Setting Goals with PURPOSE, INTENTION, and CLARITY
If you’re reading this blog, chances are, you’ve been to my website. And so you’ve probably seen the beautiful beach picture that is the background even though my office is located in Kennesaw, Georgia nowhere near the beach……So what does that picture have to do with setting goals with purpose, intention, and clarity…….and how exactly does that image relate to my office?
Earlier this month, we talked about resolutions vs goals and 5 ways to challenge your thinking. Now, let’s talk about goal setting strategies using our intuition to find goals that align with us while also honoring the importance of being flexible with the outcomes.
Tap into your intuition
So you have this amazing goal that you want to accomplish. I suggest sitting with it for a while. Visualize yourself completing that goal. How does it feel? What emotions do you have because you’ve accomplished it? Tap into that inner voice and inner wisdom and make sure that this goal aligns with you. Now, it is very easy to ruminate on it and stay in limbo with it, but sitting with it in silence for just a moment can help make sure that this is a goal you WANT and not one you think you SHOULD have…….
At my most recent vision board event, we did a future self-visualization exercise to help with goal-setting intentions.
Purpose, Intention, Clarity
Sometimes, starting with the end result can help you set a goal you might not have thought of before.
Purpose – what is the end result, what do you want to get out of this goal – this quarter – this year – this life! Don’t get overwhelmed in the details or even the larger magnitude of setting 5, 10, 20 year goals. But hone in on the purpose of this goal, no matter the size.
Intention – how will it feel when you’ve achieved that goal? What does your life look like, feel like, once you’ve achieved that goal? I challenge you to then write those feelings down as if they’ve already occurred.
Ex: I feel so healthy and energized now that I drink ½ my body weight in ounces of water every day!
Clarity – here’s the kicker….. LIFE HAPPENS. You can have all the plans in the world, everything scheduled and managed and perfect, and life will still happen. You have to be flexible with these goals. You have to be adaptable. Personally, my clarity comes from my morning devotional time, where I set the tone for my day by reading scripture and writing in my journal.
These goal setting strategies came to light for me as I was preparing to open Sunrise Chiropractic and Wellness. As I set out on this journey of going back to school and opening my own office, it wasn’t always a straight path. My office was set to open on July 8, 2018. I found my office space, acquired all the tools I would need to open, and had patients waiting for me. I had a goal, and had taken the action steps for completing it. On July 7, 2018, as my family and I were traveling back from our annual beach vacation, we were involved in a horrible car accident. A car hydroplaned, hit our SUV, and we spun out of control and flipped 10 times on a major interstate. We were 30 minutes from home. An ambulance traveling to a different location witnessed the entire incident and stopped immediately to help us. Once we were cut from the car, my husband and oldest child were taken to Grady Hospital in one ambulance, while my youngest and I were taken in another. My husband proceeded to stay overnight for emergency surgery on his hand, while I came home with my children. So instead of opening my office on July 8th, I was going to pick up my husband from Grady (where he would then begin a 3 month journey of painful healing on his hand), and I went to the junk yard to gather what was left of the belongings from our vehicle.
On July 14, 2018, I adjusted the first patients at Sunrise Chiropractic and Wellness. Even still, I am overcome with emotions just writing this. And every day I walk through the doors of my office, I offer up prayers of thanksgiving. This office became a labor of love for my family, friends, and community. And I am reminded of God’s goodness every time I walk through those doors. I had to be flexible with the plans I had, but I was not willing to give up. I knew the gift of health that chiropractic care had given my family, and I knew that God had placed this journey on my heart, but I had to live in the flow of how that journey would unfold. Instead of my usual desire to have all details planned, every scenario thought of and considered, I had to live with this big dream and goal and surrender to faith and trust.
All of this to say, that yes life can poo poo on your goals sometimes. It’s not always a straight path. You are on your own journey, and there is no one else like you. And that no matter what happens, I hope you continue to dream big and stay flexible.
As always, I hope you have health and wellness goals. I hope you begin to invest in yourself and invest in your health. I hope you begin to define what it means to be healthy for you and your family. And I hope that chiropractic care is part of those health goals.
Oh, and that beach picture on my website on the resources page…..I took that on July 1, 2018, just 6 days before our accident. And it reminds me of what a precious gift this life is, to not waste a moment of my time here in doubt, fear, or worry, and to keep spreading healing energy and God’s love every day as best I can.
~Dr. Shannon