Creating the life I want.

“So, how did you do?”

That’s a common question we ask about exams, sporting activities, interviews, and similar life events where a clear goal or outcome exists.  

For me, in 2018 I accomplished 74% of 76 goals in 11 categories.  

In some categories I had a great year (10 out of 10 marriage goals, 3 out of 3 goals to support my wife’s career, 8 out of 10 family goals) while in others I struggled (1 out of 7 goals for my business, 6 out of 10 health goals).

Not too bad really as I look at my priorities, the difficulty of the goals I created, and especially how my life would be without those 76 goals!

Setting goals based on what you want in life (not the artificial goals we create in our organizations which no one is really committed to, nor necessarily really wants) is the only way to have the life you really want.  

“So, how did YOU do?”. If you can’t answer because you did not set goals for 2018, don’t let yourself be in the same spot next December. Dream. Write down how you want the world to be a year from now.  Create goals.  Share with your spouse or close friend.  That’s the way to build the future you want to be a part of.

On New Year’s Day I’ll take a snap-shot of my life, including hard metrics (health measures, financial health, etc.) and then commit to my 2019 goals.  This has been my practice for decades.  I hope you’ll do the same.

Tom Stratton is an executive and team coach living in North Carolina. He can be contacted via Linkedin or by email at [email protected].