Hi Goal!

Nice to meet you? How are you? I have been dancing around you for a long time but I haven’t had the chance to chat with you.

Do you ever have conversations with your goals? I do!

I have them bouncing around in the back of my mind for months before I address them. Why does this happen? I don’t enjoy procrastinating on my goals, but I let small, daily distractions get in the way of bigger picture work.

This is procrastination. Procrastination is a normal human function. It’s even healthy. As Dr. Benjamin Hardy explains in his new book, Who Not How, procrastination “is your inner genius saying: this goal is amazing! But you’re not the one to do everything involved”.

Indeed. It’s so helpful to have others on board. When trying to meet a health goal like moving more, lowering cholesterol or blood pressure, eliminating a certain food, or switching to a particular way of eating, it’s more challenging to do it alone.

When we team up with others, we have connection, accountability, support and direction in achieving our goals. Especially during these viral times, it’s great to find ways to connect with others around a goal.

What is your health goal?

What is keeping you from meeting it and moving towards it?

Dr. Hardy and his co-author, coach Dan Sullivan, suggest reviewing your progress and setting your sights on new progress. What have you accomplished over the past 90 days that makes you proud? I helped my daughter transition to masked, outdoor preschool, night weaned my baby, and created a daily rhythm for myself that feels calming and grounding.

What about you? What are your wins from the past 90 days?

Now, think about your goal in terms of the next 90 days. What is some progress you can make towards your goal in the next three months? Get the support of a coach or loved one to help you identify 3 to 5 things you can do and make a list.

Dr. Hardy explains that, the more you practice this kind of step-by-step goal achievement trajectory, the more intentional you will become about your time and the more freedom you will find within the structure of meeting, achieving and even surpassing your goals!

Who Not How is a supportive, thoughtful and creative guide to getting the support you need to free up your time, do what you do best, and get the support of others to accomplish your goals. Dr. Hardy and Mr. Sullivan explain that, “you can have everything you love in life as long as you give up what you hate”.

Make space in your life to reflect on where you want to be. For example: I am a colonizer, an immigrant, an have a ton of unearned privilege due to my white skin. I used to hate all of these things about myself. However, they are who I am, and they are a catalyst for doing food justice work.

Instead of hating myself for having a particular story, I can love my story because it allows me to create goals around leveraging my privilege for collective liberation.

Dr. Hardy and Mr. Sullivan remind readers to be humble in their goals and appreciate that we are all part of a group process. Because of this interconnectedness, we need to appreciate that our goals affect others in our lives. The more we strive for goals, the more we inspire others to do the same. The more we are humble and value the help of others in our process of achieving goals, the more we grow and build community.

Procrastination is a sign that you have ambitions in your life that want your attention! Listen to that voice inside and set aside time to journal about it. Meet your goals with kindness and curiosity. Then, find the people who will keep you accountable and support you in your growth and transformation process.

If you are so inspired, read the book Who Now How here. It will transform the way you think about your life and your community.