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Welcome to My Musings, a (usually) weekly newsletter where I share what’s been impacting me lately, what I’ve been thinking about, and actionable ideas to help you navigate the career and life transitions that might be coming up for you.

Today:

1. Offer: The November Work with Purpose Group Program is fast approaching. It’s a great chance to work and grow with like-minded folks around your career and what you can do to feel more alive in it. Sign up here, or, read on to find out more.

2. Musing: Goals are fleeting and final. Values are forever.

3. Quote: Joseph Campbell on the bigger question of what goals to let go of in order to more fully serve our lives.

But, First.

Ever wonder - what is my purpose?

Do you have indecision about your career?

Do you know what you want and like to do, but are stuck figuring out how?

Or, do you love what you do, but are tired of sacrificing the things that make you, "you", in order to keep up with work?

I get it. 

That’s why, I am launching my first Working with Purpose group program in the November (yes, that is soon).

Over a period of 6 weeks, you'll reconnect with parts of yourself that you may have left behind over the years as you've built your career. You'll re-envision your life and the role that work plays within it, and, you'll build strong and resilient habits to stave off burn out and feel a deeper sense of purpose and connection to your work and your self.

Through the power of community and a combination of:

1. virtual 1-on-1 sessions and group calls
2. a 24/7 chat group for discussion, questions and continued shared insights
3. a custom-built, exclusive development plan that includes regular readings, activities and practices to foster awareness and insight and growth

you'll emerge from this program with a clear vision and strategy to bring more satisfaction, fulfillment and aliveness to your work and improved alignment with your values.

This program is designed for high-achieving professionals who are questioning their current path, feeling unfulfilled despite their achievements, or struggling with burnout. It’s for those who love what they do but feel overwhelmed by the demands of balancing their career with their personal life. If you’re seeking clarity, deeper fulfillment, and a way to align your work with your core values, the Working with Purpose Program offers a supportive community to help you reconnect with your purpose and take meaningful action.

Think that includes you? Take the next step and fill out this survey.

Still not sure? I'll be hosting a FREE 30-minute group call about the Program on September 19 at 12:00 pm EST. Email me if you want to join and you'll receive a link.

How To Set Achievable Goals for Personal Growth

It’s that time of year again.

September. 

A new school year. A new season. A time when we shift from relaxation and recharge to getting back into work, habits and productivity.

The shifting in seasons is also a time to reassess where we’re at, what we care about, and what we want to achieve in the coming months or year.

And with that, comes goal setting.

We ask ourselves: What is important to me to achieve? How do I set goals for myself? What are good goals? How do I accomplish them?

Do a quick Google search on these questions, and you’ll get a ton of models to get your goals sorted out.

Most of them come in the form of acronyms, like: OKRs; KPIs; H.A.R.D. Goals; S.M.A.R.T. Goals.

These are amongst the best goal-setting methods for entrepreneurs. And, these are all useful to delineate not only what you want to achieve, but also when, how and perhaps most importantly, what the measure of success in achieving your goals will be.

But, drawing on the work of Raymond Prior, Ph.D. (who writes about golf psychology, a topic I have written about before), research has shown that the more people emphasized goals for daily motivation, the more irrational their risk-taking was, the more likely they were to engage in unethical behavior, and the more they reported a lack of motivation. 

And, to be clear - it wasn’t the act of setting goals itself that did this - it was being overly focused on the goals. This misses the role of intrinsic motivation in goal setting.

Values, on the other hand, can draw on our intrinsic motivation in a way which complements our goals and promotes longevity, consistency and less erratic risk-taking. We still have goals, but are less attached to them as the “be all and end all”. The space we create in focusing on values in addition to goals allows us to stay present and know what the right thing is to do now that will get us closer to our goal in the future. 

Plus, there mental health benefits of goal-setting in this way. Research has shown that when we break down a big goal into smaller, more present chunks of work, we get a bigger dopamine hit. Or, in other words, we feel better. And, at the end of the day, that helps us stay motivated to work in ways that are less reliant on success and failure, and more aligned with our true needs and wants.

In short:

While setting goals is essential, an overemphasis on achieving them can lead to negative outcomes. But, by balancing goals with intrinsic motivation through values, you can maintain consistency, lower stress, promote healthier long-term behavior, and use values to guide career goals.

Your Next Steps: Marry your Outcomes and your Values to Find Daily Motivation for Reaching your Goals

Here’s a helpful exercise from Dr. Prior to do that:

1. Clarify your goal(s). What are your desired outcomes?

2. Clarify the effort/actionable steps that make achieving the goal most likely. What would you have to consistently do/train/learn/develop/etc.—physically, strategically, and psychologically—to give you the best chance at getting better and achieving your clarified goal(s)?

3. Release your choke hold on outcomes. Mostly forget about your goal(s). Remember, this doesn’t mean that you don’t care about your goals; this step actually shows that you do care about them.

4. Clarify your values and use them to guide your actions. What are your values? What would it look like to immerse yourself into your practice, play, training, etc. through your values?

5. Use failures, mistakes, setbacks, worry, anxiety, frustration, and disappointment as triggers to reorient with your values to drive your efforts. Also, use successes, progress, growth, excitement, confidence, and fulfilment as triggers to reorient with your values to drive your efforts.

6. Focus on productive daily action and less on the outcomes of any single day.

Need help getting started on this? As a part of my coaching for personal development, this is what I love to do. You can contact me below to get started.

Quote of the Week:

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell

Want to Dive Deeper?

I empower leaders to become mentors, mentees to be leaders, and organizations to foster a culture of mentorship. Through that work, folks uncover their deeper purpose, navigate challenging transitions, and answer the call to vocation.

If you’d like to explore what’s coming up for you, get in touch.

I hope this newsletter has been helpful. See you next week!