Goals 2010

Which sounds like that government education program from the late 90’s(?) “Goals 2000” but nothing like that.  No standardized testing needed, no rote drills, and certainly no school necessary, unless of course that’s what you want to do.

2009 had a lot of good events happen, which I realized when I posted my year-end chicken last week.  But as I looked over the list, I knew that, while great compared to my accomplishments list of ten years ago, the potential had been there for even more, and I had let that go by.

This year I am determined to be more change, and with that in mind, I pulled out my copy of Lisa Sonora Beam’s “The Creative Entrepreneur”.  In it, she walks the reader through several stages of the goal setting process, and the book is designed for someone who may be more visually oriented, so there is a lot of collaging that can go on.  I really enjoy this book, and have my business mandala on the wall next to my bed, but I was getting stuck when it came to choosing the goals for my Strategic Planner, and really really stuck when it came to making the individual SMART (Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-Bound)pages for each goal.

Then came Goddess Leonie and her Creating My 2010 Goddess Year Workbook and Planner (see link in sidebar).  I am on her mailing list, and when the email came through, I clicked and peeked at the preview.  It looked really pretty and I was interested, but I didn’t immediately buy, because I had memories of other systems I had tried in the past, and was afraid it would go the way of the many self-help books gathering dust in my shelves.

But something about Leonie and her website kept calling to me, and I bought a copy of the guidebook.  It is 40 pages of colorful, whimsical drawings, questions to see where you’ve come from and questions to lead you where you want to go.  I really like the way she writes directly to the reader, as though she were standing next to you and urging you on.  There are pages to describe and collage how you feel about your body now, and how you would like to look by the end of the year, and  a page for your word of the year in addition to pages asking you to list your goals and habits you wish to cultivate.  My favorite is the page which leaves a bit space to write, draw and collage your bag of tricks, comforts and reminders to help nurture you when your path gets long or you feel like giving up.

And this is the first page of the goal-setting section of the workbook:

You print out the pages at home, and can put them into a decorated binder if you choose.  I like that this option allows you to carry individual pages with you to work on, as well as adding additional pages with your own  collages or extra printouts if you run out of room on the original page.

I will be working with this guidebook throughout the coming year, and each Wednesday I intend to post updates on what my goals are for the year, which is one of the goals I’ve already discovered through working in the book.  Now that’s smart!