My best advice for setting goals . . . and my goal for 2024!
Happy New Year, my friends! I’m so excited that we get to do another year together!
In this post, I am so excited to be sharing my goal for 2024 with you. But before we get there, a few things first:
I am obsessed with the start of a new year. It is my most favorite time. It just feels . . . magical. It’s a blank slate . . . a chance to look within, get really clear on what you want and what you don’t, and then take steps to make it all happen.
A few weeks ago, we hosted our R&R Retreat, which is a virtual retreat that we host once a year. The purpose of the retreat is to bring people together and create the space for reflection and clarity. Through a mix of guided reflection questions and breakout discussions, we help people look back on the year that has passed, pinpoint the things that went well and that didn’t, and get clear on the shifts they want to make and the goals they want to pursue as they look ahead.
This year, I decided to do something I have never done before: I participated in our R&R Retreat and did the reflection exercises along with our attendees . . . while I facilitated. As we went through the exercises, I shared my own reflections and ah-has with our audience. It was so meaningful to go through the experience alongside everyone in attendance, and as a result of our reflection, I got clear on my own goal for 2024: I AM GOING TO WRITE THE SECOND BOOK!
The second book has been a very challenging process for me. I started writing it in 2023, but after some feedback from different publishers that the book wasn’t going in the direction they wanted . . . I gave up. I started to doubt myself and questioned if I should even write another book. I let my limiting beliefs prevent me from making progress, and deep down, it made me so sad to know that I wasn’t working on something that I really cared about. I know that I love to write, I know that the vision I have for this book is exactly what I need to write about, and I know it is my gift and that I can really help people.
And so . . . in our R&R Retreat, I decided that this is the year that all of that changes. I announced my goal to write the book in front of more than 100 people, and now I’m sharing it with you because I will make it happen this year! And my first milestone is 70,000 words by March 31st.
It feels so good to go into this year knowing exactly what I want to do—and with conviction! I want that for you, too. Maybe you know what you want to make happen in 2024, and maybe you don’t. Just in case it’s the latter for you, I thought it might be special to share some of my favorite reflection questions from our R&R Retreat that helped our attendees (and me!) get clarity. Below are five questions that I hope will help you think about your intentions for the year ahead:
What do you want to let go of from this year, what do you want to bring with you into next year?
How can you create more space and time for the activities that fill your cup?
What can you give yourself permission to stop doing?
What is the one thing that you could focus on this year to make the biggest positive difference in your life and for others?
How do you want to feel when this year is over?
When it comes to goal-setting, I’m a big believer in keeping it simple. I always find that I have more success when I set one goal and go all-in as opposed to setting several goals, which usually causes me to be a bit distracted and lose momentum. Some of my most successful personal goals I’ve achieved in the past have been: getting in the best health I’ve ever been in, going 365 days without alcohol, and getting up at 4 a.m. But these goals were only successful because I focused on one at a time and went all-in until I achieved them. (PS: Our Goal-Setting Workbook might be a handy tool for this. You can download it here!)
Last but not least, I want to offer you an exercise that we do at the end of our R&R Retreat. It’s called “Dear Me,” and it prompts you to imagine your life a year from now and write a postcard to yourself from the future. What did you accomplish this year? What are you most proud of? What kind of person have you grown to be? You can download a template to create your own here! Once you write yours, you can put it in an envelope and then read it at the end of next year to see if everything you wished and hoped for came true! Here’s mine that I wrote at our R&R Retreat:
Dear me,
It’s New Year's Eve, and you are sitting next to the fireplace in your new house with the people you love most in your life.
It’s been a wonderful year—in fact, 2024 has been the best one yet.
You are healthy, and so is your family. I’m proud to tell you that you were more present than ever this year, and you created beautiful memories. You went all-in on spending time with your parents, sister, Spiros, and Evie. Your marriage is more loving than you thought possible and you and Sprios have carved out more time for one another this year than you ever have. You went to Europe for two weeks with your family to celebrate your mom’s and sister’s birthdays and you were present the whole time. You took Evie on a solo trip and your relationship with her is stronger than ever.
I’m so happy to tell you that there is a big present underneath the tree this year . . . the second book. You did it! You wrote every morning, you didn’t give up when it got hard, and it’s all because you believed in yourself. You shared the message that was in your heart and you didn’t falter from it to make others happy. You stayed true to yourself and because of that, this book is going to help a lot of people.
The team is happy and healthy. Your trust in one another is even stronger. Everyone has grown in their lives and is doing so well, and a huge part of that is because of the culture that you’ve built together. Together, you are making a difference and igniting human leadership in others.
Okay, it’s time to get off the couch and get ready—it’s almost time for your New Year’s Eve party. All of your new friends and neighbors are coming!
Alright, friends. I hope you find these resources helpful as you think about the year ahead.
The team and I are still on break for one more week, and I can't wait to “officially” be back here with you next week making our goals happen . . . together!
Big hugs,
