2024 Annual Planning & Why SMART Goals Can Be Stupid
I'm not proud of myself…I have hated goal setting for most of my life. Why, they feel arbitrary, random, aspirational.
That's not to say I don't set goals and do big things…I've done a lot of big things, from triathlons and marathons to epic trips around the world to getting myself out of debt and into positive net worth. Yes, you could technically call them goals…and I got them done, but there wasn't any formal goal setting or planning. I just did the stuff.
As I've gotten older a number of things have shifted for me.
One, I've gotten clearer about the end game. I have had several visions of my older future self which show me that she is capable, content, and proud of her impact on the world. Many years ago, I was hiking in Mammoth and I passed a woman that seemed to be in her 90's coming down a not insignificant trail. At 4 feet, she was cruising along, with her leg warmers and walking sticks, on a trail that many wouldn't even attempt.
The trail shared by my 90 year old future self in Mammoth Lakes, CA
I want to be like her…able to hike the trails I love, able to do that activities I want to do without issue. In other words, as I age, I want to remain capable of doing all the things…or at least most of the things.
So, when that became clear, I knew I had to choose a lifestyle that is not only active, but supports this vessel that is aging, which means adding strength training, mobility exercises, and managing my nutrition differently. Voila- I now have my wellness goals.
Last year it was to earn a red hat at the 29029 Everesting event in Whistler, but not only that, it was to arrive at the event healthy and ready to do the event without causing me harm. This last part was new to me, since I had in the past completed events I wasn't properly trained for through sheer grit, only to hurt myself. In order to accomplish this, I had to commit to the training plan and do it. Which I did, at least to 80%. You can read my previous post about the event here <link to previous blog post>.
This year, Matt and I have signed up for another 29029 event- Trail. Where we'll complete a trail marathon a day for three days, for a total of 70+ miles. Because I will need to be a bit faster, this includes adding strength training and mobility exercises, managing my nutrition differently, and well, adding running.
Are you starting to see the pattern? Our chosen activity this year will get me closer to being the capable 90 year old hiking in the mountains. That alignment is so important- I feel the "why bother?" deep in my bones and am committed to getting it done. I have a plan and I'm executing on it and I'm have a plan to check on my progress regularly. Yahoo!
Two, I've learned that I do well with structure and accountability. This is also new…kinda, new. When I worked in the corporate world, the structure and accountability was provided for me. How I got things done was up to me, but the goals set by the organization, the regular check-ins and accountability, and the fear of failing publicly, all led me be a pretty high functioning employee. I got shit done.
Jumping into entrepreneurship was something else entirely and frankly, has been a bit of a mess the last couple of years. I've been successful and profitable, but I've expended a lot of energy doing things that weren't meaningful and invested in support wasn't needed, both at the expense of my effectiveness and profits.
This is where setting SMART goals can become stupid.
We can easily set beautiful SMART goals that aren't, well, SMART. Why? Because they aren't grounded in reality, but instead what we think we should be accomplishing (usually based on other's ideas- if it worked for them, it should work for me). We may not have the capacity to understand what it takes to accomplish certain goals, so they feel arbitrary- are they achievable (the A in SMART), of course- in a perfect world, with all the right knowledge, and all the understanding.
I see this in organizations all the time when they set goals around DEI. They seem good and SMART, but they were created with a limited understanding of what it really takes to accomplish them. Instead of being meaningful and impactful, they end up being performative and just checking a box to look good vs. being better and more inclusive.
The ultimate problem, not only we don't accomplish our goals, but we feel like shit when we don't. So in the last couple of years, my goals were SMART-ish, but they have evolved this year. They are set up to help me continue to learn, whether it's how to consistently run a business in a way that is profitable and can support me and my team or it's how to be an ultra-endurance athlete or it's just to take some time for myself to read. I'm progress each year and that makes all the difference.
My goals are written based on what will have me feeling stoked at the end of the year (remember the Best Year EVAR activity?). They are also driven by understanding how proud I will feel when I accomplish the things I've set out to do.
So how do I goal set?
I start with the biggest of all big pictures…a picture of myself and who I want to be when I'm much older. The woman hiking is one example of my vision for that.
Then I go through the Best Year EVAR activity that I did with some of you to uncover that things that would have me be stoked at the end of the year if I accomplish them. There are usually 7-10 of them and I feel them in my heart, not my head. I'm excited to work towards them and they feel aligned to my bigger picture, my strengths, and my values.
I then think about the activities I need to do consistently to get me closer to achieving each goal, set up tools for tracking (I have learned that this is a helpful practice for me), and I check in regularly. For some goals, I check in daily or weekly. For example, I follow the productivity best practice of identifying the 3 key things I need to get done in a day. For others I check in less frequently, monthly or quarterly. Either way, I have touch points with my goals and revisit and edit them every quarter. Perhaps the goal was too aspirational or it's not what I want to be doing once I get started, so I may close it. Or perhaps it wasn't aspirational enough, so I change the outcomes to strive for.
No matter what I do for goals, I make sure they are aligned with who I am and who I want to be in the future. I make sure they leverage my strengths, while also pushing me out of my comfort zone. Finally, I make sure they are flexible enough to adjust as I learn and grow throughout the year.
Annual Review and 2024 Plan
So how did I do last year? And what do I have planned this year?
I missed my original revenue goal- it turned out that the goal would have needed me to create a different type of business than I wanted, so I reduced the goal. I was profitable and I'm proud of that. This year, the revenue goal is designed for creating the life Matt and I want to live. It's a percentage increase from last year, but it doesn't feel as arbitrary is the previous goal. If I keep doing what I need to do- and I'm clearer on that as well, then I'm confident I can reach the goal. My motivation when things get hard is focusing on how I will feel when I get it done.
Matt and I earned red hats at the 29029 Everesting event this year. We showed up healthy and completed healthy- for the most part (you can read my summary here). We are committed to the new 29029 event- 29029 Trail. To show up healthy, we have started "muscle school" and will be adding running next week. We have a pre-training plan until April and then will start the training plan provided from April to the event. This is unlike any event I've ever done, so I'm focusing on how we trusted the process last year and it worked. We'll do the same this year.
I want to spend more time being creative, so I'm launching a podcast on 1/11 (you can find it here), I'm writing more- which you know, because you are reading this, and I'm finishing my book proposal- it's only been 10 years.
I started LiveStoked last year, and it didn't work how I envisioned it. My heart wants to keep going and to figure out what this thing wants to be, so I'm going to keep moving forward and trying new things. For now, it's going to be monthly webinars and Q&A sessions and we'll see where we go from there.
I love to read. I would be happy as a clam spending all day curled up with a book and reading it from cover to cover, but those days are few and far between. I also can't read before bed, so my time for reading is limited. Last year I was inspired by others to set a goal of 24 books (12 for fiction or fun books, 12 business or personal development books) from diverse authors and I exceeded that. The goal forced me to find time to read and that has made me very happy…so I'm setting the same goal.
There are some other habit goals and activities I have planned through the year, but the above are the big ones. Who knows what the year has in store for us, but I'm stoked about what's to come.
How about you, what are your goals?
Can't wait to cheer you on as you achieve them!
