Last week, we posted Following Up with Goal-Setting Part 1 on the WISER goal-setting process in application starting with the conceptual steps (W and I).
Now that you have had the chance to identify your breakthrough goals and ways to stay inspired by them, let’s dive into the more action-oriented steps of the process (S, E, and R).
Once again, we have the architect of this method, Naokimi Ushiroda, to share with us through some follow-up questions on how to actually apply each step of the WISER process.
Strategy
This step requires another set of lists – of strategies, or ways to get closer to your goal. The suggestion outlined in a 5-Step Process to Setting Awesome Goals is to identify 3 to 4 different strategies for each goal.
Follow-up Question: What is the process of coming up with strategies and what are some good examples?
“Once again, a goal needs more than one strategy to be achieved. The process is simply asking yourself the right question, What will help me to achieve my goal?
Some strategies I came up with for my relationship goal to strengthen my marriage are to
- commit to a daily act of service, such as washing dishes, giving her a massage, etc.,
- read a book about relationships so I can deepen my own understanding, and
- take my wife out on a date every two weeks.
Some strategies I came up with for my health goal to achieve a black belt in Tae Kwon Do are to
- pay for the chance to exercise since this dollar investment will push me to work out and
- check in on a weekly basis with the CARP team on our health log for accountability.
I have strategies set for my public work goal and business goal as well.
Follow-up Question: Do you have any other tips?
An additional tip is to anticipate your roadblocks, or challenges, and create a strategy around that problem before you hit it.
As an example, a common challenge is “not having enough time.” Your strategy in anticipating that challenge could be to set aside a certain amount of time every week to work on your goal.
When you set goals, you are moving from where you currently are to somewhere that you aren’t yet. Challenges or resistance is a natural side effect of any progress or growth. When you set new goals, you need to expect these challenges, so that they don’t surprise you and discourage you on your journey to achieving your goals.
Your strategies act as a preparation tool for overcoming those challenges instead of becoming overwhelmed by them.”
Review
Finally, the last step in the process is to always review, review, review. Setting a clear time each week to go over your actions toward achieving your goals is essential. An additional tip is to find an accountability partner.
Follow-up Question: What is the process of review for you in your goal-setting?
“For my coaching business, I actually have a coach of my own who helps me prioritize what I need to do each week. Having a coach as an accountability partner has helped me so much in growing my business and in keeping me balanced in all my other goals.
In my work, I implemented a weekly check-in with the CARP staff in order to reflect on what worked and what didn’t work, and it has kept us on track with our goals.
In my relationship with my wife, I actually set aside Sunday afternoons as the time to check in with her to go over anything she needs on a weekly basis. This is the time where we can talk about finances, vacation plans, activities for the kids, etc. It’s a way for us to connect over all household issues.
The main point of having a weekly review is to have the space to make mistakes and learn from them. With review, you don’t have to stress or fear failure, because you know that you can always learn from your mistakes and get better. Naturally, this will lead to more action and expedited progress.”
Follow-up Question: Is this Review step supposed to beimplemented only weekly?
It’s important to check yourself weekly on your action steps, but time and again, it’s good to do a full review, which means to go through all the WISER steps again.This could be every two weeks, every month, or even every 40 days.
By doing this, you may find that your What needs more clarification, or that your goal is not Inspiring to you any more, and you need to adjust it accordingly. Or maybe your Strategy needs tweaking for a more effective outcome. You may find that you want a new daily action to Execute or that you want to change your weekly Review time to make it work for your schedule.
This is an ever-evolving process that will constantly improve itself based on what works for you. This is what it means to have a mastery approach to goals – it’s ultimately about becoming a better you.
Big Goals
This comprehensive goal-setting process is supposed to make the task easier, more enjoyable, and rewarding as you seek out what you want in life and how to achieve it.
One of Naokimi’s BIG goals is to write a book outlining this process with real life stories around the application of the WISER goal-setting process. We are hoping to find CARP students and others who are willing and excited to take on the WISER challenge and share their story.
If you are trying out this WISER goal-setting technique and want to share your story, please contact teresa@carplife.org