  This allows you to support each other and maintain momentum.
Speaking of DIY:  We have a brand-new section of our website!  It’s a free, 4 session team-development program complete with assessments, articles, videos and book recommendations.  Check it out here.
Want to try Vision Boarding?   Learn how from Jeannie Duncan by clicking here.
Does your workflow need a refresher?  Check out the Fall Freshen up from Kristine Ketel.
MORE BLOG POSTS

Growing Leadership in Youth

If the word “leadership” invokes images of experienced people trained in exerting authority and team motivation, you wouldn’t be wrong.  However, great leaders aren’t born, they were grown, and that …

READ MORE
Nostalgia
Nostalgia

One of Arizona’s luxuries is the proximity to Mexico and the beach. As time has a tendency to warp, I realize that our family has evolved year after year there. Over the …

READ MORE

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE
to our Leadership Library?