It's been said that most people spend more time planning a two-week summer vacation than planning their lives. Think about it.
Before you write 2021 goals for your company or your personal work performance (e.g., mission statement, sales goals, etc.), you need to carefully examine your own values. What do you value most? What do you stand for as a human being? Once you have a clear picture of your personal values, you’re more likely to put into place goals that are congruent with who you are as a person. And these goals are the ones you’re most likely to achieve.
Suppose you want to boost your sales by 100% next year. If you just write down “Boost sales by 100%,” the likelihood of achieving 100% growth in your sales revenue is slim to none. Rather, tether this goal to your own values and create action steps that will help you achieve it.
Here’s an exercise that will help you work through this process:
- Make a list of 25 personal values (see below for ideas).
- Make a list of your goals.
- Circle five personal values that are most important to you.
- Examine how those five values inform your bigger goals.
- Write out the action steps you need to take to achieve those goals in your daily life.
I would suggest breaking down your list of values into “moving-toward” and “moving-away-from” values – in other words, what do you strive for and what do you want to avoid? Moving-toward values are things like “happiness,” “success,” “intelligence,” and “love.” Moving-away-from values are things like “worry,” “sadness,” “boredom,” and “anger.” Knowing what you value AND what you actively want to avoid can help you create an even clearer picture of how your goals might align with your values.
