The Simple 3 Step Framework to Achieve Your Work & Life Goals in 2026! S5E07

If you looked back at 2025 and realized you drifted, got distracted, or missed the mark on your biggest dreams, you are not alone. Even after years of personal development, it is possible to slide into a spiral of doubt when the results don't match the effort.

In this episode, we strip away the complex workshops and "louder" goal-setting tactics that often overwhelm ambitious women. Instead, we focus on a simple, proven 3-step framework to move from confusion to clear, directed action.

We explore why "insight" alone isn't enough to change your life and how to create a strategy that actually fits your season of life.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The Trap of "More": Why we often fail not because we lack goals, but because we lack anchors and say "yes" to too many good things.
• The 3-Step Framework: A breakdown of Clarity, Strategy, and Sustainable Focus.
• Strengths Alignment: Why your strategy must use your natural talents if you want the results to stick past February.
• Overcoming the Spiral: How to kick off the covers, stop wallowing, and create a plan even when you feel heavy emotions.

Next Step: If you are standing at a career crossroads and want to ensure 2026 is your year of clarity, don't wait. Take the 2026 Career Change Quiz or book a clarity call today to start the conversation.

Checked all the boxes of success but still feel like something’s missing? My new book, Discovering Your Calling, is a guide for ambitious women ready to stop drifting and build a life of true fulfillment and joy. Your calling is waiting.

✨ Get your copy of the Discovering Your Calling book today!   Your calling is waiting! 

Transcript

Sheri Miter: 1:07

What you will discover in this episode is why ambitious women don't need louder goal setting. They need clearer priorities. I'm going to walk you through three simple steps that I do at the beginning of the year to turn reflection into clarity and alignment and focus direction for a year that actually moves the needle where it matters most. Welcome to the Discovering Your Calling podcast. I'm your host, Jerry Miter. I'm here to help you unleash your strengths and get clarity on your calling. I believe when you find your purpose in life, fulfillment, joy, and success will follow. If you're ready, pop in those earbuds, hit that follow button, and join me on this journey toward discovering your calling. Happy New Year, my friends! We made it. 2025 is officially over and we have stepped into the new year. You know, the presents are mostly all unwrapped. We still need to get together with one of our oldest son and his family due to flu and everything else. But hopefully in your household, everything's unwrapped and everybody's enjoying their gifts, and the new year is officially underway. I know for many of you, you are celebrating because the kids are finally back to school. Oh boy, that was a long vacation for them. And I have to admit that this year the holiday season just felt a little off for us. Family dynamics have changed. Our families are all over the country. And if I'm being honest, I'm focused on an upcoming surgery. Don't worry, nothing major. It's just going to have me down and out for the first few weeks of January. So I've had a lot on my mind with that. And to be honest, because of all of this, that that kind of strange period we have between Christmas and New Year's, you know, that that time that we're like, what day is it even? You know, or there's the funny memes about, you know, what day is it? Something along the lines of, it's 10 a.m. or is it too early to start drinking at 10 a.m.? You know, it's like that weird time where we are between that Christmas and New Year's. And like I said, we don't even know what day it is. We don't know what we're supposed to be doing. You know, we're in between the celebrations. I usually spend that time reflecting. I do a lot of year-in reflection. And if you follow me at all, you know I'm big on journaling, reflecting, quiet time, all of that. And this is a huge time for me. And sometimes those reflection times are really positive. And I feel very grateful for all that's happened in the previous year and what's upcoming and what I'm looking forward to. But I think because of all the other stuff I just shared, that reflection time wasn't my normal feelings. And in fact, I ended up with some really heavy emotions this year. Emotions of sadness and disappointment. And man, they sent me into a dark, ugly spiral. And I'm not kidding when I say I hit hard on this spiral. And I think I probably still have some bruises from it. And, you know, I spent a day in despair. And yes, even some tears, which is totally uncharacteristic of me. But luckily, I realized what was happening. I knew I had slid down to that six o'clock space on the attitude wheel. And there's some podcasts I've done before on this. If not, reach out to me. And I, if you can't find them, reach out to me and I'll share them with you. But the attitude wheel just, you know, is when we're down on six o'clock, it is not the place we want to be. And I got stuck there. But luckily, after a day of wallowing and self-pity and just being mad and angry and sad and all the different emotions, I realized what was happening. And once I did that, I, you know, literally and figuratively kicked off the covers, threw away those sobbing tissues, poured myself another cup of good, hot, strong coffee, and I did what years of personal and professional development and growth have taught me, and my faith has taught me over the years. And I stopped spiraling and started creating a strategy. Because I know one thing for sure, that I don't want to be sitting here next year feeling the same way. I know for myself, I need bold, audacious goals to strive for. And I didn't have that this year. And I first had to figure out what was I actually grateful for to get out of the self-pity mode. I did, after all, publish my book this year. I published the Discovering Your Calling book, and I'm super proud of that. And I had to remind myself of that. No, did I hit the goal that I wanted as far as how many copies I wanted to sell? Absolutely not. Didn't even come close. But I know why, and I'm gonna get to that in a minute. I also had to remind myself that I had the privilege of working with some super great clients this year, some one-on-one and some in workshops. And that is something I never ever want to take for granted. So I really had to shift my thinking and get into a positive, grateful mindset. And then I had to get really honest with why I didn't hit some of the other goals. And when I did that, I realized that I got distracted a lot this year. I frequently changed focus, I reset my goals a zillion times, and therefore I never got grounded on what was my one big, hairy, audacious goal that I really wanted to achieve. And again, for me, I know that's what I need to thrive. Now, my friend, whether you're listening to this and you're feeling proud because you did check off some big audacious goals this year and you love where you ended up at the end of the year, or you're like me, and that little reflecting time didn't feel so great this year. And you know that you also drifted or got distracted or just never anchored yourself to that one thing that actually mattered. This episode is for you, either way, because here's the truth: reflection alone doesn't change anything. Insight doesn't change anything. Even intentions, having a good intention doesn't change anything. What changes things is the moment you decide I'm not doing another year like this. And again, if you've left felt that this was a great year, keep listening because you'll make it even better for yourself next year. Today I want to walk you through the exact three-step framework I use personally and professionally to move from reflection and doubt and unsure into clarity and direction and focused action so that when I'm sitting in this same quiet week in between Christmas and New Year's next time, reflecting on my year of what happened, things will have turned out differently. And I know you want that as well. Now, before I share the three steps to take, I want you to imagine for a moment. Imagine it is that weird in-between week of Christmas and New Year, and you've carved out a few minutes to quietly reflect on your 2026. I want you to think back to those moments that left you proud. Maybe they weren't perfect, but you're proud of what you accomplished. You're proud because you focused on what or who mattered most. You gave your energy to the right things, the ones that actually moved your work and your life forward. You took care of yourself without feeling guilty. You stopped postponing what you knew needed attention. How does that feel, my friend? Stay in that feeling for a moment. That feeling is what I want for you to really experience next year. But here's the thing: if we want next year's reflection time to feel more peaceful and joyful and celebratory, we have to focus on what fits our season of life, our strengths, and our priorities right now. And success doesn't look the same for everyone. For some women, a good year means they focused on the right goals, not just more goals. I think that's true for all of us, really. For others, it may mean that you are just truly present with the people that you love. For some of you, it's realizing that your health can't be optional anymore and doing it, taking care of you guilt-free. And for others, it's finally listening to that quiet tug that you've been ignoring. Now, once you have the vision in your head of what you really want, then it's time to take intentional action. This is where the magic happens. And this is where I want to share with you the three simple steps that I took and I take to get intentional about my year. There are the three steps that I didn't do last year that I'm never going to miss again. But before I share those three steps, I want to tell you one more important piece to this. At least for me, I had to give to God what I couldn't control. You know, a few family dynamics, a few challenges that are just totally out of my realm of control. I had to package them up and give them to God. And when I do that, I literally picture putting it all in a box and, you know, focusing on, you know, putting it in a box, putting the lid on it, and putting it on the shelf and giving it to God. Because I can't control those things. So if you have some things in your life that you can't control that shouldn't be part of the goal setting, then if it helps you and serves you well, that's just an imagery that I love to do. And it's really, really valuable. That simple picture of just like putting it in that box, giving it over to God, and letting it go so that we can focus clearly on what we can control. And that's where the three steps come in. All right, are you ready? And these are so simple that they may be, you might be tempted to skip them because they're not an all-day workshop on how to goal set and how to prioritize things. They seem very simple, but they do take a lot of reflection in a good way, and they take a lot of thinking, and they take take a lot of getting serious about what you really want. So don't pass them up because they seem too simple. They're really powerful when you work them right. And these steps work for any meaningful goal. So what are they? Number one, it's clarity. Get crystal clear on the biggest goal for 2026. What actually matters to you most in this season of your life? This season of work? What is it that matters the most? What do you really want to change, accomplish, or experience in 2026? What bold, audacious goal have you been avoiding out of fear? And is that goal audacious enough to excite you to take action? Once you have an idea of that, have that crystal clear goal in mind and you know what it is. Part of this step is also figuring out why this goal matter to you? Why is it important to you to accomplish in this year? Some of you may even want to look, think about like what will it look like if you don't accomplish this goal. Once you're crystal clear on the goal and the why, make that the number one priority all year long. So step number one again is clarity. Ask yourself these questions, reflect on them. Get crystal clear on the one biggest goal. Step number two, strategy. How will you make this goal happen? How can it realistically happen for you? Think about what's in your control. Name the who, what, when, and how. Get as detailed as you can on how it's going to happen. Write it down, journal it, mind map. I love to mind map my goals and plans. Then put it in your planner. Put a date on it, whatever works for you best, but you have to do something solid, a solid plan. You have to have that solid plan. Now, here's a little tip. Make sure your strategy uses your natural talents and strengths, because that's what's going to make the achievement feel more energizing and easier for you. But it's also what's going to make the next step possible. So again, we have clarity as step number one. Step number two is strategy. How are you going to make it happen? What's your strategy to get it done? And the third step is creating sustainable year-long focus. So think today, what will you do to stick with the strategy? How will you stay connected to this decision and this plan past February 5th when most goals and dreams die? Commit to it now. Think about do you need accountability? Does that accountability come from a friend, a coach? Do you need quarterly check-ins with somebody? What will support what support will help you keep going when life gets busy and you get distracted and you forget why you wanted this? Do you need to put a goal poster up so that you can visually see this all year long? Do you need sticky notes all over your house to remind you of the goal? Do you need to review your strengths again to make sure that everything is aligned? Because if it's not aligned with your natural strengths, it's going to be really super hard to follow through on all this. But if it aligns with your strengths, it's going to feel natural. It's going to be easier and more energetic for you to accomplish all of this. So what is it you need to think about and get in place so that when it's not exciting anymore, when it feels like it's not happening and you start to get distracted, what's going to pull you back? What do you need to get in place now so that you don't lose focus six months from now, nine months from now? When it gets hard, who or what do you need in place? So let's review again. So it's clarity, strategy, and then a sustainable year-long focus plan. Now these steps will work for any goal, whether it's health, relationships, financial boundaries, growth. They work because they cut through the chaos and the distractions. They work because they are simple and they bring clarity and focus. And here's the thing that I see over and over again with ambitious women, and I see it in myself too. We don't lack goals. We lack anchoring our goals. We say yes to too many good things. We chase progress in ten different directions. And then we wonder why we're exhausted or why we didn't move the needle the way we had hoped. And audacious goals don't work when they're scattered. They work when they're aligned and focused. And that doesn't come from trying harder or setting more goals. It comes from clarity. Clarity about who you are, clarity about what actually matters most in this season, and clarity about what deserves to be your one fold priority. Now, a little side note here for some of you. As you've been listening to this episode, if your career or what's next professionally keeps rising to the surface as that one major goal, that's my sweet spot. And that's exactly why I do what I do. That's why I have Discover Your Calling Academy. That's why I wrote the book, and that's why I created something extra special to help you this year. We are revising our new quiz. So we have a 2026 career change quiz coming out. Might be out when this goes live. If not, it's coming really, really soon. And it's not about quitting your job or making a major decision. It's about getting clarity to help you understand where you are right now so you can create a strategy that actually fits your life and career goals. And again, if it turns out that you are standing at a career crossroads and ready to take action today, that's where I love to say, hey, let's talk. You don't have to wait for the quiz. Book a clarity call with me or DM me and let's get the conversation going. Because again, career change is my sweet spot. So keep an eye out for that quiz. And like I said, it might be in the show notes for this episode when it goes live. If not, it's going to be coming super, super fast. So stay connected with me. And my friend, I want you to remember you don't need to have 2026 all figured out, but you do need to decide that you're not going to drift through another year hoping things will feel different. Clarity creates direction, direction creates momentum, and momentum sustained is what changes a life. So take the quiz, have a conversation. Just make the decision. And again, if you want help turning this new clarity into reality, the next two episodes build directly on what we just talked about. I have one with a powerful guest conversation where we talked about all different types of things on professional profession professional and personal development, including visioneering your life. And then I'll be sharing my strengths-based visioning and goal-setting strategy for your work in life in 2026 in another episode. So I'll see you back here really soon. But in the meanwhile, I hope you will take the time to go through these three simple steps so that you can be celebrating a great year at the end of 2026. We'll talk soon. Thank you for spending this time with me. My hope is something you heard today inspires you to take action toward discovering your calling. I just have two favors to ask of you before you go. One, if you found value and enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and you might hear your review read on a future episode. And two, can you share this episode with three friends who will also enjoy it as much as you did? By doing these things, you will help us grow the podcast to make a bigger impact on the world. And until next week, remember, you've been created to live a life of fulfillment, freedom, purpose, success. And joy.