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New Year's Intention Setting for ADHDers

Traditional goal-setting methods don't work for me.


At one point this year I was reading 14 books.

 

I was bouncing around between the 3 books we were reading in my group coaching program, a book for a different book club I was leading, a trashy chick-lit beach companion, 3 non-fiction audiobooks, an e-biography, 2 books for personal self-improvement, a book of poetry, a book I was considering using in future programs, and another trashy chick-lit audiobook.

 

In other words, the ADHD is strong in me.

 

Now, I certainly could fight this tendency and "get help" for my lack of focus...

 

Or I could honor the fact that I'm someone who has many varied interests and gets a metric crapton of stuff accomplished not by singularly focusing on one thing at a time until completion but, rather, by bouncing around from thing to thing until they all eventually get done.

 

Honestly, I think the amount of time it takes to finish everything is the same, and I enjoy myself more along the way, so I'm sticking with what works for me.

 

And when it comes to New Year's goal setting, I could follow the traditional wisdom to set a singular SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-based) goal and pour myself into it (*yawn*)...

 

or I could continue sticking with what works for me. And that's making a list of 108 things to do for the year.

 

Why 108? Two reasons:

 

First, it's a sacred number in many cultures & spiritual practices. It is said to represent the wholeness & unity of existence. The number 1 represents the singularity of the present; 0 represents the nothingness of the past; and 8 represents in the infinity of the future.

 

Second, it's a really big number that pushes me to reach for even more. It forces my creative juices to get flowing and encourages me to dream bigger than I otherwise would.

 

So, here is my New Year's goal setting ritual:


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First, I think about every area of my life. For me, that's 12 different pieces of the puzzle:

  1. body

  2. mind

  3. spirit

  4. money/finances

  5. relationships

  6. home

  7. creativity

  8. work/career/purpose

  9. self-care

  10. travel

  11. adventure

  12. miscellaneous

 

Next, I get curious about each one.

  • What haven't I accomplished yet that I want to? (I use the previous year's goal list for this and carry over anything that still feels relevant.)

  • What's lacking?

  • What do I need to keep doing?

  • What else would make this area feel even more incredible and fulfilling?

 

Then, I get to creating my list, writing down intention after intention until I get to 108.

 

Finally, I categorize them by area. (This part probably isn't "necessary," but I have OCD tendencies on top of ADHD, so that's what I do.)

 

I have been doing this process in some form for 7 years, and it's a ritual I look forward to every December. I usually carve out an afternoon or evening plus keep a running list of ideas in my phone as they come to me.

 

I've accomplished some pretty amazing things as a result:

  • going to India

  • paying off my student loans (in less than 10 years)

  • taking a month off work to backpack through Costa Rica

  • riding in a hot-air balloon

 

And I've also found that some simple things bring me so much joy I prioritize them year after year:

  • watching the sun rise

  • watching the sun set

  • going camping

  • kayaking a new body of water

  • visiting a new state

 

Nothing is too big or too small to go on the list. The more scary, unrealistic, or unattainable it seems, the more I know it belongs on the list. Same goes for mundane, trivial things I've been putting off for too long.

 

Worst-case scenario, I don't end up making it happen that year and, if it still calls to me next year at this time, I move it to that year's list.

 

This method isn't for everybody, but if you got excited reading about my method, I've created a mini workbook to walk you through the process that you can download here.

 

Or you can sign up for your 13-week Radical Reset by midnight MST TONIGHT and get a bonus 2-hour session where we will go through the process live together.

 

Whatever your process for New Year's intention setting, I hope you 1) do it, 2) allow yourself to dream bigger than you feel comfortable, and 3) share with me along the way. Because the only thing more powerful than setting an intention is having multiple people hold onto that intention together.

 

With Fierce Love,

Chazz

 
 
 

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