When it comes to skyrocketing your evolution, it’s important to take into consideration multiple aspects of your life that may not be working well. And so, setting personal development goals could cut out the overwhelm and fear of change (which are so natural to experience).
The reality is that most people can’t wake up one day and have it all figured out. Sometimes, it requires time and patience to even truly discover what you want out of your transformation.
This is why Jon and Missy Butcher created Lifebook—to show everyone how possible it is to have it all, regarding all aspects of your existence. They’re also the trainers of Mindvalley’s Lifebook Quest, where they teach how you can create your greatest life vision and set personal development goals for every category of life.
“Failing to plan is planning to fail,” or so they say. And it not only applies to your work or your weekly meal prep, but it’s a reality in any aspect of your life. You can choose to take care of it and plan your change today.
What are personal development goals?
Personal development goals are targets or objectives that make you want to achieve better capabilities and expand your quality of life.
These goals can be related to any place in your life where you’d like to invite more transformation because personal growth includes everything that needs to be included.
In the Quest, Jon and Missy outline 12 areas of life that define the overall quality of how you feel. They go as follows:
- Health and fitness
- Intellectual life
- Emotional life
- Character
- Spirituality
- Love relationship
- Parenting
- Social life
- Financial life
- Career
- Quality of life
- Life vision
There’s also a “special” bonus 13th category, which revolves around sex and sensuality. As Jon says, it is like “the fuel in the gas tank.”
Why you should set up personal development goals
If you want to have a happy, successful, balanced, [and] fulfilling life, you’ve got to take responsibility for figuring it out for yourself. There is a magic formula, but that formula will be unique to you.
— Jon Butcher, trainer of Mindvalley’s Lifebook Quest
Studies have shown that setting goals individually or even as a group increases the rate of success and is linked with better confidence, motivation, and autonomy.
What’s more, the early research on goal-setting carried out by Edwin Locke, showed that people who had ambitious goals performed better and had a greater outcome than those who didn’t. They were also seen to have more energy toward the actions they needed to take to achieve their vision.
Here are a few more ways that creating a personal development plan can change the course of your life for the better:
- Increased focus
- More clarity and certainty
- Direction for your energy and resources
- Improved relationships
- Higher life satisfaction and quality
- Higher level of success
- Having a roadmap to your success
- Feeling of responsibility and control over your life
- Sense of purpose and hope to drive you forward
Goals can act like catalysts for the path to your best life. However, it’s also important to know how to formulate them for the most enjoyable results.
Examples of personal development goals
You can wrap your mind around this thing called life, and you can find your happiness.
— Jon Butcher, trainer of Mindvalley’s Lifebook Online Quest
Let’s take a closer look at some examples of smart goals for personal development, depending on the different categories and perspectives from which you start tackling your growth.
Personal development goals for work
Your career is a significant part of your life. So when it comes to goals for work, the main aim is growth and improvement. Here are a few goals you can look into:
- Having a career that you feel passionate about
- Learning a new skill
- Increase your efficiency while decreasing the time you spend working
- Expand your professional and social network
- Open a new business or design a business plan
Take time to assess where you are in your career and where you want to be, and then make a plan to get there. With dedication and perseverance, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
Personal development goals for employees
To truly excel as an employee, it’s important to go above and beyond what is expected of you. Here are a few goals that you can consider to level up:
- Add more value to your work
- Learn how to prioritize
- Take up new responsibilities
- Become a better teammate
- Find more ways to deepen your job satisfaction
Remember, being a rockstar employee isn’t about impressing your boss or getting a promotion. It’s about taking pride in your work and contributing to the success of your team and your company.
Personal development goals for leaders
Being a leader isn’t just about giving orders and making tough decisions. It’s also about connection, empathy, and understanding. Here are some goal examples for your personal development as a leader:
- Learn how to lead from a place of love and compassion
- Create a vision that people want to contribute to
- Offer more constructive feedback
- Craft an inspiring vision statement
- Create a healthy work culture
Remember, take time to assess where you are as a leader and where you want to be.
Personal development goals for parents
Parenting can be a rewarding experience, but it doesn’t come without its challenges. It’s important to remember that just like with any job, personal development is the key to successful parenting.
Here are some personal development goals for parents that can help you grow as an individual while also nurturing your child:
- Learn to parent your inner child
- See your child’s behavior as a mirror of your subconscious
- Learn to listen actively
- Manage your triggers to your child’s emotions
- Hold space for your child to be authentic
Personal development is a journey, not a destination. When you set these goals as a parent and see them through, you can create a stronger, healthier bond with your child while growing as an individual.
Personal development goals for relationships
Having healthy relationships with the people in our lives is a crucial part of our overall well-being. Whether it’s with a romantic partner, family member, or friend, personal development can help us nurture and strengthen those relationships.
Here are some personal development goals for relationships:
- Communicate with honesty and gentleness
- Open up about your needs
- Have one date night per week
- Be vulnerable about your desires
- Go away on more vacations together
Maintaining good standing within your relationships is an ongoing process. But setting goals to improve yourself can deepen your connections as you experience more love and fulfillment in your relationships.
How to write your personal development goals
Your strategy is where your goals live.
— Jon Butcher, trainer of Mindvalley’s Lifebook Online Quest
The truth is that looking within and naming what you want may be daunting and intimidating. But Lifebook can help you get crystal clear on what you want from your life.
You can start focusing on your goals with these simple tips from Jon and Missy:
1. Reflect on where you are in the present moment
Simply put, you can start assessing your current life situation. Think about all areas of your life listed before.
Ask yourself:
- What are my strengths and weaknesses in each category?
- Where would I like to experience more joy?
- Where am I really struggling right now?
Once you bring acceptance to the present moment, you can begin the process of your transformation. And through this change, you can slowly start preparing for your ideal future.
2. Visualize your dream life
Now that you understand where you stand in your life at the moment, you can invite yourself to make space for your ideal future.
These questions may help you get more clarity on what you truly desire:
- Where do I want to be?
- What kind of person do I want to become?
- Where do I want to live?
- What kind of people do I want to have in my life?
- How do I want to feel?
- How do I want to feel about myself?
- What do I want to do for a living?
The path from your present life to your future reality can be more exciting and full of purpose once you get a glimpse of what it may look like.
3. Find your biggest “why”
Your purpose behind wanting to achieve anything in this life acts like fuel to bring you closer to your dreams. Knowing why you do all the things you want to do and why you start creating a certain kind of life is essential in order to make it happen.
Your purpose will drive you, ignite your motivation, and make you get out of bed every morning with passion and excitement for what you’re about to experience.
The interesting part is that it’s all connected. You can focus on one category at a time, but you’ll see that you may find that your motivation for one aspect takes another into consideration.
For example, let’s say you want to be fit and healthy, but the image of your radiant physique isn’t enough to send you right to that pilates class. A factor from another area of life (like being strong and healthy so you can live long to see your children grow) might contribute.
4. Decide what actions need to be taken
Your long-term goals may inspire you to do great things. However, in order to accomplish them all, you can break them down into short-term goals that require action in the present.
For each life category, you can think of a few actionable steps to write down. Reflect on things like:
- What would it take to achieve the fit and healthy body I really want?
- What kind of partner would I have to be to have an ideal relationship?
- How can I take care of my finances better starting this month?
Sometimes you may not be sure what steps you need to take to propel you forward and that’s completely natural. However, as the old saying goes, the path starts to appear as you walk on it.
Just make sure you take the first step. The rest will follow.
5. Make sure your goals are SMART
SMART goals refer to those objectives that are:
- Specific. What do you exactly want to achieve?
- Measurable. How will you know when you accomplished your goal?
- Achievable and adjustable. How can you adapt your goal to different life situations?
- Relevant. How is this goal related to my life vision as a whole?
- Time-bound. What deadline do I set for myself to achieve this goal?
When you write your plan with these key components in mind, you may notice that your targets become more clear, precise, and feasible.
How to measure your goals
After you’ve set your goals, it’s only about time to go on and make your dreams come true. But maybe you’re wondering how to know if you’re making any progress.
You could consider introducing the following ideas for tracking yourself:
- Set deadlines. When it comes to a more practical task, like completing a course, for example, a deadline might help keep you on track and see what you have worked for up until that point.
- Journal and document. With more sensible personal development targets, like learning to become more in touch with your emotions, journaling may be the answer. You can come back to what you were writing at the beginning of your journey and this may bring some perspective on your internal world at a certain point in time.
- Set milestones and celebrate. When thinking about a long-term goal, you can set a few milestones along the way to celebrate your progress. Make sure you don’t forget to reward yourself when the time has come.
Finding suitable ways to track how much you’ve progressed gives you the motivation to move even further forward. There’s no right way to measure your goals properly but just take into account if and how your life feels different in the areas you’ve been working on.
You can get inspired to design your own life vision by reading the success stories of Mindvalley’s students who managed to create their dream reality.
Great transformation starts with the greatest goals
The first step to living your greatest life starts with setting your goals. Creating the vision of your dream reality is a process in itself, and you can benefit so much from having the right guidance.
With the expertise of Jon and Missy Butcher and their Lifebook Quest, you can learn everything you need to know about creating the image of your life vision. Additionally, you explore your purpose and passion for life, bringing to the surface what truly drives you forward.
By signing up for the FREE Masterclass, you get powerful insights into the program and how it can tremendously impact your growth.
And the best part of it all is that your journey to the life of your dreams doesn’t have to be a lonely ride. You can be part of a community of people who all work to connect with the best version of themselves.
Don’t be afraid to take the first step toward your most beautiful reality.
Welcome in.
