Stop Setting Goals You Don’t Even Want: A Life by Design™ Guide to Purposeful Goal Setting

Every January, women everywhere pick up fresh planners and tell themselves, This time, I’m really doing it. BUT let’s be honest — a lot of the goals we’ve set over the years have felt about as inspiring as cold oatmeal. Of course your motivation dipped. That wasn’t a lack of discipline. That was misalignment.

The real problem isn’t sticking to goals. It’s choosing goals that actually fit your life, your energy, and your values.

Before you set another intention for 2025, let’s break down what truly makes a goal work — not just for a week, but for the entire year ahead.

1. Motivation Isn’t the Issue — Misalignment Is

Your brain doesn’t rebel against things you genuinely want. It rebels against things that don’t feel true.

When a goal comes from comparison, pressure, or a past identity, your nervous system will quietly resist. It feels like procrastination, avoidance, or “I don’t know where to start.” But the issue isn’t effort. It’s that the goal wasn’t built from your actual desires.

Life by Design™ starts with the inner landscape, not the outer outcome.

2. Your Long-Term Vision Needs Short-Term Structure

Think of your long-term goal as the destination. But the way you actually get there? Short-term, doable actions. Most ambitious women try to leap from Point A to Point Z overnight — and then wonder why they’re overwhelmed by February.

Break it down:

• What’s the bigger vision?
• What milestones sit between here and there?
• What small weekly steps move the needle?

Dream big. Act small. Repeat. This is how progress compounds without burning you out.

3. AIM SMART: The Framework That Keeps You Consistent

Traditional SMART goals are solid — but they ignore the realities of being human.

The AIM SMART approach introduces flexibility:

• Acceptable Minimum: What you can do on your busiest or lowest-energy days
• Ideal: Your normal rhythm
• Maximum: What you do when you’re energized and resourced

Instead of all-or-nothing, you get always something. This is the difference between a goal you abandon in March and a goal you actually integrate into your life.

4. If Your Goal Doesn’t Match Your Values, It Will Never Feel Good

Values alignment is the make-or-break factor most women overlook. When a goal aligns with what matters to you — freedom, creativity, connection, stability, growth — it becomes energizing instead of draining.

When it doesn’t? You’ll feel resistance every step of the way. Take 30 seconds and ask yourself:

“Does this goal feel expansive… or constricting?”

If it feels tight, it’s not your goal — it’s someone else’s expectation wearing a productivity mask.

5. Turn Your Goal Into a Roadmap, Not a Wish List

A goal is a direction. A roadmap is the path.

Here’s the Life by Design version of that breakdown:

• Identify the major milestones
• Turn those milestones into simple, specific actions
• Prioritize what matters most
• Start with quick wins to build momentum
• Review and adjust weekly (because life changes — your plan should too)

This structure isn’t rigid. It’s supportive. It grows with you.

6. Flexible Discipline > Perfect Discipline

The moment a plan becomes too rigid, it breaks the first time life shifts — and so does your motivation. Flexible discipline keeps you in motion. It honors your energy. It adapts to your reality.

You don’t need to “be perfect.” You just need to stay in partnership with yourself. That’s how confident, sustainable growth happens.

Design a Life You Actually Want to Show Up For

Purposeful goals don’t demand perfection. They require clarity, alignment, and a structure that supports who you’re becoming.

If your 2026 goals are built from truth — not pressure — you won’t have to force motivation. It will rise naturally because the path finally fits.

If you’re craving a moment to reset, realign, and start this year with intention:

👉 Join the Life by Design™ Power Hour

👉 Explore the Life by Design Method™ private coaching journey

Your next chapter doesn’t ask for a new version of you — just the real one.