92 Days
“What do you want to create before the year ends?”
There are 92 days left in the year.
That’s long enough to create something meaningful. Short enough to get intentional about where you put your energy.
You might be looking back at the year so far feeling proud of what has happened. Maybe some things unfolded differently than you expected. Probably a little of both.
Either way, I’d like to suggest a different way to think about the last quarter.
Not as a countdown.
Not as a chance to catch up.
But as an opportunity to ask:
What would I love to create, experience or move forward between now and December 31st?
It might be something you’ve been thinking about all year.
It might be something completely new.
Or the goal might be the same, but you’ve changed, and the way you want to approach it looks different now.
Goals give us direction. They don’t have to lock us into a plan we made months ago.
Start by looking at what’s already in motion
Before you decide what’s next, take a moment to notice what the year has already given you.
What’s moving forward, even slowly? What have you learned since January?
What has become more important to you? What would you like to carry forward?
You’re not looking for a score. You’re looking for information.
What do you actually want?
We often set goals by starting with what makes sense.
What should I accomplish? What would be productive? What would progress look like?
Those questions have their place. But there’s another one worth asking first:
What do I actually want?
What would you be excited to make progress on?
What keeps coming back to you, even if you haven’t done much about it yet?
There’s a difference between a goal that looks good on paper and one with real energy behind it.
That doesn’t mean you’ll feel excited about it every day. But when the initial excitement fades, there should still be a reason to keep choosing it.
Why does it matter?
Once you know what you want, go a little deeper.
Why this? Why now?
What would change for you if you achieved it?
What are you willing to give it in time, attention and effort?
Then look at what you might need to make it possible.
Maybe more time than you first thought. Maybe support, accountability, new information or a skill you haven’t built yet. Maybe other priorities in your life need a seat at the table too.
Being realistic about these things doesn’t make a goal less exciting.
It makes it yours.
Give yourself more than one way forward.
This might be my favourite thing about goals.
You can be clear about where you want to go without knowing exactly how you’ll get there.
We tend to make the plan and then become very attached to it. But there’s rarely only one route.
If something isn’t working, change the approach.
If your circumstances change, adjust the timeline.
If you need help, ask for it.
If the next step feels too big, make it smaller.
And if the plan is working, but you simply don’t feel like following it today?
Sometimes the answer really is to stop negotiating with yourself and do it.
Flexibility doesn’t mean you’re less committed. It means you’re willing to keep finding ways to move toward what you want.
And if you change your mind along the way, perhaps that’s useful information too. What you want can change as you learn, grow and understand yourself better.
Trusting yourself also means being willing to listen when something has changed.
What could 92 days become?
You could start the thing you keep thinking about.
You could make real progress on something already underway.
You could try an approach you haven’t tried before.
You could ask for help.
You could change direction.
You could make one decision that opens up possibilities you can’t see yet.
You don’t need to know exactly how the next three months will unfold.
You can choose a direction, take the first step and pay attention to what you learn along the way.
A few questions to take with you
Set aside 10 minutes and write down your answers to these three questions:
What do I want?
Why does it matter to me?
What would help me move toward it?
Then choose one thing you want to give your energy to over the next 92 days.
What’s one step you could take this week?
Start there.
And if you know what you want, but you’re finding it difficult to move toward it, we can explore what’s getting in the way and what might help you move forward.