SEXY Goals: A New Acronym for Goal Planning
For years as a business owner and healer, I've created success by making sure my goals are specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and on a proper timeline. I learned how to do this by studying and implementing the SMART acronym for goal setting. I definitely geek out about planning, goal setting, and implementation.
However over the years I noticed that even with SMART goals, sometimes I'd get off track. I'd spend a lot of time manifesting relevant goals that didn't, well, DO anything for me. They weren't very exciting. I wanted MORE from life so I came up with a new acronym to be used along with my SMART planning; in addition to being SMART, make sure your goals are SEXY!
Sexy is not gender specific. It's a term that captures the energy of being connected to your earthy human nature and being able to express it without reserve.
As celebrities on tv have shown us, sexy can be classy or it can seem raunchy, but it is often unstoppable. People can’t help but look when something sexy is happening. A sexy person can bring light and resources to the things we are afraid to look at (I think of Audrey Hepburn’s humanitarian work). A sexy person can reconnect us with our own sexiness, and inspire creativity.
No matter what you do, where you work, or how you live, sexiness can amp up your joy and sense of connection. If you have a master plan, does it pass the SEXY test?
THE UNSTOPPABLE S.E.X.Y. ACRONYM
Okay let's break this down. How do you make sure your goals are the kind of goals that make you want to get out of bed in the morning? What are the intangible elements your goals should include, that help you feel really soulful about your work?
S is for Stretch.
Stretch your mindset. Reach new levels of personal success and greatness by stretching what you believe your capable of. Just as you stretch muscles a little at a time in order to be flexible, choose micro-goals that stretch your comfort zone and resources in ways that inspire. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, because that's not stretching. That's tearing.
The key question to ask yourself here is: “Does this goal stretch my resources or break them?”
E is for Excite.
Make sure that your goal is exciting to your sense of well-being. It’s easy to choose goals that excite our ego, our status radar, our career ambition, or our immediate sense of physical gratification. However, make sure this goal excites your heart, your spirit, and your inner child.
Your key question is: “Am I excited because this is what I want in my heart, or because this is what the world tells me I should want?”
X is for X Factor.
Choose a goal with pathways that feel exotic, that lead you into new mysteries and adventures in your life. Yes, sometimes we need to take care of the basics, but the xfactor reminds us of the mystery of living.
We all want to embody a bit of je ne sais quois, so that requires choosing goals that take us away from the predictable standards.
Is there a third option? Can you turn a situation on its head? The Xfactor is that goal (or way of completing a goal) that feels exotic to you, that calls you to accelerate into the curve, trusting your innate skill and having faith in the world around you.
The key question to ask yourself as you step out of your comfort zone is: “Am I still feeling inspired and motivated, or does this goal shut down my creative drive in total fear?”
Y is for Yes.
When you reflect on your goal and the plans you’ve put into play to achieve it, your gut should rumble in deep appreciation. Your heart should practically sing “Yes!!!” as if you could already taste the success of climbing your highest mountain. This goal should inspire you to the bone. We all struggle at times, but even struggle can feel heroic when it's aligned with a deeper calling.
The key questions to consider are: “Does this prize feel ripe? Does this pathway match my persona? Do I feel a YES inside?”
UNSTOPPABLE GOAL PLANNING IS SEXY
Take all of your smart goals and before you flesh them out, run them through the S.E.X.Y. meter to make sure you'll be unstoppable.
What is sexy for one person may not be for another. Don’t look at the surface of your goal, look at how your goal makes you feel.
Your goal can be very simple: “To walk across the Golden Gate Bridge by Fall Equinox.” To others, it may not seem sexy, But if it inspires the right answers to the questions above, then it is the perfect goal for you!
© 2012 Dailey Little. DAILEY LITTLE is a healing practitioner, transformational life coach, ordained Priestess, and teacher who founded Healing Heart Reiki to help others navigate life with joy. She offers private sessions, and teaches classes in healing and mindset from a magical peaceful corner of the world in Northern California. For more info see: www.SantaRosaReiki.com
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