Defining Your Goals [Goal Setting Series, part 1]

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Are you already thinking about things that you want to achieve or create in 2026? For me, it’s publishing my book (eek!). In that spirit, today kicks off a brand-new 3-part series all about getting what you want, prioritizing yourself and your goals, and making good things happen. We’re starting at the beginning - defining your goals. Because you can’t get what you want if you don’t know what it is!

This episode will show you how to figure out what you want and define it in a specific, real, and accessible way.

I've also created a free workbook to help you prioritize and achieve your goals in 4 steps. Get your copy here.

How To Reach Your Goals

Throughout this series, I’m walking you through the 4 main steps I take when I am working toward a goal. This has worked for me to build my business, start a podcast, and achieve many other things in my life. 

Here are the 4 steps:

1. Define your goal
2. Define the obstacles and brainstorm solutions
3. Define the plan
4. Do it!

I’ll go into each step in much more detail, but here is what you need to know upfront.

In order to take action and achieve your goal, you have to prioritize your goal. You have to commit, to say “yes” to your goal and your action plan over and over again.

And in order to prioritize one thing, you will have to deprioritize other things. The truth is that you have a limited amount of time available to you. If you want to give more time to your goal, you’ll have to make some difficult decisions about where your time is going.

Now, let’s take the first step and define your goal.

Defining Your Goal

Here are 3 strategies (and a fun bonus exercise) to help you get clear on your goal. I’ll use my goal of publishing a book as an example as we go through this process.

Goal Guidelines

Make it specific. If your goal is too generic (e.g. I want to lose weight), it can be hard to make a clear plan, stay committed, or to even know if you’ve reached the goal.

My current goal is to publish my book before the end of 2026. There are two things that make this goal specific for me. One is the timeline. The other is a shift in wording from “writing” a book to “publishing” a book. 

Why is this important? Because I have had the goal of writing my book many times. I actually have written the book many times in many forms. But I have never actually sent a draft to the publisher (even though I have one ready and waiting). 

I have been NOT doing this for 3 years now. I have a lot of fears and overwhelm around this goal, so I have continued to put it off and prioritize other things. No more.

So get specific.

• Do you want to make money? How much?
• Do you want to lose weight? How many pounds do you want to lose? What size clothing do you want to wear?
• Do you want to build a business? What does that mean? How many clients do you want? How much profit do you want to earn?
• Do you want to sell things on Etsy? When do you want your shop to be up and running? What will you sell? How many items do you want to sell? 

And give yourself a timeline. WHEN do you want to have achieved your goal?

Make it manageable. Your goal doesn’t have to be something grandiose. In order for you to take action, it has to feel possible. 

Listen, I want you to have a big vision for your life. I also know that, for me, if the goal is too big, I often can’t quite see the path to get there. When your goal feels manageable and realistic, you’ll be less overwhelmed and more likely to actually take the first (and next) steps.

Know Your “Why”

This is the reason you want your goal. Reaching a big goal is challenging. It's hard. You have to put in continued effort. And when obstacles come up, you need a reason to keep going.

If you don't know why you want something or how it's going to benefit you or what it's going to create in you, you are probably not going to be able to stay committed to it.

For me, publishing this book feeds into my bigger purpose of healing the next generation in advance. 

But your why doesn’t have to be about some big higher calling. Another one of my whys is simply that I’m sick of talking about publishing this book 😂. I’m tired of not having achieved this. It’s time. 

Maybe you want to do something just because it will make you happy. There is no right answer. It’s about what feels right to you and will keep you committed to your goal. 

Use Your Imagination

Think about what it will be like when you achieve your goal. Imagine how it will feel. Maybe it’s peaceful, connected, satisfied, joyful, or content. Try that feeling on and practice it. Act as if it’s already done, you achieved what you set out to do. 

My vision looks like me sitting at my desk, holding a hard copy of my book in my hand. I look around at the books in my office and think, “What if that was my book?” It brings feelings of joy, satisfaction, and even relief. I feel excited about building momentum toward other books I already have in mind to write in the future. 

You might imagine making that first sale in your new business, sitting on a comfy couch in your updated living room, or looking amazing in your bathing suit. 

Notice what emotions come up. If there are negative emotions and doubts mixed in there, that’s okay. We’ll talk about those when we go deeper into dealing with obstacles later in this series.

Not Sure What You Want?

Something I’ve noticed over many years of working with parents is that it can be hard to even think about what you want while you’re raising kids. When you’re in the midst of parenting, it can feel like there is no room in your mind for it. 

This week, I challenge you to do a little dreaming. Here’s a fun exercise you can use to guide you. I call it the Dream Download, and it gives you a chance to uncover some of those deeper desires that might lie within you.

Essentially, you're going to make a list of all the things that you want to achieve either this year or anytime in the future. There are no rules, and you don't have to be realistic or practical. Just dream.

Try to list 5 things. Then push yourself to 10 to 15 to 20. What do you want to create for yourself? Keep digging into your soul and finding what is in there. 

Then, look at your list and choose 1 or 2 things you want to accomplish this year. Get specific about what that looks like, and define the goal. 

Mama, you deserve to dream. And once you know you want, you’re 1 step closer to making it come true!

You’ll Learn:

• 3 Strategies for defining your goal
• How to stay committed to your goal
• What to do when you don’t even know what you want
• Some of the fun dreams my friends and I have for our lives (maybe it will give you some ideas)

Resources:

• Get the free workbook: Prioritize & Achieve Your Goals in 4 Steps