Do your goal-setting methods feel like an open bag of chips that’s been sitting out for weeks?
It’s stale. It’s bland.
Yeah, it’s edible. But it lacks that freshness, that oomph that gets your blood pumping and motivated.
You wouldn’t exactly call yourself a pro at goal setting, but you know how to set goals and reach them. Things like…
- Write your goals in the present tense.
- Make sure your goals all follow the SMART method.
- Start with a big vision and set long-term goals.
- Break your long-term goals into manageable bite-size short-term goals.
- Then, take action and review.
It’s all a piece of cake for you. Your goal-setting technique works fine, and you’ve got it all down, but the truth is…
It’s a snoozefest.
I get you! You’re in the right place. These four techniques will bring that CRUNCH back to your goal-setting life. Or, at the very least, it’ll get your imagination going.
Unique Goal-Setting Method 1: Mind Mapping
My experience with mind mapping dates back to grade school. We used to call it brainstorming. Our teachers had us brainstorming everything from science experiments to research papers.
But mind mapping is not your average brainstorm. It comes with a few more technical bells and whistles, which we can credit Tony Buzan.
Buzan is an educational author who studied creativity, memory, and neuroscience heavily. He is most known for his research on radiant thinking.
Radiant thinking means to spread or move in two directions. Our thought process is web-like and radiates outwards, continuously linking information together. Buzan says that a mind map is a physical reflection of our thought process (radiant thinking), and creativity can increase if you allow yourself to think more radiantly.
You’ve probably seen mind maps all over the internet. I sure have, but mind-mapping for goal-setting, in particular, blew my mind. I discovered it through Passion Planner. How could I have not come across this before?
Passion Planner lays out its goal-setting structure in time format. They start with life goals and lead you towards short-term goals. Then, you pick a priority goal to work on for the year.
I like this method, but my mind works better if I use life domains as an anchor. If you already have a good idea of your goals and are building on the previous year, go with the timeline structure.
But if you are in a place where you are transforming your entire life, then using the domains of life as a starting point might be a better way to get your mojo going.
Domains of Life:
- Health and Fitness
- Social/Friends/Fun
- Vocation/Career
- Avocation
- Finances/Wealth
- Spirituality
- Family/Home
- Intellectual/Personal Development
You can also start with images if you are finding it hard to visualize your goals. When you finish, take the information from your mind map and write your goals in sentence form.
Unique Goal-Setting Method 2: Vision Boards
Aaaahhhhh, vision boards. If you have never heard of vision boards before, it’s essentially a dream board. It’s similar to creating mood boards in art class. You paste a collage of images together that signifies your goals, dreams, and ambitions.
The vision board has garnered a lot of controversy in the self-improvement community. You either love it or hate it.
The Pro-Vision Board Team
The Law of Attraction community swears by it. If you haven’t heard of LOA, watch the film or read the book The Secret. The Secret bases its message on the second law of the twelve universal laws—the law of attraction. Change how you think and feel if you want to change your life and attract a better outcome. Your current life reflects what you believe and deeply feel.
The Anti-Vision Board Team
On the other end of the spectrum, people who have more scientific minds do not believe in vision boards. They write it off as woo-woo. They say to ditch your vision board and go for an action board. Amy Morin, psychotherapist and author of the article “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,” explained in an Inc. article that most of her clients rely on the board and visualization, hoping that their lives will change.
She has a point! It has garnered a bad rap because people think creating the board alone will attract their desires into their lives. You still need to take action. Visualizing is only part of the equation.
A vision board is merely a tool to focus on your goals and act as a reminder. Similarly, with goal setting, if you write down your goals and then forget about them, then it’s just that you forget about them. The same goes for your vision board; if you leave it in the back of your closet, it sits in the back. So take action.
But hey, don’t mess with the powers of the Universe. I wouldn’t write vision boards off just yet. I’ve had some desires show up in my life that I wouldn’t credit as a coincidence. These events happened even before I found out about LOA. And when I watched The Secret, it validated some mysterious events for me.
So I believe in LOA, but with the action, of course!
3 Vision Board Tips and Mistakes
1. Focus on how you feel
It’s important to find images that provoke the feeling you want to achieve. If you want to feel accomplished, find pictures that reflect your accomplishment to you. If you want to feel free, find those images that symbolize freedom
2. Find images that reflect the process
Usually, people find images of the results they want. For instance, they find photos of homes and material possessions and neglect process-oriented images. Let’s say you want to publish a book; instead of finding a picture of a book, find process-oriented photos. Perhaps someone who is typing away or someone who is writing. The trick is to find a balance of both results and process-oriented photos.
3. Find A Positive Spin
Most people find words that provoke a negative outcome. For instance, don’t put “feel happier” on your board. Put “happy and peaceful.” Or don’t put “get out of debt.” Put “financially stable.” Something like that. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
Whether you believe in vision boards or not, it’s quite a fun and relaxing process. Schedule a self-care night with yourself or with your friends, grab a bottle of wine, then cut and paste away!
Unique Goal-Setting Method 3: Personal Mission Statement
Bruce Lee’s personal mission statement has been all the rage in the self-improvement community. When I learned about his mission statement, I thought, well, if it’s good enough for Bruce Lee, it’s good enough for me!
How to Write Your Own Personal Mission Statement
Personal mission statements help you deeply connect with your goals and find your WHY. It is usually written in letter format and about a page long. But you can make it as long or as short as you like. You’re the boss.
You can write a mission statement that encompasses your entire life purpose or write a short-term goal you want to complete in the next four months. You can include concrete goals, character traits, or virtues you wish to possess.
You can address it to yourself, the Universe, your unborn child—whatever works for you. Make sure to sign and date it at the end.
An example of Bruce Lee’s personal mission statement:
My Definite Chief Aim I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest-paid Oriental superstar in the United States. In return, I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970, I will achieve world fame, and from then onward till the end of 1980, I will have in my possession $10,000,000. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.
Bruce Lee
Since my mission statement encompasses the next ten years of my life and thinking so far out feels blurry for me, it’s an evolving creature. I wrote my statement many times until I got to the one that felt right. So it’s perfectly normal if you continue to evolve yours.
Tip 1: When writing your statement, make sure it compels you emotionally. You want to feel connected to your mission statement. You don’t have to sob like a baby, but if it chokes you up a little bit, you’ve hit the nail on the head. A little emotion will show that you WANT what you’re after.
Tip 2: Find ways to keep your mission at the forefront of your mind. To do this, you can read it aloud, read it into a mirror, or rewrite it every morning, before bed, or both. Find a system that works best for you.
Unique Goal-Setting Method 4: Monthly and Yearly Themes
Themes are a great way to inspire your year, month, or even week. Choose a word or phrase that represents what you want to work on in your allotted timeframe.
If you are a reluctant goal-setter, one-word themes are a great way to incorporate personal growth into your life. It’s a pretty minimalistic approach.
Themes are also great for people who feel content in their lives but still want to grow without the fuss.
On the contrary, if you are already a goal-setter, one-word themes can act as a focal point and ensure that you move in one direction. You can also think ahead and implement themes in stages.
For instance, 2020 can be about financial stability (getting out of debt), and 2021 can be about financial security. Then, make all of your smaller goals and tasks move toward your word.
Theme Examples
- Stability
- Freedom (financial, emotional, spiritual)
- Less (do, spend, or both)
- Adventure
- Kindness
- Open
- Expand
- Discipline
- Save
- Double Income
- More (give, do, spend)
- Ask
- Love
- Read
- Joy
When you’ve decided on your theme, post it everywhere: your phone, your walls, at work, your bathroom, your journal, your fridge. You get the gist.
Closing Thoughts on Unique Goal-Setting Methods to Try
I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m sure you’ve come across some of these ideas before but maybe have never taken action. At the very least, I hope this post sparked your imagination, and now you are ready to take action!
To recap, we went over mind maps, vision boards, mission statements, and one-word themes. I hope you can use at least one of these unique goal-setting methods next time you set goals. Remember, you can use them as a supplement to your current goal-setting strategy or use them on their own. Enjoy, have fun, and good luck!
