I was twenty-five years old when I asked myself this question :

Q: If I could do anything, I would….

“Do something I enjoy everyday. I would make an impact, have a life that matters, live big dreams, live a life that pleases the Lord. LOVE. Write a book, work with great people and build an organized business.”

As I sit at Starbucks this morning reading the answer I wrote more than eight years ago, I’m holding back the tears. I didn’t know that just six months after writing those words I would quit my job, move states and start on a totally new adventure with Kyle.

I didn’t know that just three years after writing these words, I would launch my own company and start a business I had never even dreamed of.

I didn’t know that just five years after writing these words, they would be coming true in ways I never could have imagined.

And I didn’t know, eight years later I’d be here. Now writing these words to you about the power of writing down your dreams and identifying what matters most to you!

For a long time I got goal-setting wrong. I wrote down goals I thought I was “supposed” to care about. And then felt like a failure when those goals didn’t come true.

No wonder less than 3% of people write down their goals. (Source)

Which is sad given you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams by writing them down. (Source)

The most important thing I learned about goal-setting :

Write down goals that MATTER to you.

This is why I love “annual planning” and “goal-setting” (which I even hesitate to call it)…. Because it’s not just about determining “how much money I want to make and how I’m going to make it happen” (even though that is a great goal) .. it’s about writing dreams and goals and plans that TRULY MATTER to you and what you want in life.

If I could give myself (and you) any advice it would be this :

Get clear on what you really want, and forget about what others want for you.

This isn’t always easy to do. But when we let goals be influenced by what we “think” should be important like success, money, and shiplap walls ??‍♀️?, they don’t come true.

Related : See all five reasons I love annually planning in the Why I Plan Series.

Each year when I create my annual planning I choose three “big rocks” for the year. I’m not who originally started the “big rocks of life” idea, but it’s been a daily reminder for me to put first things first. The three things that come before everything else. For me those things are Jesus, Kyle and my health.

When you take the time to choose what matters most and put those things first, at the end of the day you’ll be proud of what you did do and not so focused on what you didn’t.

Ready to write down your goals?

I created a step-by-step guide to make it easy : Meet My Blueprint Year