Transform your brainstorm into an artwork with this helpful exercise and worksheet. Use it for yourself and also with clients!
It's the 3rd full week of the 2021, you are ready to take on the the New Year and become a new, better you. Except...there is one problem.
You don't have any goals and have no clue what your priorities are!
It's okay though, it happens to the best of us. You know you should be doing something different but you aren't quit sure what.
A common tactic you might do is brainstorm. So you sit down, grab a pen & paper, and start writing. Writing what though? You jot down a few ideas and after about 5 minutes you are left with a vague list of goals that you aren't sure if they align to who you are as a person.
Instead of a brainstorm you've had a braindrizzle.
So for Week 3 of January's theme on Effective Goal Setting we are going to teach you how to effectively brainstorm so your goals:
Align with WHO YOU ARE
Are deep, meaningful, and imaginative
And will enhance the most important aspects of your your life
We now jump into our CLCI LIVE discussion with Lisa Finck (C.P.C., A.C.C.), Brooke Adair Walters (M.C.L.C., C.P.C), Jerome LeDuff Jr (M.C.L.C.) and new Level 1 graduate Evan Kim, where we will effectively BrainExplore with Jerome and Evan.
To follow along, download our BrainExploring Worksheet!
BrainExploring
Notice that this new brainstorming exercise is focused, yet still allows for a stream of consciousness and creative thinking. We are actively exploring who we are and where our values are aligned.
This BrainExploring exercise should be a deep, fun, and honest dive into who you perceive yourself to be and what your desires are. From there we can narrow down what your most important goals are.
Following the worksheet, Lets take myself as a quick example and try to narrow down what are my most important goals.
5 minutes. Who am I? I am...
A writer
A forever student
A man
Humorous
Skeptical
A friend
A Son
A Brother
An actor
A pessimist
Cat dad
A musician
Well organized
Rational
A Dungeon Master
An ENTJ
A Libra
Someone who doesn't subscribe to astrology or personality tests
Etc etc etc...
The list goes on but I'll spare you the details. I've got a good impression about how I perceive myself. The point of this exercise is to put your mental focus in the right space for the next exercise.
Time to go crazy, silly, meaningful, emotional, and imaginative. Think if you had infinite time, energy, possibility.
50 responses - What do I want to do in my lifetime?
Skydive
Travel to the United Kingdom
Publish a book
Win a duel
Act on Broadway
Get a Ph.D. in Philosophy
Learn to read Latin fluently
Hike the John Muir Trail
Own a dog
Be able to deadlift 500lbs
...50. Have a Viking funeral (Technically not in my lifetime but I can arrange for it while I'm alive.
Now that we've let our imagination run wild we can focus our thoughts. In 30 words or less. Who am I?
I am still a young man with varied interests but what ties it together is a sense of self-achievement and personal development. I am patient and willing to learn.
By using the chart on the worksheet, I've identified that the most important parts of my life involve: Health/Fitness - Personal Growth - Fun/Recreation
Yours might include: Family/Friends - Partners/Love - Environment - Career/Work - Community - Money/Finance - Spirituality
Finally, I will pick 1 goal and fill in the blank:
My goal of publishing a book is most important to me because it demonstrates that I both posses the necessary discipline and creativity to do so, if I can do this, then I can do anything I set my mind to.
Think about the IMPORTANT FIRST steps to achieve this goal and fill in below. No more than 3 items per box.
And we are done! Following this BrainExploring exercise is both fun and insightful and has helped me identify a few goals that are meaningful to me and I hope this will be as enlightening to all our CLCI readers and viewers.
Thank you,
Evan Kim, Lisa Finck, Brooke Adair Walters, and Jerome LeDuff Jr.
NEXT WEEK: Unconventional and Extraordinary Goal Setting
February is Relationships and Rapport Month
Tune in every Tuesday at 4 pm PST/7 PM EST for our CLCI Live Demos on Facebook and YouTube!
We've announced classes through July of 2021, take a look at our class calendar here. Don't miss out on our 3-day life coach classes, it's an education that is beneficial for life, not just for life coaches! Want to learn more click here.