How to Set and Actually Achieve Your Goals

When clients come to me for support with setting and achieving career and life goals, they often start with what sounds practical:

“I want to work out 3 times a week.”

“I want to get promoted to Director.”

“I need to attend more industry events.”

Sound familiar?

Those are fine statements on the surface, but they’re often disconnected from a deeper sense of who someone wants to become.

And that’s usually when motivation falls apart.

When life gets busy or resistance shows up, a list of statements or tasks just isn’t enough to pull you forward through the challenges that you're undoubtedly going to face when you're facing adversity.

A different set of questions that may spur a more inspired sense of self includes:

➡️ How are you defining success across different areas of your life? For example:

• Health (mental, physical, spiritual)

  
  

• Work

  
  

• Finances

  
  

• Family

  
  

• Friendships

  
  

• Community

  
  

• Hobbies

➡️ In each area, what does an improved version of you look like?

Identifying first who we are, who we want to become, and what we're prioritizing in life are the most important steps in inspiring us into action.

It’s not necessarily about chasing balance. It’s about building alignment.

Introducing the Identity Development Principle

This principle suggests we’re always seeking to develop a stable sense of who we are, and then strive to act consistently with this self-view.

That’s why I encourage clients to shift from task-based goals to vision-aligned goals.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

✨Vision: Live a healthy lifestyle that supports aging well into retirement.

❌ Instead of: “Work out 3x a week”

✅ Try: “Exercise 3+ times a week with a good friend to reduce loneliness and build community”

✅ Or: “Finish a 10K without walking to build heart health, endurance, and confidence”

Here's another example:

✨Vision: Become known as a sales leader who develops other great leaders.

❌ Instead of: “Get promoted to CRO"

✅ Try: “Create and facilitate a sales leadership workshop to uplevel my peers and new BDRs”

✅ Or: “Develop 3 team members' ability to apply the Challenger Sale methodology by the end of Q2”

✅ Or: “Network with 1 person every other week outside my company to expand my leadership circle”

The goal isn’t just to do more. It’s to live with intentionality, allowing your actions and reputation to reflect your "why?".

If you’re struggling to stick with your goals, it might not be a discipline issue—it might be a direction issue.

Try it Yourself: Achieve your Goals with these Questions to Help You Set Vision-Aligned Goals

Ask yourself:

➡️ What ability am I developing right now, and does it align with where I’m headed?

➡️ If I had to choose just one skill to grow this year—one that would bring me joy or prepare me for greater responsibility—what would it be?

When your goals reflect who you’re becoming, you stop forcing progress and start creating it.

Stay Connected

If you're looking for help setting goals that you can actually create a vision around and a plan for achieving them, feel free to reach out to schedule a call to learn more about how I can help!