I am a big dreamer with lofty goals. I often don't reveal them to people for fear of being judged, so instead I say them to myself (sometimes out loud) or write them down. But the thing is, I usually write out my dreams and goals similarly to how I write out my to do list [1]: clean the fridge, fold the laundry, write the next Great American Novel, own a yacht.
For me, writing them down is equivalent to starting a vision board: if I see it on paper, I'm reminded of what I want and what I'm working toward. For example, at the start of 2018, I wrote down that I wanted to work at POPSUGAR (seriously!). In March of that year, I got hired. But there were other goals I set out for that year that just didn't happen: start a budget (whoops), read 30 books (so close!), work my way back up to running five miles [2] (I blame that one on my unfortunate treadmill accident [3]). Even though I start out each year fresh and with a new crop of goals and resolutions for the year, they rarely stick.
But when I was listening to motivational speaker and New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hollis discuss a new way of goal-setting [5] on her podcast "Rise," I was inspired. Why was it that I would jot down all my goals and dreams [6] but never see them through?
Rachel said for years she started each day this way: she would write down the dreams for her life as if they had already happened. So instead of writing "I want to save £5,000," you would write "I saved £5,000." Rachel even turned this practice into her own line of Start Today Journals [7], which are unfortunately sold out but will be reissued in the Spring of 2019. But Rachel said you don't need these specific journals to start the practice: you can use any notebook, scrap of paper, or even a Post-It. To hear more about how this process works, listen to her podcast episode here [8] (and subscribe to the podcast [9] on Apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts, because every week it's packed with motivational gems).
I bought a Start Today journal and have been writing out my goals as if they have already happened. I didn't want to wait until the start of 2019 [10] to do it this way. Although I still have a ways to go to work toward my goals, using this method has solidified in my mind that I am capable of achieving them. I look forward to looking back in a few months or a few years and seeing everything that came true.
As for what my goals and dreams are? I'm still keeping them to myself. I don't want to jinx it — and I want to look back after I accomplished them to prove to people I had it in me all along [11].