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078 - Keeping Your Sh*t Together (aka. Goal Setting)

Yay! A new year means a new load of crap about all the stuff we think we should do… Give this episode a listen before you ‘should all over yourself’. Alexa and Tyson take on goal setting faux pas, personal preferences and some of what the research says. SMART is out, intention is in, and you’re gonna love our first fresh new ep of 2023!




Listen here.

FOLLOW US!

Follow the podcast on Linkedin, Instagram, and TikTok at @peopleproblemspod

Follow the hosts:

Alexa Baggio on Instagram, Tiktok, and LinkedIn

Tyson Mackenzie on Instagram at @hr.shook


Research links:

https://hbr.org/2021/10/setting-goals-our-favorite-reads

https://hbr.org/2022/09/setting-career-goals-when-you-feel-overwhelmed

https://www.blinkist.com/en/nc/reader/clearer-closer-better-en

Book recommendation (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3FOXuYp


Alexa

Happy New Year, Tyson.


Tyson

Happy New Year. 2023. We made it 23.


Alexa

We survived. Somehow it wasn't Y2K. 2022. Thank God.


Tyson

Yeah, no. Well, 2022. Yeah. Like, we're happy that that's in the past at this point, but.


Alexa

I in-a-row.


Tyson

I'm cautiously entering 2023 with reasonable standards of expectations.


Alexa

Okay, what? Define reasonable for me because we're about to talk about this, so. So let's just jump into it, Bucket.


Tyson

All right, let's do it. Let's do it. So I'm, you know, I'm a victim of the New Year's resolution. I love me.


Alexa

Why do you start?


Tyson

Because I feel. I feel like it's more of, like, a mental model. It's almost, like, therapeutic for me more than anything else. It's not truly about making myself there. I am very much the same person I was, you know, with a lot of learnings, but like, the things that you make resolutions about, you know, healthy, you know, various things, right?


Tyson

I'm still the same person I was in January. 2022, you know what I mean? Like, I'm not any healthier than I was back then. Yeah. So it's more of like a therapeutic refresh for me than anything else when actual like, change. Yeah.


Alexa

So I can see that.


Tyson

Yeah. Yeah. So that's why I'm sort of cautiously going into this new year with, with reasonable expectations.


Alexa

So I saw a meme recently that was online that said, Have I accomplished my goals for this year? No. But did I eat well and exercise often? Not in the least, but still I mature relationally and as a person. Buddy.


Tyson

So here's the thing. Here's the thing. And like, let's, let's dove right in when I'm doing my goals and like, I'm setting like my New Year's resolutions, I often pick out things that I already do pretty well. So like, for example, I actually am like a very sensitive Leo. I am. I actually am.


Alexa

I just picked the shit I'm already good at.


Tyson

Right? I am actually a generally I'm a pretty healthy person. Like, we eat healthy. I exercise, I get outside, you know, whatever. I, I try to meditate when I can. I don't do it often, but I'm pretty healthy. So like I call out some of these things that I do well and I write them down and then I build.


Alexa

More of this.


Tyson

Keep being amazing.


Alexa

Tyson, you have figured it out. My love. You have figured out the key to success and happiness and go sit down with your artist because that's what so.


Tyson

Like real talk.


Alexa

Yeah. So I think before we go to so yes, our episode today is about goal setting. Obviously, this is the first episode of the new year. So people do New Year's resolutions. So I will be honest with you, I am not a fan of the idea of a New Year's resolution. I don't think I don't really believe in it being a resolution.


Alexa

To your point, like this isn't Lent like I'm the same person I was a year ago. I am what I am, but I am a big believer in goals. I'm a big, big believer in goal setting a goal set regularly and from everything I know and we'll talk a little bit more about this in a second, it is a very helpful mental exercise, not necessarily because goal setting will automatic.


Alexa

By setting a goal, you will automatically be closer to achieving that goal. That's not necessarily true, but the research, at least majority of it, does say that it makes you feel more fulfilled and makes you feel better about motivating yourself. It makes it easier for you to motivate yourself to go do the things you say you want to do.


Alexa

So I realize that people think like, Oh, you got to set goals to achieve the goals. And, you know, we'll talk about Goggins and all that crazy shit in a second and what some of the research issues were says. But I think it is a really helpful exercise and I think we use the calendar changing is the excuse to do it, and I'm fine with that.


Alexa

I think humans need to do this stuff regularly. Anyway, to take a second to look at what you've been doing, look at maybe how that's different from where you want to be or think you want to be. I don't believe in shooting all over yourself, but just to take a minute and say, Where am I actually and where do I think I can get in a defined amount of time?


Alexa

And so I think that's a really healthy thing for people. I don't really believe in resolutions. Like I don't think all of a sudden you're going to wake up tomorrow and do the things you want to do to be a perfect human because it's January 1st you have to do everything for a two degrees of time. And we'll talk a little bit more about that in a second.


Alexa

But I do think it's a helpful exercise. I like the people do it. And I'm curious what are some of the before we sort of go into more of the research and some of our goals and how to do this stuff at work, what are some of the habits or goals that you tend to do or set goals around every year?


Alexa

So for me, it's like, you know, I usually set a goal around travel. I usually set a goal around finance. I obviously have goals for our business. Sometimes I set goals around relationships. What are other things that people set goals around?


Tyson

Well, I think I do a lot of the same. Yeah, fitness. I think one thing that I've been trying to focus a little bit more on is this idea of like keeping my shit together, like, you know what I mean? Like, how can I keep.


Alexa

My shit together?


Tyson

Keep my like, I'm in a stage of my life where I have a very busy job. I have all these, like, you know, extras that I do on top of my job. I have a young daughter, I have a husband. And, you know, it's very easy for that stuff to, like, get to be a lot. Right. And I think the biggest thing for me is like keeping like my my mind, right?


Tyson

Doing that. So again, I mentioned that I tried.


Alexa

Remembering that that's enough.


Tyson

Right? And like sometimes just like, you know, laughing at yourself for being in stupid situations and like just like being down to earth about like, you know, not getting, like, overly attached to something at work or letting it, like, take away from like the time that I'm having with my daughter. So it's really about this, like, idea of just, like, protecting my mind the way that I would like protect, like my body and like my health and my family.


Tyson

So that's like a big thing for me is just like my mental health, I guess is what I'm saying. I'm also as being a mom. Like, I want to make sure that I'm doing everything that I can with like to support my daughter and to to help her being a wife. You know, that's usually a one that goes to the bottom of my list.


Tyson

Of tattoos. But yeah, so like those are some of like the personal things, but then also from like, you know, a business standpoint as well. Like, we've got the podcast each hour shook as well. As my day job. So I set goals around all of those things and not, not goals, but after is it affirmation? Is that the word I'm looking?


Tyson

Not affirmation. What's the word when you like put it out into the world so that you get it right now? Maybe it's an affirmation anyways. I don't know. I'm putting out all the good juju into the world. So that I can achieve the great things.


Alexa

Okay, well, so that's a little different than goal setting, but we're going to talk about that in a second. So I do like the idea of using the framework of like, what do I want to be? What do I want to accomplish as a wife? What do I want accomplished sister? What do I want accomplished as a coworker?


Alexa

What I would accomplish as a manager? That's a really good framework versus just like I want to save a bu