Hello big dreamer, and welcome back to the Dream Goals Goddess blog!
I’m so excited to share the basis of the Dream Goals Strategy with you today... let’s begin with an overview of what this strategy is and where it came from.
Goal setting, planning, and organization addict, here! I have been surrounded by organization and planning since I
was born - my mom has always been a big planner, mapping out projects on a giant cork board in her office. This high level of organization led to my diligent use of my planner beginning in elementary school, all the way into college, and eventual love-hate relationship with planners. (For more on this, check out my video on my Love-Hate Relationship with Planners inside my free facebook community Empowered Women Achieving Desires HERE)
Through high school and college, I was always working in the present to bring about the results I desired for myself for the future (thanks mom and dad!) including everything from taking four years of a foreign language to broaden my opportunities for scholarships and admission to different universities. School officials at the time scratched their heads at why a freshman was looking at requirements to get into different universities, and planning out a full four years of courses on day one - let me tell you, it paid off! This preparedness allowed me to take multiple AP courses my senior year, earning college credits, which allowed me to finish a projected five year degree with two education certifications in four years!
Eventually my love of planning resulted in sitting with friends on breaks between classes and scratching my head at the mess of a course plan their academic advisors had given them. Please don't misunderstand, I have a log of respect for academic advisors for their hard work and all of the details they need to keep in their heads or remember where to reference to help their advisees graduate in a timely manner - it’s not a cake walk by any means, and goodness gracious does it take a lot of work... but the number of times that I sat down with fellow college students who had limited experience planning more than a semester ahead and realized that the plan that they had been handed would result in everywhere from one to three more semesters of college than should have been outlined was slightly frightening... But I digress.
Over the course of a decade, I honed my own personal brand of goal setting, taking from my experiences, the example set for my by my mom and other mentors along the way, deep diving into research of brain function and working with coaches to understand a variety of different ways of processing goals and bringing them to fruition, and finally resulting in a simple yet comprehensive 5 Phase framework, that I dubbed “The Dream Goals Strategy” and later wrote The Dream Goals Guidebook on.
Why the “Dream Goals Strategy” you may ask... sure, I could have named it 5 Steps to Goal Getting, Patricia’s Goal Setting Strategy, or any number of descriptions, but the ultimate goal of this process is to outline goal setting in an easy to follow format with a “choose your adventure” approach to certain bases dependent upon your particular way of approaching life and processing experiences. The ultimate goal is for you to be able to use this framework to identify and achieve ALL of your goals, big or small, and make your *Dream Life* a reality. Because we all have desires for our lives, those desires are placed on our hearts to serve a purpose and to fulfill us, and thus, the Dream Goals Strategy.
Now, what you’ve potentially been skimming ahead to find - it’s okay, I do the same thing! Here is the basic outline of the 5 phases in the framework.
1. Identifying Your Goals
This step may seem like a big DUH, but it’s a step you don’t want to overlook or skip in hopes of getting clarity more quickly. Identifying your goals is one of the longer and more in depth steps in the process where you look to the past, focus on the present, and project to the future. Within the detailed process, you will find oodles of prompts and thought-provokers to make sure you find allll of the goals in every nook and cranny of your mind.
2. What Sparks Joy?
In phase two of the process, you will look at what you enjoy doing, what fills your cup, whose company you seek out, and so much more. By taking this designated time to identify sources of joy in your life, you are able to hone in on goals that are truly aligned with the life you desire.
3. Do Your Goals Align With Your Joys?
Another big question, knowing if your goals align with your joys can mean the difference between going after your huge unicorn dream and leading a life of joy, and working towards a dream assigned to you by the well-intentioned suggestions of a loved one or mentor. It also leads to more joy-filled moments daily, not just in the moments a big goal is achieved. No more pushing yourself to struggle just a few more weeks because you have a three day weekend of sleep scheduled next quarter.
4. Seek Feedback
This phase of the process accommodates both internal and external processors alike! There are so many different ways of seeking feedback, which includes ways of accessing feedback and reactions from yourself, as well as ways of approaching feedback from trusted friends and family members, to individuals with professional experience in different areas. The feedback phases is where a lot of clarity comes in, and where you ultimately commit to a goal or a specific direction to achieve that goal.
5. Your Unique Dreams Roadmap
This, right here, is my absolute favorite phase in the process. This is where it all comes together, where you identify your next steps, and where you can physically see the roadmap to achieving your goals in a balanced and exciting format. When creating your Unique Dreams Roadmap, you are walked through the process of setting long-term and short-term goals, while ensuring that you are approaching goals in all areas that you have identified in a balanced manner. So often our career goals or job projects take priority and become the only goals that we work toward so that we can reap rewards later and *someday* enjoy working toward our passion projects and things that bring us joy. No more. With the Dream Goals Strategy, the fifth phase of the framework teaches you to seek balance, because with balance we enjoy more cup-filling experiences and avoid overwhelm and burn out. Ultimately, that balance allows us to enjoy the process more and to actually achieve goals in all areas more quickly because we are not burned out and not approaching our projects with a sense of dread or hum-drum existence.
And there you have it! These are the five phases of the Dream Goals Strategy...
I have applied this strategy in so many areas of life - accomplishing goals in my two businesses, reaching dream travel destinations, moving 2,300 miles across the country to a life I'd only imagined in dreams, being able to work from the beach, checking huge things off of my bucket list, building relationships, working toward financial goals, and so. much. more.
What areas of your life do you have dreams, big or small, that you could apply this strategy?
To start implementing the Dream Goals Strategy, visit my website to claim your copy of The Dream Goals Guidebook, and have the framework at your fingertips! I am so excited for your big dream goals to become your reality!