Goals That Fit Your Actual Life

Most goal-setting advice assumes your life is a blank calendar and your motivation is unlimited. I have never met a person whose life looks like that.

Real lives have jobs, kids, aging parents, low batteries, and Tuesdays that go sideways. A goal that ignores those facts is a wish with a deadline, and wishes with deadlines mostly produce guilt.

I think goals should be sized to the life you actually have. Ten honest minutes beat an aspirational hour you will never protect. A plan you can keep on your worst week is worth more than a perfect plan for your best one.

In coaching, we start with your real constraints rather than your imagined ones. What time truly exists? What energy is actually available? Then we build from there, and the goal stops being a source of guilt and starts being a source of traction.

As I reflect on this, I keep coming back to kindness as a strategy. A goal that fits your life is a kind goal, and kind goals are the ones that survive. If you want help sizing yours, that is exactly what a coaching session is for.

How do I set a goal I will actually keep?

Size it to your worst week instead of your best one. Attach it to a routine you already have, and make it small enough that doing it is easier than the guilt of skipping it.

Can a coach help with goal setting?

Yes. A coach brings structure, honest sizing, and accountability, which is where most solo plans fall apart. The International Coaching Federation's research portal is a good place to see what studies say about coaching outcomes.

Where do sessions happen?

Coaching sessions are virtual and one hour long. I am based in Phoenix, Arizona, and I work with people anywhere.

If you'd like more info, feel free to call me at 623-986-3987.

Warmly, Water Shepherd