Vision and Goals

This is a post written by ALLESSIA.  She is a goal coach on the LULULEMON website.  I think you will find this interesting. 
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Think about your life 10 years from now. Where will you be, what will you be doing, what have you achieved? Writing down a detailed vision for your ideal life (being as descriptive as possible) helps to identify the goals you need to achieve to realize your vision. Here is our secret sauce to success; our 6 core concepts for vision and goal setting.

The 6 Core Concepts of Vision & Goals

The lululemon vision & goals training program is based on 6 core concepts.  These are tried, tested, and true methods for clarifying your vision and then setting goals to make it a reality.  Use this program to guide your vision & goals process.
1. Possibility
Set visions & goals in possibility and that are beyond what is likely to happen.  A mindset of possibility allows you to get into creative visualisation and clearly articulate your ideal life without self created limitation.  A couple of ways of getting into possibility:

• Let your past be in the past: We tend to look at the past in order to create our future, yet a goal set from the past will likely create more of what already exists, and inherently has limitations.
• Remove perceived constraints: What limitations do you create for yourself that don’t actually exist?  ‘I don’t have enough money’.  ‘I don’t have the time’.

2. Vision
Your vision for your ideal life will drive your goals.  The purpose of setting your vision is to create a clear picture of your ideal life so your goals become powerful and meaningful to you.  The vision articulates what you are out for in life and your greatest ambitions.  It will give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning – something to get excited about.  Why are you setting goals – where will it get you?
A powerful vision:

• Is set 10 years in the future.
• Is clear and concise with enough detail to feel complete.  A paragraph or two should suffice.
• Incorporates all major domains of your life.  Usually: health, personal, career.
• Moves you emotionally and gets you excited – maybe even a little nervous.
• Uses present tense language.  Write it as if you are already there.
• Is authentic to you and grounded in your passions and unique greatness in the world.

3. Balance
It is important to balance your vision & goals in the major domains of your life.  Having balanced goals leads to a balanced life, while having goals in only one area can leave your desires for other areas unfulfilled.  The three main domains in life are most often: personal, health, career.  These can mean different things for different people.
4. Audacity
Be bold and set goals that are a challenge for you. Dare to challenge assumptions or conventions you have and tackle difficult goals.  Set your goals to be BHAGs:  Big Hairy Audacious Goals.
To decide if your goal is a BHAG, ask yourself:

• Is this goal easy to achieve?
• Is this likely to happen anyways, with little effort on my part?
• Is it a push goal that will move me closer to living my ideal life set in possibility?
• What sense of accomplishment will come with achieving this goal?

You will know if you are truly setting BHAGs in life if you’re failing at 50% of the goals.
5. Format
Formatting your goals in the correct way gives you the greatest likelihood of achieving them.  A goal written with the incorrect format can be wishy-washy and will go un-achieved.

• Trickle back: Start with the end in mind.  Set your 10 year goals first, then move backwards to 5 year, 1 year
• Quantifiable: You must be able to measure your goal.
• Specific: Precisely articulate the desired activity, object, event, or outcome in the goal.
• Present tense: Write your vision & goals in the present tense.
• Affirmative language: State what you want, not what you don’t want.
• Concise: Use as few words as possible; no justification is required.
• By-when date: State when the goal will be achieved.

See the worksheet below for examples.
6. Integrity
Once your goals are set, consider how you incorporate them into your daily life to achieve them.  How do you live with integrity to your vision & goals?  Here are some ideas:

• Create a system to honour and achieve your goals.  Do you use your day-timer?  Do you post your goals on your fridge?
• Enroll others so they know what you stand for.  Sharing your goals with others who are also committed goal setters allows them to support and assist you.
• There is choice every day in life.  Choose the things that move you closer towards achieving your vision & goals, rather than those things that are in conflict

Think about your life 10 years from now. Where will you be, what will you be doing, what have you achieved? Writing down a detailed vision for your ideal life (being as descriptive as possible) helps to identify the goals you need to achieve to realize your vision. Here is our secret sauce to success; our 6 core concepts for vision and goal setting.