Ready to set yourself up for success in 2022?
You might be wondering why in the world I’m talking about 2022 so early. Well friend, it’s because what we do today actually impacts us months later.
It's human nature to want to see immediate results. For example, it's so satisfying to heat up tea in a kettle when the water starts boiling in only four minutes! We want those quick results in our yoga business, too. But in our business, things take longer (sometimes much, much longer) than four minutes.
If you want to set and achieve goals in 2022, it’s actually a good idea to start thinking about them now and set yourself up for success ahead of time. This is true anytime with goals, but especially true when it involves holiday time.
I don’t know about you, but the holidays can sometimes be a blur of time. Even with the changes in our world happening (so we may or may not be able to travel and see family and friends this year), our days will likely be stacked with holiday things happening. And hopefully some vacation time, too!
By getting some momentum with goals NOW, it will set you up to have some coasting time during the holidays. Then you can start 2022 strong!
In order to have the business of your dreams, you likely need to set some goals so you can take steps to get there.
Inside Thrive, I’m hosting a special training called the “Last 90 Days” where we’re creating that momentum for the remainder of the year. There will still be monthly Q&A calls, implementation sessions and support through the community, but in addition I’m adding in weekly mini-trainings to help all the Thrivers set goals and gain momentum for 2022.
If what we're about to talk about today inspires you, then I'd love to invite you to join us in Thrive, because we'll be doing so much more of this in the "Last 90 Days!"
Now, let’s dive into how to set yourself up for success in 2022.
**This was also a podcast episode (episode #115). Use the player below if you'd prefer to listen to this message.
Look back (but no shame allowed!)
Start by looking back. In order to set goals for your business next year, it’s important to look back to see what you have done this year already.
But there is absolutely no shame allowed here! We are not shaming ourselves for what we didn't do or didn't achieve.
I understand that it's easy to find yourself down and out by what you haven’t accomplished yet. I know this because I struggle with this. When I look back, my mental vision focuses 100% on what I have not done yet. But we can't live there for too long, because it's just not helpful. We can't change these things. They're done and it's time to move forward.
However, we do need to look back and see what we DID accomplish!
Action step: Make a list of everything you have done this year - and then celebrate it!
Get clear on the goals for your yoga business
After you look back, it’s time to set your gaze forward. Look ahead.
What do you want to accomplish in the next 5 or 10 years? Have fun and dream big!
Remember, if you set a goal today, it doesn’t mean you have to hit it tomorrow or within the next year. Think big and see what comes up for you.
If you have a big dream of creating a non-profit that helps a certain group of people, that is not going to happen tomorrow. You have to get some things into place to support your dream.
If you want to grow to a certain revenue number, that is not going to happen tomorrow. You have to take action and make progress on some smaller goals on the way.
But you won't know what smaller goals to set if you don't know where you eventually want to go. You need a compass! It's like going on a trip: If you don't know the destination, you're going to wander.
For example, I sure hope I can host an in-person event one day, but that’s not on my list for the near future. But I do things now that will help me sell it when it is time -- like mentioning it right now. I’m planting the seed, so if that’s something you’re interested in when it’s time, you’ve heard me say it before. That’s progress on a goal!
So dream big, and also remember those big goals can change along the way too.
Once you dream big, it’s time to decide what you want to focus on for 2022. What do you think you can accomplish in the next year to get you closer to your big goal?
Maybe it’s a revenue goal, maybe it’s a specific offering you want to focus on creating, maybe it’s spending more time with family.
Action step: Sit down and brainstorm your big goals (dream big). Then narrow it down to what you want to focus on for 2022. Set a clear, specific goal!
Know how you will track progress
After we know the goal we’re working towards and we know exactly when it’s been achieved, it’s important to figure out how to track progress.
This is very important! If you have no way of tracking progress, then you won't get a clear picture of how far you've come.
This is up to you. You can ask 50 people “how do you track progress?" and you will get 50 answers. Pick one! The key is to find a system that works for you.
For me, it looks like this (remember, yours does NOT have to look like this, but it might give you some ideas):
I break things down into quarters and focus on a smaller goal within the time frame of three months
Then I break that down even further and I track progress in my Full Focus Planner on a weekly basis.
I check in on my progress every week. I literally read my quarterly goal every day before I start my work day so I know what I’m working towards. This helps me make smarter prioritization decisions every day so I’m better about staying on track.
Action step: Figure out exactly how you will track your progress toward your goal! What system are you going to use?
Prep for the lack of progress
Let’s be real: You won’t reach every goal you set, and you certainly won’t have perfect days as you’re trying to achieve your goals. I know I don’t.
So we have to be realistic and plan for when we aren’t making progress. This might be from a lack of motivation, a lack of focus, a lack of confidence, fear, or interference because of others.
Most of us are working from home and that throws things off, kid stuff, partner stuff, you name it, things come up. We need to plan for these things the best we can so that lack of progress doesn’t throw us off track completely.
As for me, I need friends in my corner. I have to have them. When things throw me off, I have to verbalize it. That is how I work through things and I know this about myself, so I will always have business besties. I also know that I will always pay to be in a group related to my business (like mastermind group coaching), because I have seen how helpful it will be.
I have created this support for my students with Thrive, my membership for yoga teachers. And this is where my weekly mini-trainings inside the Last 90 Days training come in. The prepping for lack of progress is here. Each week in Thrive, I’ll be focusing on a specific area to give a pep talk on each topic. From how we confront fear to finding systems that work for us individually, I’m covering it all!
Find what works for you. Come up with a plan for when:
big life things happen
you notice you're fearful of something (failure or success)
you have a lack of focus
you have a lack of confidence
there's interference from other people
You don't have to pay someone for this, but sometimes we need to.
Action step: Figure out how you you are going to navigate lack of progress so that it doesn't throw you off course.
Take care of yourself
Working towards a goal often involves pushing yourself to learn something new, trying new things, and stepping out of your comfort zone.
All of these things take a lot of energy! So it’s really important to remember to talk care of yourself along the way, too.
You’re probably better about this than I am, but for me, I will work, work, work and forget to take time off or plan in some self-care. I’m pretty bad at this, so I have to plan for it. It literally has to show up on my calendar like a to-do action item. Again, you’re probably not like me in this but if you are, please know that it’s okay to put “self care” on your to-do list.
The key is to take care of yourself along the way to avoid burnout.
Action step: Decide what your self-care will look like, and then put it on your to do list as a non-negotiable.
Celebrate your progress!
Remember when you developed a tracking method for your progress? This is when it comes in handy.
I want you to celebrate all the progress you’re making over the next 90 days. You don’t have to wait until 2022 to make progress - as a matter of fact, we don’t want this at all!
By making progress in the next 90 days:
You will be more motivated to achieve your goals in 2022.
You will be proud of yourself for setting yourself up for success next year.
You will be motivated to keep going.
And you will have systems and processes in place to kick off the new year strong!
I want you to decide want your celebrations will look like as you make progress. A story I like to share when it comes to this is the story of when I wrote my graduate school thesis. I basically wrote a book. I even published it! It’s still to this day the only bright pink hard-cover bound thesis in the department!
A graduate thesis consists of 5 chapters and it’s written in a very specific way. You write the 5 chapters over the course of 2 years as you work on the degree, so you take it one chapter at a time. My graduate advisor had me make one decision when we first met -- she asked me “what will you celebrate with after you finish each chapter?”.
I had no clue, so she told me how she celebrated: she loved Cinnabons. After she completed each chapter, she allowed herself to buy and eat a Cinnabon. I’m not much of a sweets person so that’s not what I picked, but I love that story.
For me, it was going to a restaurant with my friends and having a fancy drink. When I finished each chapter of my thesis, we went to a restaurant that we typically didn’t go to and we would have one fancy drink. I really like vodka martinis and it was the era of the cosmopolitan, so five times over my grad school career I clinked martini glasses with my friends with a pink cosmopolitan in hand.
I love those memories! And it was really fun to celebrate such an accomplishment.
Your celebration could be a lunch by yourself, a pedicure, a long bath, watching an action movie, taking a longer hike than normal. I don’t care what the celebration is, as long as you have one planned and you actually do it!
Your celebration doesn’t need to be the same as anyone else's. You don’t even have to tell people if you don’t want to. It just matters if it feels like a celebration for you.
Action step: Decide what your celebration will be and when you will have these celebrations along the way. Set the milestones and start mapping out how you will get there.
Your next step
Get started with this process. Look back, set your goals, set a plan to track progress, plan for life stuff, and know how you will celebrate along the way. And be sure to take care of yourself all along the way.
And if you want me to personally help you through the next 90 days, I would love for you to join Thrive!
Until next time, give yourself permission to make progress today and grace along the way.
"Dream big. You won't know what smaller goals to set if you don't know where you eventually want to go. You need a compass! It's like going on a trip: If you don't know the destination, you're going to wander." - Amanda McKinney
Looking for support and guidance in your yoga business?
In Thrive, my monthly membership for yoga teachers, you get social media and email templates, monthly Q&A calls, advanced trainings, business check-ins, a private community, and more. Thrive is a membership that can support you on every part of your yoga business journey - from the very beginning all the way to advanced challenges!
