Goal-Setting the Right Way: Day 5
I want to take a second to acknowledge that I’ve been gone a few days. I know you’ve missed me. Rest assured I’m alive and well.
My unexpected hiatus served up a few interesting lessons, which I’m just going to lay down before I tuck into the main course fillet of today’s challenge. Number one: Luteal phases are meaty. Although I tend to come across as an emotional madperson for some of the phase, and seem unable to get out of bed at 6am, wow have I been downloading insights and ideas for plans these past few days. When I’ve actually leaned into the rough-cut feelings and let myself hang loose, I’ve been able to gain some real clarity about what I need to do, what pursuits are authentic to me, and how I can go about manifesting my desires, step-by-delicious-step. It’s been wild. Number two: Do not take a salt bath on an empty stomach. Seriously. I passed out three times. Luckily my partner was there to catch me, which was kind of romantic if it weren’t for the temporary blindness and my right hand paralysing due to a lack of enzymes.
Today I’m talking about goal-setting. When I first encountered this challenge, which was to set a goal for the rest of the 21 day program, I kind of freaked out. I mean I just couldn’t do it. I felt like I had aims and objectives and strategies flying out of my thighs and armpits. It was just too overwhelming to think about, and so I parked it.
I came back to it today, and I suppose I intuitively decided to slide into it by consulting my body, like I had done around gaining clarity with my Luteal phase. I’m not sure if that makes total sense — but essentially it means I decided to hold a thought of a goal in my mind and see how it sat in my body. Rather than trying to use my head to set a SMART goal that I could easily insert into my calender, I went for a new approach — holding a desire and allowing the way there to unfold more organically.
Still not sure I’m making sense. Let me illustrate.
I decided upon a goal today: to attract in three new soul-clients by the end of the 21 days. Marisa provides a few prompt questions to cement in why this particualr goal is a good idea, which I answered over a voice note to myself with as much honesty and feeling as I could:
- How will it change your life to achieve that goal?
- How much money do you want?
- What are you going to do to achieve that money? What are you going to create, invent, improve, deliver a product or a service?
- Why do you want it so much?
- How many people will benefit from you achieving this goal?
- What new skill are you going to learn to help you achieve this goal?
And that was it. I held the goal in my mind, knowing there were many processes and avenues I could take it in, but not trying to grab at anything in particular. As I was making breakfast, I felt the urge to make another voice-note, this time reeling off a few ideas for how to get there that had just come to me: ‘make a Facebook ad, add testimonials to my website, improve my website SEO, start building an email list, improve my offerings online…’. The ideas came naturally and easily, flowing out as I stewed my apples.
And then I waited some more.
I carried on with my day, replying to emails and doing a Tarot reading. Then I felt an urge to research email marketing platforms. Before I knew it, I had found one and set up an account. I created a sign up page and sent it through to five people I’d done readings for in the past week — and lo and behold, one of them actually signed up.
Without any stress, and just through going with the flow and allowing my urges to lead the way, I had created an email list!
Of course I’m not suggesting that this is an advisable way to always set goals, but I found it mighty helpful to allow it to simmer in the background of my day when making it the focus would have felt too overwhelming. Moving my body through it really helped.
I went on a walk later and new ideas started to come to me about how to present myself on social media. As I was strolling along in the rain, I whipped out my Insta account and changed my profile description. I had been editing it for days, labouring over the words and feeling a bit cringe about it all — but now, in the blink of an eye, it felt authentic and true.
I know there’s still many processes I need to tap into before I can manifest new soul-clients and the money that comes along with it. There are no doubt a few limiting beliefs to dismantle as part of that too.
But it felt damn good to take a few steps today, in my own time, loose and easy, without stressing out about any SMART criteria. I listened to my body and my mood, and if they said yes, it just came out right and melted into my day effortlessly, like butter on crumpets — golden and delicious.
