Recalculating... Your 2027 Route

I was on my way to a women’s day event in Estes Park, CO when, somewhere along the drive, my brain started connecting the dots between living an intentional life and setting our 2027 goals.

I had my GPS on. To a place I’ve been to 100s of times.

Interesting!

Why DO we use our GPS when we already know the way? Honestly, I only needed it for the last few miles, to make sure I knew exactly where to go once inside the resort area. (The planner in me likes knowing EXACTLY where I’m going. Shocking, I know lol.) And what does this have to do with living more intentionally?

Setting our goals for the new year can be a daunting task. What do we want to do? Where do we want to be by the end of next year? What do we want to accomplish? How do we handle all the unknowns that will inevitably pop up out of nowhere?

Somewhere in that thought process, we may feel like giving up. Too many thoughts, too many unknowns, too many what-ifs. We close our laptops/journals/notepads, look blankly into the future, and mentally give up.

Been there? Me too.

First - GPS keeps us on track to our destination. You give the GPS the location you want to go to. It happily gives you the best, most efficient route, your estimated time to get there, and even a couple of other routes you could choose (usually longer).

This is what setting next year’s goals is designed to do. You have your BIG goals/dreams/ideas you want to accomplish in your life. Call it our ‘while we’re living’ bucket list, for both personal & professional dreams. Some years we accomplish goals & dreams on that big list. Other years we simply get closer. Setting next year’s goals narrows down the route. Breaking the BIG goals into smaller 1 yr segments helps us get there faster & more efficiently.

Next - GPS re-routes us when there are obstacles in the road. This is especially true when you know where you’re headed and yet don’t know about the new road construction or detour. GPS figures out the go-around and still gets us to our destination in about the same time.

Goals work the same way. We don’t always know what will get in our way during the year. It may be a market downturn or a family emergency. It could be as simple as getting off track with all the other life distractions. Our goals help us keep navigating the year by keeping the end in sight.

Finally - trust the GPS (most of the time). Have you ever followed the GPS right into a dead end? How frustrating is THAT?! It doesn’t happen often, yet it has probably happened to all of us at least once. Even our GPS needs our continued review to make sure we agree with the route we’re on.

Trust the goal-setting process to help you narrow your focus, and then keep reviewing during the year. Reviewing makes sure you’re on track with where you’re going. When detours and dead ends appear, you’ll navigate around them more easily because of the goals you set now.

So, before you close the laptop and stare blankly into 2027:

• Where do you want to be by the end of next year, in business AND in life?

• What’s one BIG dream from your ‘while we’re living’ list that 2027 can move you closer to?

• What detours can you already see coming, and what’s your go-around?

• When will you check your route? Monthly? Quarterly? Put it on the calendar now!

The goals you set will get you closer to the intentional life you want to live. Not setting goals means living life ‘reactively’.

We have one. One life. It deserves our focus to live it intentionally.

Cheers to living our lives with full intention, and enjoying the drive!

Traci Evans