Eat less sugar, grow your biceps, take up meditation... Ah, New Year's. The busiest month of the year at the gym is upon us. Yet come February, the line at the eliptical will be gone, along with most of our resolutions.
Goal setting is quickly being popularized as a useful tool for achievement and making progress. Certainly more so than our resolutions whose track record of short-lived fitness plans precedes them. To find out why setting goals is so effective and how to get started on our own, we called in the expert.
Susanne Conrad is the "Director of Possibility" at lululemon and the founder of igolu.com, an online resource dedicated to helping people design and attain their dream lives. With her wide grin, quick laugh and open demeanor, Susanne is a living testament of the igolu slogan: Create goals. Live possibility. Be happy.
What would you tell someone who is hesitant to start "authoring their life"?
Writing goals can be both terrifying and empowering. But take a look at your life. If a person hasn't written their own goals, they're fulfilling someone else's. And that's the truth, I think that's the thing people wake up to.
What makes goals more successful than new years resolutions?
The seed of a goal is usually designed to support a person in their future, whereas resolutions are often based on overcoming a past. Goals are most successful when written from a place of self-love and self-challenge, not guilt or feeling like "I should".
In your igolu courses, the act of writing goals down is emphasized. Why is it important to write them rather than simply think about them?
In our heads we talk ourselves in and out of things all the time - they aren't really safe places. By writing them down, we can refer back to the original, specific goal. I keep mine in my purse - I always want to have my life purpose and lip-gloss with me.
What is the vision statement and how does it help structure goals?
It is a specific, optimal moment in time about the life you want. The first time I saw this concept applied was when John F. Kennedy said "lets get a man on the moon by the end of the decade". The technology didn't exist yet - their team had to work backwards from the end vision.
What kinds of visions are popular lately?
I see a lot of chicken coops in people's visions. (laughs) I think the chickens represent a return to a physicality of being a human in a community, loving your body, children and people around you.
How has this work (goal setting) impacted your life?
Goals make me feel more relaxed and in alignment with my actions. For years I've had a goal to take everyone in my family on a trip of their choosing. My mom said that she'd like to go to China. I bought the trip 5 days later! Having set that goal early on made it easier for me to trust my decision.
So what about the igolu book? When can we expect that?
That's a stretch goal for me for sure. Stretch goals give me creative tension helpful for me in my life. So I'll say yes! But that's a good point, you should achieve your goals about 50% of the time; so they aren't too small.
This year resolve to change your goals.
Susanne and her team have provided some basic goal setting and vision statement handouts to get you started. For more information and instruction, check out igolu.com.
