“Set goals that inspire you—not ones that stress you out.”
Introduction: Goals That Feel Good, Not Heavy
Setting goals should feel exciting and empowering, not overwhelming. Have you ever felt the pressure of perfectionism and unrealistic expectations come over you when setting your goals, making it so easy to give up before even getting started? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s a better way. Setting goals from a place of joy, clarity, and self-love with a positive mindset will allow you to move forward without burnout and actually enjoy the process of both setting AND achieving your goals!
Step 1: Start from Self-Compassion, Not Criticism
Your mindset around setting your goals matters immensely. Before you set a single goal, pause and ask yourself, “Am I doing this to become a better version of myself?” Or… “Am I trying to fix what I think is wrong with me?” By switching how you think about your goals and understanding you are enough right now where you are—but knowing that growing and achieving will add to your life even more—true growth comes from love, not shame.
Step 2: Dream Big, Then Break It Down
Having big dreams is amazing, write down your goals then try breaking your goals down into mini milestones. For example, if your big goal is to start a side business, your small goals could be researching for 1 hour this week, brainstorming ideas, setting up social media accounts. By doing this, you are building momentum and self-confidence at the same time without the pressure of “I need to have a successful business and it needs to have happened yesterday.”
Step 3: Use “Positive Framing”
How you word your goals changes how they feel. Using negative language around your goals makes them much harder to achieve, and on the flip side, positive language makes them easier to achieve. Use positive language like I deserve to feel good about myself instead of beating yourself up.
Step 4: Focus on Feelings
Feelings are powerful, we often just focus on what we want and don’t think about the feelings associated with our goals. Rather than just focusing on what you want to do, ask: “How do I want to feel while I’m working toward this?” By doing this, it makes your goals more aligned with you. Here are some examples bringing feelings into the goals:
“I want to feel energized and focused, so I’ll build a calm morning routine.”
“I want to feel proud of myself, so I’ll follow through with one small task each day.”
Step 5: Ditch the All-or-Nothing Mentality
If you’re on a diet and fall off for one day, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Just get back on it as soon as possible. Setbacks like this when working towards goals will happen and that’s normal. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or completely give up. Goals require long-term consistency, so carry on regardless. Having a positive mindset will help you achieve more and know that progress over perfection will help you.
Try this:
“Even if I only do one tiny thing today, that’s still a win.”
“Rest is part of the plan, not a step back.”
Step 6: Visualize & Affirm Your Goals
Visualisation is a powerful tool that can help your goals become your reality. You need to be able to see your goals as already happening. This rewires your brain for success as it can’t tell the difference between thought and reality, so you will believe in your new visualised reality.
Visualization exercise:
Close your eyes and picture your dream life.
What are you doing? How do you feel?
Speak affirmations that align with your goal (e.g., “I am becoming more confident every day.”)
Let Your Goals Uplift You
Your goals don’t need to weigh you down. Change your mindset around your goals and use them to inspire you to rise into your best self.
So next time you sit down to plan your dreams, remember:
- Come from love, not lack
- Start small and keep it light
- Celebrate every step you take
