Happening tomorrow: Free goal-setting webinar!
It’s been quiet around here, but I am excited to let you know about a body of work I’ve been developing.
But first let’s check in…
By any chance, are you
tired of feeling overwhelmed, ashamed, and burnt out by traditional goal-setting methods?
sick of even your most basic goals and intentions being drowned out by four horsemen of perfectionism, self-sabotage, anxiety, and paralysis?
ready to experience a gentler approach to goal setting that enhances your sense of safety and connection?
If any of this resonates with you, I’d love to share more about the SAFER™ Goals Framework.
The Dark Side of SMART Goals
Most of us have heard of so-called “SMART” goals. According to this adage, for goals to be achievable, they must be “SMART”: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.
But did you know that SMART goals were originally developed in the 1980s for businesses, not actual, soul-embodied human beings? Hence the emphasis on rigid, outcome-oriented progress. The intention was to ensure profit and business growth, not human flourishing.
In the decades since, SMART goals and similar tools (streak goals, smart tracking apps and devices) have become ubiquitous, the golden rule for all areas of personal and professional growth.
And while such strategies can be helpful, for many of us, they risk disconnecting us from our inner selves, our true values, and the naturally fluctuating needs of our bodies and lifestyles.
No wonder so many of us feel discouraged and burned out when we try to set and move towards our goals.
What if there were a gentler, safer, and more life-affirming way to cultivate personal growth?
Introducing SAFER™ Goals
I began developing the SAFER™ Goals acronym and framework to serve as a less rigid, more holistic, and, yes, safer way for myself and my coaching clients to set and grow towards our goals. The initial idea came about in response to a question I was hearing many times from clients (and, full disclosure, myself) after progressing far enough down the healing path to start wondering and dreaming about future goals.
The question goes a little something like this:
How can I stay gentle, true, and self-compassionate toward myself while also working towards the challenging, meaningful, thrilling things that give life purpose?
Without all the adrenaline, fear, and toxic shame of survival mode fueling our systems, the old, suck-it-up and git-’er-done approach to personal growth was no longer tenable.
We needed a gentler way to crush it.
S.A.F.E.R.
Safer goals are:
S-afe: they don’t require us to harm ourselves or others to move towards them.
A-ttuned: they prioritize self-attunement (staying connected to our inner states, needs, and perspectives) over adherence to external metrics, unhelpful comparisons, or rigid systems.
F- Free: they are grounded in our God-given freedom and autonomy to choose, progress towards, and/or modify our goals as we deem necessary and fitting.
E - Embodied: they enlist our God-given, soul-enfleshing body as an ally, not an adversary. They seek to honour and make the most of our bodily strengths, capacities, and limits in a spirit of gratitude and humility.
R- Responsive: are responsive and dynamic rather than rigid and unyielding. They consider the ability to shift and calibrate as a marker of progress, not an indicator of failure. They encourage us to check in and keep adjusting in response to new information, circumstances, or progress.
I bet even just that acronym sparks some ideas and insights for you with regard to how you approach goals and intentions in your own life.
But I’d love to share more with you! There’s more to this framework than just the acronym, and I’ll be developing future resources, materials, and community experiences around the SAFER model.
For now, here are two free resources to help you get started
Free infographic and webinar
I’ve developed two free resources for you and I invite you the check them out!
Tomorrow, Wednesday May 22, 2024 (2:30PM ET) I’ll be hosting a free webinar about how to set SAFER Goals. A recording of the event will be sent out afterwards if you can't make it, but you have to register to receive that.
Not up for a webinar? I’ve also developed an infographic summarizing the SAFER approach to goal setting, plus 15 self-reflection questions I ask myself when developing a new goal.
