In an earlier video post I explained a few of my reasons why I think that traditional goal-setting is broken. One of the central reasons is that it’s such a linear, left-brain-directed process, and while this may have suited a more stable, predictable world, in these high-change times, I think we need a more agile approach.

I still have a lot of questions and gaps in my model, but I’ve been experimenting in my own life and with my clients and I’ve started to develop a new paradigm that’s serving us well, and I’m going to share it with you over the next while. I’d love you to banter with me, tell me where you think I’ve got it wrong, and add your own questions and ideas, and let’s see where it takes us…

This is quite a long post, and not really one to skim… I’ve pulled together some of my thoughts on the goal-setting process and why some freedom and lack of structure seems really useful sometimes while lots of structure in your thinking can seem really useful at other times. And I think it might also explain the diversity in the perspectives on goal-setting that coaches and personal development bloggers shared in a recent post.

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Today, I’ve been married to Andy for nearly a third of my life!

And I’m sharing this celebration and my gratitude with you because frankly I don’t think Mine Your Resources or the Bottom-line Bookclub would exist if it weren’t for Andy and all the support, encouragement, faith, courage and coaching Andy has given me over the past 12 years we’ve been together.

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As usual, I came away from chatting with Michele feeling a little wiser, more encouraged, and a little lighter. And when it comes to goal-setting and creating a framework to get the results you want in life, Michele has an incredibly refreshing and simple perspective.

Two things really stood out to me on this call:

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Brief note: Thanks to those of you who pointed out to me that I forgot to include the deadline for my Christmas 2-for-1 gift offer on the Bottom-line Bookclub in my previous post. I’ve added it now, and it’s the 18th of December. So if you sign up for the Bottom-line Bookclub using the button over here, before 18 December, then I’ll give you a second subscription for free, which you can gift to a friend (or a burned out Social Worker at a charity you support), or find a friend and split the deal together so you each get it for half price. Either way, you can spread the love. Just remember to sign up before 18 December and use this button (scroll to the bottom of the post) to get your 2-for-1 deal.

What Other Coaches & Bloggers Are Saying About Goal-Setting

In a recent video post I explained a few of my reasons why I think that traditional goal-setting is broken, and why I’m exploring alternative models for creating an “open-focused” way of focusing our thinking and making progress in making the changes we want to make.

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I’ve done my best this year (as I always do), to avoid Christmas celebrations altogether.

Actually, even though I was a reluctant angel in the annual Christmas play at preschool (yes, that’s a four year old me in the photo… don’t you just love the combo of the bored face, droopy wings and crooked halo… for me it totally sums up the results when I try my best to “be good” and do what everyone expects of me, instead of following my idea of fun!)… but as I was saying, even though I was a reluctant angel, I haven’t always been a Christmas grouch…

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As this post about how to live your life without goals indicates, for some time now, I’ve been wondering about the relevance of traditional goal setting and looking for ways to create focus and progress that address or mitigate the drawbacks within traditional goal-setting.

I wrote about some of my concerns with the traditional S-M-A-R-T goal setting model over at The Change Blog and proposed another model I cheekily called S-M-A-R-T-E-S-T goals. And over the past year I’ve been trying alternative methods out in my own life and with my current clients and been bantering with like-minded (and smart!) people like Charlie Gilkey and Jamie Smart about alternative ways to create scaffolding that’ll support you to focus and create the experiences you want in life. I’ve been trying to figure out how to balance flexibility, agility, freedom, following your heart and being in the moment with the structure that seems to help with focusing and getting stuff done.

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