Ok, so you’ve put all of this hard work into uncovering, prioritizing and testing your goals. Now what?

There’s one extra step to transform your goals from a paper list into a guiding compass for every day, week and month of the new year.

One of the reasons I used to be so skeptical about goal-setting is that my goals change. A goal from December may not be relevant in March or April. Challenges and opportunities come-up that may require our full attention.

So how can you set goals that are ready to last all year not just shift after a few months roll by? More importantly, how can you set goals that you effortlessly remember every day.

There is something powerful when you’re able to remember your goals in the middle of brushing your teeth or when making coffee. Goals shouldn’t be a long complicated list. A landmark study from Harvard shows that the brain’s sweet spot for recall is 5-9 items (like the length of a telephone number).

Instead of trying to remember all of the specific goals you’ve pinpointed for 2020, take 5 minutes to brainstorm banner goals: a few overarching descriptions of what your purpose is. A banner goal may include many little, specific goals that are related. For me writing, speaking, blogging and improving my skills at work all coalesce under the same banner of ‘Crucial Conversations.’

Many people like to have one little word or slogan to encapsulate their intention for the year ahead. I made 2019 my “year of no more headaches” on a mission to be as holistically healthy as possible- and break free of daily debilitating headaches. That slogan guided my decision-making all year- and my goals were ever present as I went throughout the day.

I’m happy to say that my headaches have pretty much disappeared. That’s a reality I had scarcely dreamed of.

Get ready because this is the best part of the whole series.

Grab a new page in your journal and write your word of the year at the top. Add your banner goals underneath, with a little explanation of what they look like.

These are powerful, meaningful goals. Goals that can adapt to whatever life throws at you. Goals that can help us find things we’d never even dreamed of.

And that’s all folks! I am so excited to see where 2020 takes you : )

Thank you for reading and working on your goals alongside me. You have motivated me to take risks and prepare well for the year ahead. Wishing you a peaceful, joyful holiday season and a very happy, purposeful decade ahead.

Celebrating you for where you’ve been and where you’re going!!