In Week 3 of Chefs in 2017 we’ll look at alternative ways to frame our goals. Maybe you’ve just landed that new job or bought the much-longed for house. Maybe you’re only looking to consolidate what you’ve built up so far and not necessarily taking things to the next level. Maybe what you want can’t be measured or defined. Can you still set a goal for the year? Sure. Goals don’t always have to be about ‘doing’. They can also address ‘being’.
This is something I tried last year when I had just got clarity on my purpose and Love Letters to Chefs didn’t yet exist. I was still figuring out what I wanted to create so I had no clear destination. But on a personal level, I experienced sadness over not having achieved my major goals for 10 years. (It didn’t help that the goalposts changed multiple times!). But I asked myself this question: What’s preventing me from fulfilling my full potential? And you know what, the whole year I received insights into what was getting in the way of my progress. A lot of it wasn’t pleasant, but seeing the truth means that I won’t spend another futile year chasing my dreams.
In 2017 I’m trying another tactic. I’ve chosen a word to live by this year: integrity. It means that in every action, behaviour and thought, I choose to live in integrity with who I am and what’s really important to me. And my goals weave into this theme too. Is it easy? Hell no. But I know I’ll be taking my personal growth to a new level.
So, if you’re inspired by the challenge, choose a question or a word yourself and live by it in 2017.