0:00:00 - Joanna Newton
Welcome to the Her First podcast, a platform to help online business owners, coaches and creators gain the confidence needed to build a successful business while creating a sustainable lifestyle balance. We are here to help you prioritize yourself in business and life, if you haven't caught it yet.
0:00:17 - Michelle Pualani
Go back first and listen to the last episode. So this is part two of our series as we wrap up the end of the year, and last episode is all about reflection, looking back on 2023, seeing what it was for us, looking at our milestones, creating that timeline and really assessing how things went along the way. Today we are diving into goal setting, intentions what are we bringing into the new year and what is that going to mean for us in our business and in our life? So in this episode we're really transitioning from that reflection process, that introspection, to envisioning what the landscape of 2024 is going to look like. Visualizing ourselves into the future really helps you set the precedents for the steps, the goals, the actions, the behaviors and the identity of who you want to be on a daily and consistent basis. Remember, we only take action in the here and now. We can affect change in the here and now, but our here and now, our present moment, is what creates our future, what creates our reality. It's what creates our next year, our 10 years from now, and what that picture is going to look like for us. You are living the experience of what you did four, five years ago. We talked about that a little bit in the last episode.
So we're going to kick things off with a visualization practice today and if you haven't done this before, it's really simple. You're just imagining in your mind what something might look like before you do it, and this has deep roots in psychology and sports. Psychology is my background of really getting into the mental habit and pattern of what it is that you project yourself doing. Olympic athletes do this before a big race or before a big meet, an opportunity for you to put yourself in the muscle memory or the muscle intention of what it is that you're going to do, what it is that that's going to look like. It also sets you up for again the behaviors and actions that you're going to take, if you're in the mindset and the psychology of what it is that you want for yourself. So I want you to think about clear details. I want you to think about what you're wearing, where you are, what that looks like for you, who you're, with any smells that come up, anything you're tasting. All of those sensory perceptions are really going to help you solidify the image of that future.
You so imagine yourself a year from now. We're at the end of 2024s. We're wrapping things up, and what I want you to get into the energy of is feeling proud, accomplished and successful. What would you have to have done in order to make that be possible? So, as you kind of imagine yourself in that feeling and that sensation, I want you to start to picture in detail what are you wearing, where are you, who are you with, what's the activity that you're participating in? And I really want you to create that tangible image in your mind.
So, as you have that vision, that picture, that image, whatever it is, and however you're showing it, I want you to think about three I am statements that define this. And an I am statement is really simple. It's just you stating something in the present tense. I am a $500,000 business owner. I am in the dream home that I'm imagining for myself or that we're building next year. I am emotionally committed to my clients, my partner, whatever that looks like.
And as you move through this process today, I want you to hold that future image of yourself in your mind, always come back to it, always come back to the vivid detail, that feeling, that experience of this person that you are becoming, because you are that person right now. You are one in the same. There's maybe just a few different habits, patterns, behaviors, thought processes that are going to evolve and change in this next year as you get to that place. Intention setting is a really important part of this process today, starting to think about what's coming next. But you have to take stock and inventory of what's happening right now in order to make any change in the first place.
So, in order to clearly define where you're going, you have to have a picture of where you are now. You've got to set that path in motion. You've done the reflective process, you've assessed your circumstances and I want you to apply this principle to every area of your life. We don't have the time for it on the podcast and I highly suggest you carve out this time and space for yourself as we head into the last part of the year, but really reflecting on what's working and what's not working in all areas of your life, whether that is professional, family, friends, your finances, spirituality, your environment and the space that you're present in and what that looks like for your mental health. Where do you really stand in all of these categories and what do you want to shift change? What could you see differently as we head into the new year.
0:05:36 - Joanna Newton
Now, michelle already said this, but if you haven't listened to the previous episode, go back and give it a listen, because it will really walk through this whole idea of reflection and it's really important to have that time of reflection deeply reflect on what your year was like, what went well, what didn't, so that you can move forward and think about how next year will be and can be different. While you're doing that reflection, I think for some of us who might be perfectionists or high achievers, thinking about what didn't go well can be very hard because it can make us feel down on ourselves or like we are a failure. But this is our opportunity to look back, think about what went well, what didn't go well and how to make the next year, the next six months, the next two weeks, better than the previous ones. So some things that you can ask yourself that will influence this process and help you think more clearly about how to set intentions and goals for the next year is to think about, like, where in your life you can maybe set up better boundaries. If that was an area of struggle for you, if giving away too much of your time and your energy and focus in the wrong places, maybe you have to come back and look at ways that you can set boundaries differently. What are some things that you can just release control over?
Think sometimes in our lives we can be our own worst enemy by trying to control everything around us instead of actually just trying to control the things that matter to us and matter to that future self that we want to see. Think about how you're going to prioritize your time, your energy in yourself, even your money. The way you use up all of your resources in your life is something that you can have control over and you can think about very intentionally and setting goals. Intentions in those areas might really benefit.
You Think about which behaviors you might want to shift. Is there something that you feel is taking away from your life that you want to adjust? If there's something that you love to have in your life, maybe you want to increase that in your life. So think about those behaviors and what might change or shift over the year. The next one to think about is any sort of negative thought patterns that are affecting your day to day. Can those be released? Are you ready to release them and get rid of that in your mindset and have a mindset shift, in addition or instead of a behavioral shift.
0:08:10 - Michelle Pualani
All of these reflection points that we're encouraging you to think about help you ascertain what of your daily choices, your actions, your behaviors you can start to think about shifting or changing or addressing or maintaining that are working for you, because we get so lost in the task list, we get so lost in the goal sometimes that we forget to look at the things in which actually affect the goals, the outcomes, the thing that you're working towards, and that's the daily actions. Like I mentioned, the present moment here and now is when you have the choice to make any of those shifts, those changes, to address what it is that's happening in your life and how you actually create that goal, create that outcome in the future, allowing yourself to get honest. So a lot of this has been very reflective and now we're going to get into a couple more tangible ways to set goals and break down those goals for yourself, because it's great to have an idea, it's great to have a vision, it's really good to practice that visualization, but without actually taking the steps, doing the actions and changing the behavior, nothing really shifts or changes. It just maintains as a dream or maintains as a possibility or a potential in the future. But if you actually take the actions that lead toward it. It's going to get you closer, it's going to get you there and it's going to get you realizing it in the present.
So, in terms of goal setting, we did our visualization practice at the beginning. That was to give you a sense of presence in what that looks like. It's, giving you an emotional attachment to that outcome of where you're headed. And now let's set a few more tangible goals. So oftentimes we created a really vague list. I was in health coaching for some time with people who was often setting goals of I want to lose weight or I want to make more money, or I want to find a relationship, and a lot of these are very vague expressions of goals. We're not going to get into smart goals today specific, measurable, actual, realistic, timely. Sometimes those are helpful for people, sometimes also not. So that's not important.
But I want you to think about those I am statements that you set for yourself. So you chose three I am statements and it was a descriptive process of where you envisioned yourself in the future. And then we're going to break those down into three tangible goals, still using the I am model. So I want you to set one professional goal, one personal goal and then one spiritual, mindful, awareness goal. That's kind of like a little bit deeper, a little bit more psychological.
So, for example, your personal goal could be something having to do with health, fitness, relationships, an animal, your home or your environment, that professional goals gonna have to do with your business, your career, whatever it is that you're focused on that Makes you money. And then that spiritual goal, that mindfulness, that awareness piece is going to have to do with your internal self, what's really going to cultivate the positive outcome of who you are as an individual and how you show up in the world. And then I want you to write those goals down in affirmative statements again. I am so if it is that you have reached six figures and that's your professional goal, then I am a six-figure business owner. If it's personal and you're working out three to four times a week I am going to the gym three to four times a week, whatever that looks like. They can be a little bit looser, not necessarily those smart goals, or you can attach real numbers, real timeframes, whatever that means for you.
0:11:45 - Joanna Newton
So I love making plans, project plans, timelines, road maps. I could do that all day. I'm probably one of the people that Sort of skips the like, intentioning and visioning stage and if you're like I want to do X, I will like in my head, come up with everything that you need to do to do X. So I think I have the opposite problem of a lot of people. I think a lot of people will look at these like big goals they have for themselves and see that end line, but have no idea how to get from point A to point B. And I think it's really important to Think about all of the small steps that you need to do to get you from point A to point B. How, how you're gonna achieve that six-figure business, how you're going to Make fitness part of your everyday life. How are you going to Become closer to your spouse or your partner? Thinking about how to get there is really important part of this process. One way I like to think about it is Of a simple goal and what you would need to do to get there.
So say, you're looking at what you want to do next year and you've decided that you'd like to write a book. So you're think you're thinking to yourself I want to write a book now. Maybe you have a full-time job, you have a family, you have a lot going on, so you only have Five hours a week to write that book. Right, you want to write a book in a year and you only have five hours a week. If you say, okay, I'm just gonna sit down for five hours a week and write this book, that might be Way unmanageable. Every time you go to sit down You're like, what do I do? I'm just supposed to write a book. Like how do I do this? No, I'm not a writer, I'm not an author. But how. I would suggest someone were to think about it is maybe the first two weeks Well, probably actually the first month of those five hours a week are focused on outlining. I want to just in that first month, get my outline done. Then maybe even the next month is focused on the title, writing, an writing, a short Overview of what that book is going to be. So you have your outline, you have your Overview, description, title kind of all settled. Then maybe you say, okay, I'm going to write two chapters a month, I'm just gonna work through my outline and write two chapters a month and think through what those steps are and what those mini milestones to get from no book to a whole book are. Will you always meet every single one of those goals? No, but if you say I'm gonna take five hours a week no matter what and I'm going to work through these steps as I can, you're going to be a lot closer to having a whole book then no book. If you kind of think through it in manageable chunks, what can you do in five hours a week? Now, when you think through with those manageable steps, the plan you write out initially might not be exactly what works out. Maybe you find it takes you a lot more time to do each of those steps. Maybe you find it takes a lot less time for you to do each of those steps. You can always adjust your timeline and your roadmap and your milestones along the way, but it's important to have them.
You know, when I was starting a business and had a full-time job, I knew I only had a certain amount of hours a day to do things. Before I got to that time I would decide what I was going to do at that time. If I had three hours, I didn't sit down and think what am I going to do for those three hours and half the planet? I already knew I had already decided what I was gonna spend those time, that time with. So I think it's important to Just break down all of your little steps and make that part of your process. Thinking realistically is really important, recognizing you have limits. You have energy limits. If you're moving towards that goal, that's what's important, not necessarily fully completing it. Getting yourself closer to where you want to be is super important if you settle your goals.
Sitting down and actually Writing out a detailed action plan is huge for me. If something is in my project management board system and it has a date on it, it will happen. It might not happen on that exact date if something gets De-prioritized or reprioritized, but if it's written down with a date for me, then I know it will get done. And so you need to start thinking about what it is for you, how it needs to be written for you to Actually take those action steps.
You know I know some people love making spreadsheets. For me, if I were to make a spreadsheet, I might use a spreadsheet to brainstorm, come up with the overall idea, but for me, like. If it's just an action item in a spreadsheet, I'll probably forget about it. It needs to be for me in my project management tool. So when you write that action plan and it's very detailed, however you want to write it transport it into a system that will help you actually complete it, whether that's using a Google Calendar, a project management tool, reminders on your phone, whatever it is for you, think through what will actually help you get the work done.
0:16:58 - Michelle Pualani
All of those suggestions and what Joanne is talking about really also supports the decision overwhelm or the decision fatigue that can happen. As a business owner, I think that's a really big deal. In the digital space, content creation, there are so many different ways you can go. There's a lot of different ways you can be using your time, and when you're really intentional about that strategy and that action plan, then it feels a lot more simple and you can have a lot better focus as you're working through your projects, as you're moving through the day, through the week, so that you're not getting cold and all these different directions. That being said, I am also working on the balance of the masculine and feminine energy in my business. So tuning into your intuition, paying attention to alignment and where your energy is going. Sometimes that means creating the strategy and plan like Joanne is talking about, and then, like she said, knowing that it's going to be flexible, so knowing that you may have to adjust, to shift, and that sometimes there are going to be things on your tasks, your plans, that you can also get rid of because maybe they don't suit where you are right now. So keeping that in mind, now thinking more towards the vision of next year. We've talked a little bit about your visualization. We've talked about your top goals. We've talked about your I am statements and then breaking those goals down a little bit more. But I want you to think of the next year and bring in a theme. Now this is kind of like a mission or a vision for a company that it will help you with your decision making process. It'll help support you as you're looking at new projects, new programs. It'll help you decide on those clear goals and kind of give you an underlying support through the entire year. And it's just going to be one word. So choosing a theme for the year allows you to just kind of recenter consistently. It allows you to remind yourself of all of this reflection work that you're doing now, all of the intention setting that you do as you head into the new year, and allows you to call back in that focus.
So, whatever that word looks like for you, you can brainstorm, put out a bunch of different words and then just kind of choose an alignment with what seems to be the best. It can be a word that reflects your I am statements. It can be a word that reflects your goals as a whole. It can be a word that's reflective of what you want to be like or be identified as Now. For me, this year is all about focus, focus, focus, focus, because I have been pulled in a lot of different directions, especially over the past year, and I'm just realizing how often I got distracted or derailed or got off track. How, if I'd only stayed focused on what I was doing, that that would have built on itself and it would have scaled or become leveraged in some way. So for the year of 2024, my word is focus, and I'm going to use that to draw myself back to all of the intentions that I'm setting for this year. Joanna, you don't have to tell us your exact word, but for you, what is this bringing to mind?
0:20:07 - Joanna Newton
Well, this is bringing to mind that I need to pick a word. I'm a very practical person. I'm very task oriented, very action oriented. The more sentimental mindset strategies are never something I've really, really focused on, and one of the things I always really struggle with is when people will ask me what I want. I couldn't always tell you that I have some things, big picture, that I know I want in life. A lot of times I just am in that seat of helping others realize their dreams, their goals, their aspirations, and very helpful in that. But actually looking down and saying what I want is never that easy for me.
So, as you're talking about that, I was thinking through my head like what would my word be? And I have no clue right now, and I think that's okay. I think this is something that I will sit with and think about, of what would be a great theme for this year. I'm also thinking about and my husband when he listens to this podcast, he'll learn this I think it would be really fun to do some of this stuff as a family. It's my personal word, but what's our family's word? What's our family's? I am statements, even having the conversation with my six year old. What is it she wants for 2024 and thinking about how to include that, have intentional goal setting as a family all together. That's kind of what my head's at and is thinking about right now. But the other thing I'm thinking, michelle, is that I think 2024 is your year. I think it's like going to be a big year for you.
0:21:52 - Michelle Pualani
Thank you so much for putting that out into the universe. I think 2024 is going to be an exceptional year for me. I'm going to talk probably plenty about this on the podcast in terms of where we're headed, everything that we've been through and what our new businesses look like. But I really feel so strongly aligned with this next year. The place that I am in my life right now is just powerful. It feels palpably powerful, energetically, emotionally, psychologically, physically, with manifestation and everything else. I just feel like I'm in this place.
But I do want to comment on the fact that bringing other people into this is incredibly helpful and purposeful.
It can mean so much when you really connect with others who are at the same intention level as you. In our next episode, we're going to talk a little bit about community and creating gatherings and how the host can be really intentional about this and how it actually engages the people that you're with, Whether that is your family or whether that is a group of friends, or maybe it's your co-workers or your team. But really allowing yourselves to sink into this process and enjoy this process with others can be very helpful and very positive, and then also they can keep you accountable in the new year. We are more than 50% more likely to stick to our goals if we have told someone, if we have someone who knows about them, if we have involved other people. I love that you brought that up, Joanna, because I think it's incredibly powerful to engage others with what it is that we're working on, and I think what's so important and we're going to get back to the practical, my safe space, for a little bit.
0:23:35 - Joanna Newton
You have thought about your goals, You've thought about your intentions, you have the word for the year, but now you need, like a system to actually help you get those things done in a realistic way. I mean, how many people, if you're listening to this podcast, you probably have a task on your mind that you've wanted to get done for, maybe even years. Right, like for me. Mine might be like my basement. My basement is a mess and I tend to like I'm really good at decluttering the rest of my house. What happens is I'll declutter my house and then I'll put something in the basement to donate and then I'll put something else in the basement to donate and then all of a sudden, the basement is just like a huge donation bin. My basement has become like a huge like pile of donations and a mess and that's something that just sits there and I want to do it and then I feel bad, I haven't done it and it kind of can like weigh on you mentally when you have whatever that task is or thing that you want to do, where really the healthy way to deal with it is one decide is it part of your goals or not? Maybe letting your basement be messy or whatever that thing is for you is actually okay. You just let that go if it's not part of your goals. But if it is, putting that into an actual action plan to get that done is a great way to make that part of your life.
Thinking about breaking things down into quarters like this is the way businesses think about things can be really helpful. So you're dividing the year into four pieces. You're saying these are the things I want to get done in the next 90 days. This is what I'm going to do in the next quarter. Quarter two this is what I'm going to do in quarter three. This is what I'm going to do in quarter four can be a really healthy way to help you, you know, manage the stress of all of the things that you want to do.
Again, coming to the basement idea maybe there's way too much going on and I say you know what, I'm going to get that basement done in Q4 of 2024. Then I know it's there, I know it's on my plan and then I can break down in Q4 what I'm going to do each month to get it to the space that I want it. And then it's not looming over my head all of the time. I'm not thinking, oh, I've got to do that basement, oh, I've got to do that basement. I can think, oh, I'm going to do the basement then and it's planned, it's in my plan. I can not feel guilty, it's not done anymore. I can just like move on and focus on what it is that I need to focus on in Q1 of this year.
And then I think it's also really important to just be realistic about what's possible to get done in a 90 day sprint, in a quarter, in a specific time period. I'm probably overly ambitious typically about what I want to get done in a particular period of time, but trying to be realistic about what's possible is really good. Especially on one of my first bosses who I'm still great friends with today. She helped me like work out like a marketing plan and what I would be doing. And one of the things she did say to me which was actually really, really helpful is when making a plan, you might not get 100% of it done, and that's okay. If you make a good plan and you're doing like 80% of it, then you're really moving forward. If you're, especially if you're ambitious, you might not hit it all, but if you're hitting 80%, like you can pat yourself on the back like great job.
This week I crossed the majority of the things off my list. So making that plan, breaking it into quarters, thinking about things in 90 day sprints, can make them more manageable, make them more achievable when you switch quarters, doing like that review, like, okay, q1 happened, I did this amount of things. Now, looking at your next 90 days, what needs to be adjusted, are there things that didn't get done in Q1 that you say, nevermind, I'm crossing that off my list, it's not important anymore. Or do you say, okay, I'm bumping this from Q2 so I can get that item done. Right, you can reassess, reorganize each and every quarter. To do that.
This is something Brandon and I do in our business. We have a quarterly review process where we sit down, we reflect on everything that went well, what were our accomplishments, what were our client wins, what was done, what did we get done that we planned to get done, what did not get done that we wanted to get done? And then, how are we going to reprioritize for the next quarter? And those adjustment periods are so great because one, I think, for someone who's ambitious, I contend, to focus on what I didn't get done instead of what I did get done and accomplish, and so it gives me that time to say like, wow, I know I didn't do that thing that I really wanted to do, but look at everything else that we did get done, and then I'm going to reprioritize for the next year.
So thinking through those specific ways to plan is just a really important process for moving forward, and we're talking about like it's easy for me to think about this from a business perspective, but now I'm also thinking about like my family and my household and how this could totally work within a family system of what are the things we want as a family, what are the things we want to prioritize in our personal life and all together as kind of a family unit, and what that could look like of like real intentional goal setting in that arena as well. This concept of quarterly goals and 90-day sprints can work for a business, can work for your personal goals, but also within whatever community you live in.
0:29:02 - Michelle Pualani
What this is really bringing up for me is this idea of checking back in, tuning back into where you are, what your circumstances are, how you're showing up in the world right being able to check back in. So often, again, we set the goal, we have the vision, we're headed in that direction, we're doing the daily activities and tasks and sometimes we get wrapped up in it all, but we don't take the time to step back and really assess Am I headed in the direction that I originally set for myself? Is that direction relevant to me anymore? Is the outcome or the goal what I truly want in my life and what I want for my business or for myself? So this ability to check back in is so, so important as we head into this year, not only at the end of the year.
You've gone through your entire 2024. You're doing your reflection point at the end of the year and now you're assessing everything and trying to remember, but opening up the opportunity. Is that a daily reflection? Is that a weekly reflection, even at the end of the month? What happened this month? How could I shift? How could I change? How could I do things a little bit differently?
So, taking all of these Suggestions and they are just that suggestions from Joanna and myself, because you're really gonna find what works for you and somebody else's system and model might not be appropriate for where you are, what it is that you're doing, but starting to think about some of these things a little bit more intentionally, intentionally starting to think ahead and to reflect. So, thinking ahead, thinking back, thinking current and starting to really Understand yourself, understand how you show up in the world, understand your intentions, understand again your actions, your words, your thoughts, your patterns, your behaviors, and noticing and seeing how that determines your Circumstances, your life opportunities, and how you might shift and change that as you move through the year. So thank you so much for doing this reflection process with us. I hope that you're walking away from today's episode with a clear intention and vision and picture of what 2024 and this next beautiful, abundant, successful year holds for you as you reflect on your year and Set goals and intentions for next year, keep in mind that this is about you and what you want.
0:31:13 - Joanna Newton
Here on the her first podcast, we're all about figuring out what makes you tick, what's gonna light you up and what makes you happy. It can be really easy to think about the goals. Other people would want to see from you, the success that they'd have. You could be Listening and think I want to do less next year, and that is Fabulous. If you want to find more time for rest and fun and play, that is perfectly Appropriate and perfectly appropriate to make a plan around and when we're making these goals, setting these intentions. This is not about guilt, tripping yourself, shaming yourself or any of those things. It's actually about finding empowerment and learning how to control what you can control and Setting those things for yourself. What you want for next year is Absolutely completely up to you.
I also want to say for our last episode of 2023 that we really appreciate everyone who came on this journey with us, has been listening to our podcast, has been reaching out to us with their thoughts, their reflections. We're so grateful for each and every one of you and can't wait to keep going in 2024. We've shared this before and I'll say this again. We do have a special announcement that will be coming in the next episode, so give that one a listen. We can't wait to share what we've been working on. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend and leave us a review. We'd love to hear from you. Thank you for tuning in and be sure to catch our next episode. What is one thing you can do today to prioritize you in business and life?
