The Secret to Goal-Setting Success
Thanks to our friends at Martin Management for allowing us to share this article!
For some people, January 1 is just another day. For me, it’s always felt like a fresh start—a chance to reflect on the previous year and plan for the year ahead. I’ll admit, I used to scoff at setting goals. As a natural high achiever, I had always found success without a formal goal-setting process. But about a decade ago, that changed when I began diving deeper into professional development.
At the time, our dental practice had stagnated in production and wasn’t growing at the pace we needed for long-term success. I attended a conference and decided to write down some ambitious goals. Truthfully, they felt unattainable, and my husband even laughed when I shared them. But something magical happened when I wrote those goals down and got clear about what we wanted. It was as if the answers began to reveal themselves.
Recently, I came across that piece of paper with those original goals. Not only did we meet them shortly after I’d written them down, but we’ve far surpassed them —achieving an additional half a million dollars in business productivity!
This experience reinforced something I’ve come to believe: our brains are incredible machines. They’re constantly working to prove us right, gathering evidence to support what we already believe. When we focus that energy on what we want, instead of what’s in our way, amazing things can happen. The universe (or whatever you believe in) seems to respond, helping us move toward our vision.
If you’ve never experienced this for yourself, I hope this inspires you to give it a try. Setting goals doesn’t have to be daunting, and I promise that simply determining what you want and writing it down (bonus points for creating a vision board—our brains love visuals!) can dramatically increase the likelihood of success.
Here are some simple steps to get you started:
- Create Space to Reflect
Begin with some centering breaths to ground yourself. Move out of your head and into your heart. Ask yourself: What have I been tolerating? What is no longer serving me? Write those things down.
- Turn Challenges Into Opportunities
Our brains are often better at identifying what we don’t want than what we do. Use this to your advantage by flipping those tolerations into goals.
- Write Goals in the Present Tense
Frame your goals as if they are already true. For example, instead of “I want to be healthier,” write “I am living in vibrant health.”
- Prioritize Your Goals
If you have more than five, narrow them down. Eliminate until you have just 1–2 goals that truly matter. Often, achieving your top goal will naturally lead to progress on others.
- Visualize Your Future
Use tools like vision boards, affirmations, or journaling to immerse yourself in the reality of achieving your goals. The clearer the picture, the stronger your brain will work to make it happen.
As you embark on this process, remember: it’s not about perfection—it’s about direction. Setting goals is a gift to yourself, a way to honor your dreams and commit to growth.
Here’s to a year of possibility and purpose. I can’t wait to see what you create in 2025!
published on Wednesday, January 15th, 2025
