Setting goals & outcomes
Setting goals and outcomes is about stepping into the role of creator of our future.
It places us in a position to steer our lives toward what we want to achieve or create and it wakes up the innate creative abilities within each of us.
So, what are goals and outcomes?
The simple way to think about this is in terms of means and ends. The goals are the means and the outcomes are the ends.
The goal is often the way we think we can achieve the ultimate outcome or one of the steps we need to take to reach it. For example, I might set a goal to earn £100k in a year. But if I sit with that and explore this from a higher plane, what do I really want? I want the feeling of freedom that will come with not having to worry about money.
In reality there’s a tonne of different ways to achieve financial freedom. This is why we try not to get too caught up in the how (the goals) and focus more on the why (the outcome).
The way the outcome will enhance your life is what should give you the feels. Focusing too hard on the specific goals risks obscuring the view of all the other potential ways of getting there.
Cultivate a relationship of trust in the fact that you will achieve your outcomes and don’t sweat the deatils at this point. That doesn’t mean you can sit back and wait for it to happen. You need to take action but don’t get bogged down in the how for the moment. Focus on exciting the feelings of joy that achieving your outcomes will give you.
Now we’ve established what goals and outcomes are and why we set them, let’s explore how we effectively set outcomes. And how to avoid falling prey to the curse of the new years resolution.
How do we set goals & outcomes?
If you've never sat and allowed yourself to dream about what you actually want, this may seem a little foreign.
If you’re stuck as to what you want, try starting with what you don’t want. Make a list of all the things you don’t like about your life at the moment. Things you aren't satisfied with. For each of these items, write down what you’d rather have instead. Don’t be stingy with ideas and definitely don’t censor yourself. Don’t write down what you think you should be dreaming of. Write down what comes through the pen you are holding when you give yourself over to pure possibility.
In terms of timeframes, this is totally up to you but I tend to set outcomes for the next 12 months around January time. I also have one main outcome that I place a little farther into the future, simply because of its scale and magnificence.
There’s no fixed and fast rule about how many outcomes you should have but I tend to run with about 15 or 20 throughout the year. These are also broken down into categories of life such as relationships, wellness, business, family and money. I also then split them into quarters of the year so I have some short term, smaller goals and some longer term, more lofty outcomes.
Remember to have fun whilst you’re doing this. Dreaming of your most awesome future shouldn’t fill you with worry or concern or thoughts of how exactly you’re going to achieve these things. This exercise should have you vibing high and eager to get going.
Once you’ve got a list of outcomes that has you bouncing off the walls with excitement, it’s time for some tidy up. Make sure they're written in the present tense. I.e. instead of “I want to have £50k in savings by the end of the year”, write “I have £50k in my savings account”. This will begin to register in your subconscious as if you already have it. From a quantum physics perspective, it will also place you in a vibratory state that will begin to attract the circumstances that align to that outcome.
It's also important to ensure that they are as specific as you can make them. Saying “I want more money” is all well and good but would you be satisfied with an extra £5? Get specific and if your goal is money based, make sure you have a compelling reason for wanting the money. Financial goals are awesome but I don’t think the universe will dish out the dosh just to have it sat there in your bank account. Make sure you have exciting plans for your stacks of cash and prepare your mind to receive what you are asking for. Just don’t expect it to be in the way you are asking for it!
The final, most important task is to write down next to each goal 1-3 action steps that you can take towards this outcome immediately. Don’t just sit and wait for your list to come to life. Take messy action immediately, in whatever form that might be. This could be a phonecall to someone, an email, your first workout of your new regime, a sales call, whatever. Be bold and think of some small but intentional actions that you can take to build a little momentum. Commit to them there and then.
In terms of what to do with this magical list of dreams, mine is sat at the end of my bed so it’s the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night. But before I put it into its home at the end of my bed, I spend some time with my outcomes so I can really connect with the feelings they’re giving me. I set up an hour or so to sit in my office with some awesome music on and I imagine walking through the next 12 months, effortlessly achieving all my outcomes. I attach deeply to the feelings that the outcomes give me and when I come round, I feel like I’ve already manifested everything on the list. Bliss. That’s the state we’re aiming for – pure bliss.
Some science for you.
Firstly, an awesome fact. You have in your body a built-in ally when it comes to achieving your dreams. It goes by the name of the Reticular Activating System, or in short, the RAS.
Your RAS is a network of neurons that acts as a kind of gatekeeper of your attention. It’s the system that allows you to hear your name over a medley of other sounds in a noisy café. Your RAS scans the world for what we’re placing our attention and energy into. This is why it’s such an incredibly powerful tool to support you in achieving your outcomes. It sifts through the billions of bits of information that you pick up from your environment every second and carefully selects the most important things for us to focus on, based on what we’ve knowingly or unknowingly told it.
That last statement is an important one – knowingly or unknowingly. It’s listening to what we feed it, irrespective of whether that information is for our good or not. If we are constantly saying to ourselves “I’ll never be able to achieve that” or “people like me don’t experience that sort of success” it will seek confirmation of these statements and deliver you the self-fulfilling prophecy. Using positive outcome setting will start to train the RAS to search for experiences that match the instructions we are giving it. So, use it wisely and it’ll be your best friend when it comes to setting and achieving your outcomes.
The last thing I wanted to share was the result of a super interesting study by Dr Gail Matthews of the Dominican University of California. This study showed that, across groups of people with varying levels of commitment, those who wrote down their goals and had accountability partners to whom they gave regular feedback were 42% more likely to have achieved them at the end of the study period. If that doesn’t convince you that spending a mega fun couple of hours mapping out your dream future is worth it, I don’t what will!
To conclude…
In summary, get yourself in a good place, put on some inspiring music, spend some time thinking about what you want from your future and get it down on paper. Don’t censor yourself and don’t listen to inner talk of self doubt or limitation, just vibe hard. Set the pen loose and tidy up afterwards. Once you’ve got your list, add some action steps and hit them with enthusiasm. Put your outcomes somewhere you can see them, ideally first thing in the morning and last thing at night and don’t sweat the how. Just commit to keeping them in focus and taking steps towards them whenever you can.
I wish you joy in creating your outcomes.