Compassionate Reflection and Goal Setting (Part 4 — Final Part)

How did the first week go? Did you start? Did you take steps forward?

Did you stick to small, easy, and repeatable actions?

(If you’re just landing in Part 4, check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 first)

Setting Up Your Weekly Review
No matter where you are in working on your goal, it is very important to set up a regular review of your plan and activities. A weekly review works really well — it’s enough time to look at some data points, but not dwell on daily fluctuations. Pick a day. It only takes a few minutes but is so easy to forget. Some questions to ask yourself:

· What did I do? How did it go?

· Any learnings from this past week? What’s working well/not so well?

· Any changes I’d like to incorporate for this coming week?

Doing this quick “retro” enables us to stop and reflect. It’s also a great way to remind us of our intentions when we forget — “wait, I did nothing this week? Okay, time to get back to it!”

Try not to judge your progress too much. The key is to keep going. Generally people overestimate what they can accomplish in the short term, but underestimate what they can accomplish in the long term.

I will do my weekly check-in and review on: ________________________

It’s better if you write/type it down, even if you don’t send it to anyone.

Getting An Accountability Partner/Group

Want to really make some progress? Set up an accountability group or get an accountability partner. It can be as easy as sending a friend a text/chat/email once a week or setting up a group version. It’s easier to work on goals with a small group or a friend.

I will send my weekly review to: __________________ (can fill in later)

Measuring Progress
Some things are easy to measure (e.g. losing weight, spending more time outside), while others require us to be much more specific in what we want to achieve. For example, if you’d like to improve your relationship with your manager or partner, how will you know things are getting better? It requires more discipline to figure out but is definitely worth it. Perhaps one measure is how many good conversations you’re having or topics you’re no longer avoiding.

I urge you to also consider using intermediate results — something you can achieve on the way to reaching your ultimate goal. For example, the number/percent of healthy meals you’re eating vs pounds/kgs lost.

Finally, another option is listing a series of actions you will take to get to reach the goal. They will either get done or not, and you will know (e.g. having that tough conversation with your boss to ask for a raise/promotion/new territory).

How will you measure progress? ___________________________________________

REMINDER: Do not get bogged down with creating the perfect measurement process. This is a procrastination trap, and we are not going down that rabbit hole. You know who you are.

EXTRA (for you go-getters!)
What story do I want to have about myself to support me in pursuing my goals?
You may have an existing story about yourself or about this goal that is not serving you well. You will need to set this aside (or throw it out!). What will you replace it with?

What are the biggest impediments to succeeding? How do you plan to address them?
In this question, let’s consider the most impacting impediments — this is not an analysis of every possible thing that can go wrong and how you plan to deal with it.

How will I take care of myself, replenish my energy and give myself a chance to rest in service of the work I want to do?

It will be easier to keep the momentum going if we incorporate how we will keep ourselves going and, of course, how we will do this compassionately!

Keep things simple: know what you’re working towards and what actions you will take to get there. Don’t forget to rest and replenish your energy.

If you don’t do a good job on a given day, let it go and keep your head up — tomorrow is always a chance to start again….. and it’s all about starting, again and again!

Good luck. I’m really excited for you!