WINSight // Setting Intentional Goals for 2024 and Beyond
Every new year brings the same mantra, ‘New Year, New Me’. At the beginning of the year we put pressure on ourselves to set ambitious resolutions for the year ahead, but – despite the best intentions – they can often fall by the wayside. So, how can we set realistic goals that stick?
On Wednesday 24th January 2024, WIN LDN hosted a virtual vision-setting workshop with life and leadership coach, Caitlin Cockerton. In this session, Caitlin guided more than 30 members of the WIN community through a process of reflection, sharing aspirations, and setting intentions for the year ahead. The workshop consisted of individual reflection and sharing with the community.
Setting the scene: Caitlin used metaphors born from the natural world to help attendees look beyond the horizon.
Overriding the ‘should’ mindset.
Many new year's resolutions start from a place of what we feel we ‘should’ do. We feel we should go to the gym more, or we should eat healthier, or we should start a new hobby. But this mindset can often set us up for failure because they are not rooted in what we fundamentally need.
Caitlin started the workshop by asking us to individually reflect on a time where everything felt right and we were most happy. Conversely, she then asked us to think of a time where we felt uncomfortable. She used this as an exercise to help us understand what components we need to feel fulfilled and happy. The first step of setting purposeful goals for the year ahead is overriding the ‘should’ mindset, and instead focusing intentionally on the longer-term goals of what we need and want.
Setting one ‘big’ focus.
Setting intentional goals for our future selves can be overwhelming. The many ‘mini’ goals we set in our daily lives can cloud our long-term goals. To put this into perspective, Caitlin compares life to a mountain range, pointing out that we can only climb one mountain at a time. When setting our intentions for the year ahead, we must have one ‘big’ focus that stands in contrast to the noisy demands of daily life. This big focus is the peak of our mountain.
Visualising the journey.
Once we have visualised our mountain peak, we then have to map the journey to get there. The final exercise of the workshop focused on visualising the journey to reach our goals. Caitlin asked us to identify the tools we need to achieve our goals, the people we will need along the way, and the new people we might meet. The process of visualisation sets the intention to achieve the ‘big’, wider-picture goals.
The workshop was a masterclass in setting intent and visualising goals, needs, and wants for the year. As we move through 2024, Caitlin has set a foundation to frame our year around intentions, rather than resolutions.
Our WIN community shared their visions for the year ahead!
Join us next time!
WIN focuses on individual growth as well as strategic thinking and business success for women. Our next virtual event will focus on how we want to live in 10 years. This future-casting event is held in partnership with German-based Foresight Academy who have a proven track record of setting predictions for the future.
Written by Kasia Maynard (WIN LDN Programming Producer)