Breakthrough ways to gain clarity on what matters most to you in 10 minutes or less
Life can be stressful and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. You can gain clarity on what matters most in life by taking the time to reflect on why you want to reach your goal, how you will feel when you do, and what you value. Let’s take a look at why these things are important and how goal setting in five key areas—finances, relationships, health, business/personal growth, experiences—can help you get there.
Why do You Want to Reach Your Goal?
The first step in gaining clarity is understanding why you want to reach your goal. Consider what motivates and drives you. Is it a sense of accomplishment? The feeling of satisfaction when a job well done? Or is it something else? Knowing the answer to this question can give you the motivation you need to stay focused and keep going.
How Will You Feel When You Reach Your Goal?
Once you know why you’re aiming for your goal, think about how reaching it will make you feel. Will it bring happiness or relief? Will it make your life easier or more enjoyable? Take some time to reflect on this. Ask yourself what your days would look like, who would you surround yourself with, where would you be etc. These types of questions help you gain clarity. Understanding how achieving your goals will make you feel can be a powerful motivator that helps keep you on track.
Goal Setting for Balance
Once you understand why and how achieving your goals will make you feel, break down each goal into five distinct categories: finances, relationships, health, business/personal growth, and experiences. I personally find these categories work well for me but they may not for you. Feel free to adjust them to suit your priorities. Some other categories you may want to consider could be- religious/spiritual, artistic, family, attitude, self care, physical, pleasure or public service. This will help ensure that all aspects of your life are addressed as part of your plan and that nothing gets left behind.
For example: If one of your goals is to save money for retirement then break this down into manageable steps such as setting up an emergency fund account; creating a budget; finding additional sources of income or reducing expenses; investing regularly; and automating investments wherever possible. The same principle applies for other goals such as improving relationships with family members or getting healthier—break them down into smaller components so they are easier to achieve over time.
Create an “Action Steps List”
Ok this might seem a bit much to have it’s own heading but hear me out. If you have spent the time to set goals, connect with why they are important and understand your value system- you’re going to want to put all of this effort into action. The simplest way is to create a list with each goal category as a heading. Under each category, list every small step you could take to reach that goal.
For example, if you have a goal that you want to create more connection with your partner you might list the following:
- Turning off cell phones at a set time
- Scheduling regular date nights
- Sending a check in text each day
- Add more physical touch into your day
- Have a Sunday evening check in to review the week and plan for the week ahead
- Compliment eachother
- Express gratitude towards them for something specific each day
Keep this list where you can see it- posted somewhere in your home or on your phone. That way, you’ll never get stuck in the loop of not knowing what to do and then doing nothing. Every step counts.
“I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”
— Helen Keller
If You Were To Write Your Eulogy – What Would You Want People To Say?
This may sound like an odd question but it’s actually very effective in helping us gain clarity on what matters most in life. Think about what legacy would like people to remember when they think about us after we’ve gone—what did we stand for; what did we believe in; who were our closest friends; what did we find meaningful in life? Answering these questions can give us insight into our core values which can help guide our decisions on a daily basis so that we live an authentic life that aligns with our true self rather than someone else’s expectations or societal norms.
Conclusion
Gaining clarity on what matters most in life is essential if we want to live authentically and find true happiness within ourselves. Taking the time to reflect on why we want to reach our goals, how achieving them will make us feel, breaking them down into manageable steps across five key categories (finances, relationships , health , business/personal growth , experiences), and thinking about our eulogy are great methods for doing this. By doing so ,we set ourselves up for success because we’re living with intention instead of aimlessly drifting through life without any direction or purpose . That’s when real magic happens!
To put this into action, you may want to check out this post on how to Manifest Your Goals