Start With Your Values
It’s the easiest way to set goals
As the new year starts to settle in, we all make plans. We set goals, make mood boards, and sign up for memberships to help us become healthier and smarter. But before doing that, I recommend turning your plans on their head. Instead of planning, touch base with yourself. Start with the basics – what are your values and why?
Don’t get me wrong, I wrote a year in review. Then I wrote about learning from my past. But I was able to write these because weeks prior, I broke down my values. I didn’t do this very straightforwardly, but now looking back at it I can see that I did it in a roundabout manner.
I have been contracting for Optemization – a digital operations agency. As the year closes out, the team has undergone a lot of interpersonal reflection as people and as a business. We took a personality assessment and wrote a personal user manual. As someone that is very self-aware, I didn’t learn anything new exactly, but it was a nice refresher! But after doing both of these I can see how these helped me set my goals for the year.
Personal Assessment Highlights
I am a Shaper!
Shapers visualize ambitious goals, set plans in place, and push through relentlessly to make them happen. They tend to be independent, original, driven, demanding, adaptable, and at times impatient and single-minded.
I am also a Growth Seeker and a Commander.
Personal User Manual Highlights
I work in Sprints
Less is more
I prefer to communicate async
I work best in the mornings
I love learning – through mixed mediums
Again, none of this was new to me, but they lend so well to my goals this year. See some of them below.
Yearly Goals
Make more money yearly than I have in the past.
Work less whilst making more. 20-30 hours a week is the goal.
Grow my social following 10x, for the ability to share my stories with more people.
Make another documentary – minimal, semi-remote, semi-local, all done whilst being environmentally conscious.
Exercise outside more – mainly mountain biking.
Rejoin Crossfit.
Instead of making goals based on hopes and dreams, these are goals made around my abilities and interests. This allows for my goals to be more achievable and will be more fulfilling.
I don’t think you need to do a personality assessment, but I do think you should self-reflect before adding goals to your calendar or to-do list.
Think about the following examples:
When am I happiest?
When am I saddest?
When do I feel the most energized?
How do I feel after finishing a day's work?
How do you learn best?
How/ when do you think best?
Where do I feel best? Does my environment affect my mood?
Do you want to lead or be led?
Do you want to plan or do?
There are no right or wrong answers. It doesn’t matter if your answer is less ambitious than it was in the past. Progress is not linear. If you wanted to be a manager last year and you want to be an individual contributor this year, that is fine. Be honest with yourself! When you understand your values and inner workings, your goals will be clear and achievable.