It’s time to talk about accomplishing your goals. We just wrapped Strategy Week over here at Accountability Works. That means each one of our members met with an AW coach to talk about what goals they’d like to set for the quarter, the steps to accomplish them, and what actions they would like to be held accountable to.
Setting goals is primarily an intellectual task, but accomplishing your goals is a full body experience.
It takes a lot of energy to take intentional, consistent action towards your goals for 12 weeks in a row. We liken our four 12-week sessions to sprints. That’s why we take breaks afterwards. You need to rest, relax, and ground back into the bigger picture of what you are working on.
That’s also why we give everyone a chance to reassess their 1-year goals in the spring. After a quarter of working on them, you are more informed and clear. With a season of work under your belt, you better understand what it’s going to take and what the consistency required feels like. You realize, it’s really a marathon. And like any good runner knows to get to the finish line you are going to need to take care of that body of yours. That’s why in every session we emphasize energy management.
Many of our members will tell you, they are recovering overdoers, overcommitters, and overworkers. And since most of us live in a culture where exhaustion and busyness have been measures of success and hard work, you might feel that way too.
Being intentional and focused doesn’t mean squeezing every last drop of energy out of yourself or your day. That’s a recipe for burnout. It’s about focusing your energy so that you are doing the most important things. The things that move the needle and make you feel your best.
So as we head into this season of growth and renewal, we’d like you to not just consider how to go about accomplishing your goals but also consider the vehicle that is going to be doing the actual work – your body and specifically, how are you managing your body’s energy?
Here are some good check-in questions:
- How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?
- Do you have a morning routine?
- Are you putting thought and intention into what you put into your body?
- When you look at yourself in the mirror are you kind and friendly to yourself or derogatory?
- When you talk to yourself are you primarily positive or negative in your thoughts about yourself and others?
- Are you prioritizing connection with yourself and others?
- Do you give yourself time in your day or week for fun, play, and relaxation?
- Are you happy with your bedtime or bedtime routine if you have one?
- How are you falling or staying asleep at night?
Our sense of vitality and energy is an inside job and it does take intention and care. We don’t have a single member in our program that does not make commitments around at least one of these areas, and when they come back from a break, it is typically the area of commitment that they are most looking forward to returning to. So when you are dreaming up all those big plans of yours, don’t forget to prioritize giving that amazing body of yours some love.
