The Power Of Joy-Centered Life Planning
And Goal Setting
There are times when life can become really hard and challenging. It’s during these times when it’s possible that life planning and goal setting is the furthest thing from your mind.
This is why I want to encourage you to at least consider giving yourself a small reflection moment to dream of the life and goals that will help you to pivot your life to one that gives you a bit more joy and peace.
For some, life planning and goal setting is a task that was done at one time in their life. And for others, life planning and goal setting is an activity that they have yet to do. They just live life day-by-day, month-by-month, and may find themselves wondering how they got to a particular spot in life. Life simply drifted and they look up and they really can’t pinpoint how they got to the current life stage they may find themselves in.
Regardless of where you find yourself in the planning spectrum, please note that life planning and goal setting isn’t a one and done activity. It’s one that I encourage you to revisit once every six months.
Why Do I Suggest Having Life Planning And Goal Setting Sessions So Frequently?
Because life has a way of changing often - sometimes the change is really fast, while other times the change simply creeps upon us.
When revisiting your life plan and goals, it will help to focus on some of the following things:
- Your strengths and how currently aligned you are in using them. Your strengths are those core attributes, skills, gifts, abilities, and perspectives that make you . . . you.
- What brings you joy, and whether or not you need to add more elements that bring joy in your life.
- What is currently bringing you (or taking away from) your peace -and the small steps you can begin making to reclaim your peace.
Focusing On Your Strengths, Your Joy And Your Peace Helps You To Re-Align
Focusing on your strengths, your joy, and your peace helps to re-align who you are at your core to what it is that your core needs to make it a bit less stressful. While life planning and goal setting won’t remove all of the stressors of your life, it will help you to begin to add small elements in your life that will make your life a bit more balanced and will help you begin your journey towards adding strategic thinking to your personal development plan.
And..if you find that you can’t easily identify your strengths, joy, and peace as referenced above, then simply give yourself permission to play and = re-connect to your inner-child self by connecting to an activity that may have brought you joy as a child. As an example, for me, this could mean getting out a big sheet of paper with magic markers and just coloring or it could mean listening to music, or going outside and watching nature, or simply people-watching.
Life Planning And Goal Setting That Focuses On Your Strengths, Your Joy, And Your Peace Also Helps You To Re-Position
People often fail in life because they get stuck . . . and then they stay stuck. Focusing on joy-centered life planning and goal setting will help you begin to pivot your life into one that brings you more joy, more peace, more pause and more play. Thus, giving you more energy to breathe life into your mission and become the strengthened and renewed version of you that this season is seeking.
Regardless of what your inner-child play activity is, spend time remembering a few things that brought you joy as a child, and connect to a few of those things, and get lost in the moment. Giving yourself these joy-breaks in your day or week allows you to relax and focus your mind and thoughts on something that makes you smile, or breath, or just pause for even a few moments.
