The New Way to Set Manageable Goals with Chronic Illness

We have all heard this before: shoot for the moon and land upon the stars. I had grown up hearing that very real conversation, right? And sometimes I feel like it probably— this is probably very unpopular opinion, but I feel like it was kind of fluffy. I feel like it gives people all of this hype on reaching for a goal, but then, hey, you're going to land among the stars if you don't reach it. That's something, right? But how do you even get to the stars, right? And so if you're living with chronic illness and you have big goals and big dreams, sometimes you're looking at other gurus, other people who are living their life, and you're not hearing how are they doing this spite or in spite of all of the mess that happens, right? And so I wanted this episode to be one that kind of gives you a less fluffy, more tangible, practical way to create plans so that one, you can boost your confidence in your ability and your belief of being able to be successful while living with chronic illness. And 2, give you some ways to kind of pivot and figure out when to pivot on a goal, when to reset a goal, all of those different kind of things. And I think we really need to have a real conversation about this because we don't have it enough. We hear a lot of fluff about creating goals and dreams and living in our dreams and all of that jazz. And I think I'm a little lit about this, but I want us to be able to shoot for the moon and actually get there because we've created a plan that is actually doable, right? So I believe that if we incorporate our reality into our dreams and view the challenges that we have not as like things that get in our way but are part of the journey we're more likely to get to the moon. You know what I'm saying? So anyway, I share a little bit more about this in this recorded live that I did on Instagram. It is unedited. Most of these episodes that I'm going to be sharing with you that are from a previous event where I was speaking live or something like that are not going to be edited. They're going to be completely uncut, unfiltered, the real Nikita talking to other people as well as sharing the golden nuggets on how you can grow your business to the next $2K with ease despite living with chronic illness, without burning out or sacrificing your health. If this is something that you would like to do for yourself, you will— if you would like to have a coach that helps you in doing that, that allows you to deal with all the mindset drama and the self-sabotaging and the pain that might be getting in the way of where you want to go and causing you to feel unclear and unconfident in your ability to accomplish your dreams or your dream business, book a one-on-one sales call with me. In that call, there is no obligation to buy from me. Actually, most people come away from those calls feeling more clear and confident already, whether they decide to work with me or not. But you will want to— want to work with me when you get on that call, because you'll see that we'll create a beautiful plan that's designed just for you right, just for you and your unique awesome sauce and your unique challenges. And I will help you create a plan that I can support you through so that you can get to where you want to go faster, with more ease and less drama and more confidence. So go ahead and go to the show notes and book that call. But in the meantime, stay tuned because you don't want to miss this episode about how to create a plan while living with chronic illness so that you can grow your dream business. Welcome to She's Crafted to Thrive, a globally ranked podcast for women living with chronic illness and creatives in business. I'm your host, Nikita Williams, chronic illness warrior and photographer turned digital marketer turned award-winning coach. I love helping chronic illness warriors and creatives to live with their chronic illness and creativity as their superpower in life and business. On the show, you will hear the very stories that helped our guests, my clients, and myself to define our dream way of making money with proven strategies and marketing and mindset, all to grow a business that thrives without sacrificing our health. So stay tuned because you'll find the inspiration and tools and the resources you need to craft a life and business that thrives.

Today I am going to be talking about how to create a plan that feels clear, measurable, and doable. So this is something that I have found lots of my creative entrepreneur women and women living with chronic illness have a challenge with. I did a— hey Akila— I did a, um uh, what do you call it, market research a few months ago. And I was asking, you know, many of you guys, like, what is it that's getting in your way of getting to success? And lots of things about plans was coming up. And I have found that this is a very common, um, situation that many of us find ourselves in when it comes to creating a plan, especially if you live with, like, chronic illness. We sometimes feel like plans are not meant for us because like we are— don't know when we're going to be feeling great, or we think we don't know what's going on or what to do. And so I want to talk to you about how to make this easy. Um, so if you're new around here, my name is Nikita Williams. I am a business and clarity confidence coach. Um, I focus heavily on mindset and strategy and your business. Hey Emily! And today I really want to share with you a very simple method to creating a plan in your business. But first, I want to like bring some awareness to why plans and to-do lists and all those things might be feeling a bit frustrating to you, and why you might be feeling like you don't have a clear plan, and why you can't measure your results, and why it's not so doable. And one of the things for sure, the reason why this is a challenge is because many Many of you are trying to implement too many things at the same time, so it creates a confusion piece around what is clear, um, what it is like. It makes, it makes it confusing for other people to figure out what it is that you're doing, um, it makes it hard for you to be clear on what you're doing. I can say, hey, Jenifa, I can say from personal experience with my clients specifically This topic comes up when you have multiple offers or when you have multiple tools of doing the thing that you do. So if you're like a coach, or— I just got off a sales call with a woman who is a lactation dietitian and she lives with chronic illness, and she has like this plethora of tools, and it can feel overwhelming to create a plan when you're thinking about all the tools. So that is one reason why it might be feeling hard for you to create a plan that feels measurable and doable, is because you're looking at all of your tools and you're trying to figure out how to use them to market your business, how to help your clients, and all of that jazz. Hey Steph, I'm Step Forward in Texas. Oh my goodness, it's been a while since I've seen you. Hello, hope you're doing well. Um, so that's what I'm talking about today. So if you have challenges when it comes to a plan and making like feeling clear and making it feel like you're like, it's measurable, you know, whether or not it's working or not working for you, or if you have a problem with like the doing part of the plan, I'd love for you to leave any questions here, um, for whatever reason, whatever you have. So I'm going to share with you, like I just shared with you, though, that that's one major reason why plans are confusing, right? It's because you're trying to do too many things at one time. Another reason why things like when it comes to plans that it might be hard to do is that they're not actually like— they're big vision goals. So when you go to do them, like, you don't actually know the steps of what is involved or the energy that's involved or the time investment that's involved or the money that's involved in creating this goal, right? Um, Akilah says, just heard a talk yesterday, they brother said a goal without a plan is a dream. Yeah, 100%, exactly. And I also would add to that to a degree is sometimes we have goals, right? We have, um, a plan for a goal, but sometimes the way we're approaching the goal or the plan is making it impossible for us to actually reach it. And when you have like extenuating circumstances— and I say extenuating because like, who of us doesn't have challenges with different things? If you live with chronic illness, sometimes we operate in creating plans and goals from the concept like of, if I were only feeling better.. And I have definitely shifted over the years of focusing on like, if I am not feeling good, right, it makes a more realistic place for you to create a plan. Because honestly, if you live with chronic illness, if you live with endometriosis, if you live with PCOS, if you live with fibromyalgia, if you live with MS, if you live with lupus, if you are going through cancer treatment and things like that, it's not about not feeling good, it's about when you will not feel good. Like, you're just gonna have those flows. So if you create a plan with in mind, it's more likely that the plan will work. So that's the two major reasons I find people have trouble, like, have trouble doing or creating a plan that works and feels measurable. So how do we go about creating a clear, a clear plan that's measurable and doable? Number one, like, what is the outcome? What is the ultimate outcome of whatever the plan is that you want? Start high vision sometimes makes it really clear. Also, when you're thinking about what is the main goal or the outcome, what is the priority? What is the priority of this happening? Sometimes we create goals and other things take over the goals because it wasn't priority in the first place. It wasn't the most important thing, so it gets pushed aside. So making sure that your goals, you're clear on where you're going, what is the outcome, and number 2, that the priority is actually important to you right now. The reason why this is important, this part about priority, is sometimes when we create goals, we're not thinking about all of the other things that matter most. And our brain, the way our brain function, it is going to give attention to the thing that's screaming the loudest and is the most important. So this is really important to pay attention to when you come to your goals. So when you have an idea of like a goal that's important, let's say, um, you need to make some income, right? Like that's a huge goal, especially if you are like, like in a dry season or a client gathering season and you need to make some income in your business. The goal is to make income in your business and it's a priority, right? It's important right now. But what if you're making, you know, you're getting clients in your business and everything is good in that front, but you really want to work on expounding what you're already good at? You want to learn something more. Well, the priority becomes like, I need to prioritize my time and my energy so that my brain fog or whatever else I'm experiencing is not going to get in the way of that goal, right? So notice how when I'm talking about goals, I'm talking about like different aspects that can affect a goal. So this is the hugest thing I want you— if anything you walk away from when it comes to goal planning is that instead of operating in like this dream state of like, I'm creating this goal and I'm going to do it and nothing's going to get in the way because I have written it down and know what the goal is, we need to kind of shift our thoughts into operating of what could get in the way of this goal. Right? What could get in the way? What could make it more difficult for us to operate and actually accomplish this goal? So that's the number one mindset shift I think we need to— like, I'm not even— I think I know we need to incorporate when it comes to making a clear, measurable goal. And why is that part important for the measurable part? When you are clear on like the why it's important, the priority that's important, and what could be possibly— planning for the things that possibly could get in the way, you can create a realistic, measurable way of knowing if this plan or this goal is going to work. So let's say, for example, I'm going to use marketing for a standpoint. Hi Fantasia! If you like are growing your business and you live with chronic illness, we all know the two things that are most important to us, right? Our energy and our, um, our energy, and as well as our time, right? And so when you're creating this, you want to think about Okay, I know on certain times of the day, certain times of the month, I have less time and less energy. So what is a realistic way? Okay, Janefa, yeah, of course this will always be saved as a replay, usually, unless I do some kind of boopy and like delete the live because that's happened once or twice. But, um, what is the plan? So the plan of making it measurable, you want to think about, okay, I know that maybe for me, I'll use me for example, I know around the 15th of the month, between the 15th and the end of the month, I have less spoons, I have less energy, and I tend to do a little bit less energetically. So if I were making a goal that I wanted to show up on social media every single day of the, of the Monday through Friday, one, I'm setting myself up with a plan because by the time I get to the point of seeing whether or not it worked, there's going to be between the 15th and the end of the month that I didn't actually probably commit and do that plan. Because my energy wasn't in the right place. My physicalness was not in the right place for me to even be having that as a priority of my plan. So when you're thinking about these plans, think about them from the context of how is your body feeling. So this might take some little— like, this might take some awareness work for yourself, maybe for a month, to take some time to like pay attention to like how your energy flows. One other way you could do this is really, um, tracking your cycle. There's lots of those experts out there that can help you do that. I think Emily's on here if she's still here. Dania is another person that I know. She does really great. If you need, you need those resources, just let me know. But knowing how your energy flows and how things happen when you're in a flare-up is really important, um, because they will affect your goal. And when things affect your goals, if you aren't including these things in your goal, you kind of create a self-sabotaging place of diminishing your confidence to actually accomplish the goal, right? So when you aren't considering all of these little things, you will be affecting that. You will be affecting your confidence level to create or to do this goal. So keep that in mind. So when you're making this plan, let's say I'm going to use me again as an example. If you guys have an example, you can share it in the, in the chat. But if you are like me, the 15th through the end of the month, my energy is like all kinds of places. I usually have a flare-up that's happening. So what is a likely— like, what's more measurable for me to actually show up consistently through the whole month with that in mind? For me, I definitely know I can show up consistently at least once a week, like doing a live, right? No matter how I'm feeling, I know I can do that. I've managed that energy in my body and I, I've like paid attention. I'm very aware, even on my not so great weeks, right, from the 15th to the end of the month. So that's a realistic plan. So after 3 months, y'all, 3 at least, minimum 3 months of showing up live on one day a week, and my goal is to like be consistent in that and also to grow my Instagram account or book more sales calls, whatever the case may be, I'm gonna look at it over a course of 3 months and see, well, one, did I show up at least once a week for 3 months? Was that actually something that I could do energetically, physically, emotionally, right? Great. Did it work? Did it create the results I was seeking, which was growth in my business in some way, shape, or form, right? So if that is the case, then perfect. So now I know that's doable. I also know that it creates results. Now, if I were to look at that plan again and say, you know what, I only showed up like 3, 3 times out of the 4 weeks of the month live on that, and but I still created results, then guess what? Now I know, well, I could just show up 3 days, you know, 3 times live every, you know, out of the month and still get the same results. Now if the opposite happened, is like I showed up, nothing happened for 3 months, maybe I need to tweak something within the part of me showing up. Right? Maybe I'm showing up at a time that's not energetically good for me, or it's not energetically good for my audience, the people I'm, you know, wanting to serve. So this is something to keep in mind when you're thinking about making doable plans. I know we hear all of these things about SMART plans. Hold on one second. Come on, Zoe. Trying to get my dog in. My husband's about to go out. Zozo. Okay, so like there are different plans and things like that that you can incorporate into what's going on. So measurable, like a clear plan or clear action happens when you include what you know is most likely going to happen in your month, right? Don't make these plans like I, you know, we've heard these stories about like make a plan or a goal, shoot for the stars and fall among the whatever. I think that's great and aspirational, but it's not practical, right? It's not tactical because we have life things going on. And what happens is when we shoot for the stars and we don't make the stars and we land among— I think it's shoot for the moon, land among the stars— what happens is our mind says we are not enough. And so we don't feel confident in actually accomplishing these plans, these goals. But when you're living with chronic illness, y'all, like shooting for the moon can feel really overwhelming if you're not including, like, if I'm going to shoot for the moon, I also have to account for a flare-up. I have to also account for not feeling that great. I also have to account for like things that happen that are unexpected. So the reason why this is going to cause a problem is because you didn't include reality. Right? We can't not include reality when we create a plan. And the doable part of a plan, it's only going to happen when we include the part that we know about ourselves, right? So if you've never— like, if your business is like, I want to make, you know, $10K in one month, but you've never made $1,000 in one month, so your mindset is so focused on that that you are bringing this kind of energy of forcing and pushing, and it's like all this hard work, and you're going to create a flare-up. You're going to create stress in your body. You're going to create a blockage and create negative energy in your body, and that's going to affect your ability to make this goal doable and measurable. So start off with a clean goal. I know that sounds like weird, but what I mean by a clean goal, I mean it's a goal that you are taking into account all of the things that will affect the goal. And honoring yourself in that and showing up consistently or persistently 3 times a month. Zoe, it's just Daddy. Come here. So that's Zoe. If you don't know, I have a Shih Tzu and she is very Shih Tzu-y. So like, that's what I want you to keep in mind when you're thinking about creating a plan that feels measurable and doable. This is something that I love working with my clients on, is like figuring out how to do that, right? Like, how do you pay attention to what's going on with your body? How do you know what energetically is a priority, physically what's a priority when it comes to goal planning, right? And you want it to feel doable because if it's not, you're setting— it's literally self-sabotage, you guys. I don't know how often I have to coach my clients through this, which is like Make the plan doable. That is the way you create steps towards feel— feeling more confident, more clear, that even when you're not feeling good, right, even when you're in a flare-up, even when you're at the hospital, even when you're at multiple doctor's offices, that this plan could potentially work and this goal could potentially work. Because you've included all of that, right? You've included all of that in the way you're approaching your goal. And the measurability is like letting you see, looking back over a course of 3 months. I have a coach that says that in order to see whether or not something works, you need to give it at least 3 to 6 months. I think as chronic illness warriors who live with chronic pain, 3 months is enough time to see whether or not it's working. And after the first month of seeing whether or not this goal or plan is working, you might have to do some tweaking, right? You might be like, you know, maybe for me, like, this month I've been like showing up every Monday at 12:30, and maybe next month I realize, you know what, I wasn't in my best energy. I also was like, something else is going on. Like, you know, during a season change, I sometimes go through some different energy, physical things that I'm not— like, it's not always like set in stone. So maybe next month I'm like, well, what if I gave myself flexibility? Instead of just showing up on Monday, I decided to show up also as an alternative on Friday. And maybe that's how I do it. Or maybe if your audience isn't there, right, um, like you're not receiving the feedback of people like listening or watching replays, and you might need to show up on a different day, see how does that work with how you feel. Right? So this applies in any area of business, you guys, in any area of business. Recognize there's a psychological thing that our brain will give thought to the thing that is most important. So if we're creating fluffy goals, as I like to say, like these goals that don't have any sustenance of reality, you're setting yourself up for not being able to measure and not to be able to persistently do the thing. I know there are SMART goals. Different ways of approaching that. But for me, that can sometimes feel very like boxed in. And as a creative and as a woman living with chronic illness, for me it's really important to be able to tweak things as I go in order to see whether or not something is working. And that has really served me well, not only in like physically feeling like I've come to a healing place, um, as I continue to heal, but also in my business. There are some things that I like might offer at certain times of the year that I know that I can do based on doing this, like, measurable, clear goal planning. So, like, I'd love to hear if any of you— hi Jenny— have any questions on how to create a plan that feels measurable and doable. As I mentioned at the very beginning, the number 2 reasons why this is hard is that you're doing too many things, and number 2 is you're not actually incorporating all of the things that in the way. You're making a goal without being realistic about what matters. Okay, if that is something you would love some support on, if you would like to work with me one-on-one, I love really creating plans that feel really holistic to your life and make you like grow in your empowerment, you know, muscle, feeling more confident. This is something that I love supporting my clients in, um, and it's stuff we have to tweak every now and then. You can always book a one-on-one call with me Um, the link is in my bio. That's a way that you can apply to work with me one-on-one. But in the meantime, like, leave any questions or thoughts you might have about this topic, and if you have any thoughts or things that come up, I'd be glad to answer them in another live or in a post. All right, you guys, I love seeing you guys here. I'm glad you guys joined, and you guys have a beautiful week. Bye now.

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