Questions That Will Change How You Think About Moving Forward
There’s a phrase that makes some people lean in and others immediately scroll past.
Goal setting.
Depending on where you are in life, those two words either feel like a battle cry or an eye roll. They can sound like possibility—or like one more thing you don’t have the bandwidth for.
I get it. I really do.
Because here’s the truth nobody talks about: the same phrase that lights one person on fire can make another person want to crawl back under the covers. And both responses are valid. Both tell you something important about where you actually are.
So before we talk about goals, before we talk about vision boards or planners or the next twelve months, I want you to answer two questions. Not for me. For yourself.
Am I happy in my personal life—yes or no—and why?
Am I happy in my professional life—yes or no—and why?
Sit with those for a moment. Don’t rush past them. The answers bleeding out of those two questions will tell you something essential: how much space do you actually have? In your mind. In your heart. In your calendar. In your capacity to dream.
The Gas Tank Truth
I think about this like a race car. You can have the sleekest vehicle, the clearest route, the most beautiful destination programmed into the GPS—but if there’s no fuel in the tank, you’re not going anywhere.
How much "gas" do you have right now?
If you’re anything like me—hands not just in multiple buckets but actively holding them too; this question hits differently. You’re orchestrating the holidays for your family while simultaneously reviewing accounting for your business. You’re in leadership, which means goal setting isn’t just about you; it involves entire teams. You’re responsible for people. For outcomes. For making magic happen while also remembering to schedule the dentist appointment and sign the permission slip.
The audacity of someone suggesting you need to “set goals” when you can barely get over yesterday's hurts.
I hear you.
But here’s what I’ve learned after twenty-five years of building businesses while raising five kids: the fullness of your life doesn’t DISqualify you from wanting more. It just means the how looks different.
The Three-Part Check-In
When I sit down to think about where I want to go, I start with three internal questions:
Would I like to move forward? (Not should I. Not do I have to. Do I want to?)
Where would I like to be?
If I look back at the past twelve months—and then zoom into just the last four weeks—what school grade would I give myself? A, B, C, D?
No judgment in this exercise. Just honesty.
That little bit of organizing our thoughts and matters of the heart? It facilitates belonging to our desires. It helps us see which path we actually want to take—not the one we think we’re supposed to want, not the one that looks good on paper, but the one that makes our chest feel lighter when we imagine it.
Erasing the Footprints
Here’s the absurd and beautiful truth about taking a new journey: sometimes it requires erasing the footprints behind you.
Not because where you’ve been was wrong. Not because who you are now isn’t enough. But because who you are now and where you have been are not going to get you to where you’re going.
Read that again.👆🏽
The version of you that got you here—she was incredible. She did hard things. She survived seasons that would have broken other people. Honor her.
And then ask yourself: what will be required of me to achieve these next three steps? What needs to shift? What needs to be released? What needs to be learned?
This is where my favorite Quinnessentials phrase comes in, and I mean it with everything in me:
“Start day one as often as necessary.”
That’s not failure. That’s not starting over. That’s tenacity. That’s ambition. That’s the relentless belief that you are worth another attempt, another morning, another chance to align your actions with your desires.
Start day one as often as necessary. It’s not judgmental—it’s generous.
The Coffee Shop Question
My friend, I want you to imagine something with me. What if I could help you with your three biggest desires? Your three deepest hopes?
What if I could be there with you—strategize, plan it out, supply the resources, and flat-out MAP it with you? What if I was a phone call away? What if I was just at the coffee shop, waiting for you in the booth, ready to be your support, your resource, your helper?
Assuming I had no limits—assuming time and money and logistics weren’t factors—what would your three goals be?
Not your safe goals. Not your “realistic” goals. The real ones. The ones you’re almost afraid to say out loud because they feel too big or too selfish or too impossible.
What are they?
1.
2.
3.
The Space to Begin
Goal setting—or whatever you want to call it: *future crafting, intentional living, building your next chapter*—sometimes it starts with something quieter than a spreadsheet.
It starts with a little bit of space.
A little bit of reflection.
And the radical belief that someone is there, ready to help you put it in motion.
You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to have a color-coded plan or a perfect morning routine or your life together in ways that look Instagram-worthy.
You just need to know: how much fuel is in your tank? And if you had to submit a ‘grade’ to yourself six months from today, what do you want that grade to be?
A? B? C? D?
You get to decide.
And then, my friend, you start day one.
As often as necessary.
What are your three goals? Drop them in the comments or send me a DM. I’m in the booth. I’m waiting. Let’s map it out together.
Cheering you on,
🤍Quinn
0 comments
