5 steps to reconnecting to your goals and intentions and setting those boundaries

5 steps to reconnecting to your goals and intentions and setting those boundaries

I’ve been working with several clients who are finding that they have shifted away from their main goal for the year.

It’s April! Where did that come from?!? This means we are a quarter of the way through the year, and it is indeed a timely reminder to reconnect with goals and intentions set at the start of the year. 

I’ve been working with several clients who are finding that they have shifted away from their main goal for the year. This is not because it is not important to them. Rather “life” and “busyness” have taken them in tangents and circles that have meant there is a feeling of non success and of being overwhelmed in relation to their yearly intention. The more I tune into this occurrence with those who I am working with, the more I am coming across others in my life who are feeling this way as well.

This is a timely reminder to set boundaries around what it is you want to achieve, and how.  It’s time to reconnect!

I’ve popped together some great tips to help you reconnect with those goals and intentions. These will assist you to set boundaries around what you want to achieve and your time in order for you to have a feeling of success.

Here are my 5 top tips:

Step 1: RECONNECT - take a notebook and a pencil and reconnect with your intention and goal (I love the feel of a grey lead pencil, it gives me the permission to rub out elements that I may want to change as I process my thoughts, plus it just feels more gentler than a pen).

Write it down.

Write it down multiple times.

Are the words right? Do you need to make a few little tweaks?

Does the intention or goal resonate with you and make you excited (it so should make you smile and feel energized, and if it doesn’t then tweak away until it does or even get rid of it). 

Step 2: FOCUS - now it the time to really understand what this intention means for you.

Why is it important? 

How do you connect with it?

What make you excited about it?

Capture your thoughts in your notebook (knowing this is a safe and private space).

Step 3: BREAK IT DOWN - this is the part where you begin to really think about how you are going to achieve your intention or goal.

What is it that needs to be done?

What is involved in order to achieve your goal?

What does this look like?

Capture all the little elements that are a part of the intention (I love to use a mind mapping when doing this. It is a great way to link ideas but to honour them as vital elements to the outcome you want to achieve.

Step 4: ACTION PLAN - When are you going to do this?

Now is the time when most of us fall down (we have the best of intentions to follow through but…well, often we just don’t do this). So grab your diary and book time in to achieve your intention. It could be 20 minute blocks each day, or one morning once a week, or time in the evening of every second day.

Identify when you will have regular time that can be dedicated specifically to the intention. Set the boundaries around this time (guard it no matter what). And as you book out time, begin to dedicate a specific task that will contribute to the intention being met. This is where the "breaking it down" mind map (completed in step 3) is really beneficial to support you in the details that need to be done.

If it is important to you, make a plan and book the time into your diary (I do this with my intentions, exercise, daily gratitude, personal and work goals, “me” time, and time with others).

Step 5: DO - This is just as important as the first four steps. You have to do in order to achieve. Have fun exploring and creating your possibilities with your intention.

Don’t forget to connect, I’m really interested to hear if you have other ideas that work for you as your explore your intentions and goals. Please do share, and how you have applied the five steps shared above.