Most goal setting begins in the wrong place. We rush to numbers—$100,000, one home a month, “learn more”—and then wonder why the energy fades by February. The problem isn’t motivation. It’s sequence. Goals are step four. The first three steps are Big Why, Mission, and Vision.

Start with your Big Why (the soil).
Your Why is the emotional foundation. It’s the reason a setback stings and a win matters. “Family” is a beginning, not a destination. What about family? College tuition for your twins? Retiring your parents? Buying the lake cabin where you host every holiday? The more concrete the picture, the more your brain treats it like a commitment instead of a wish.

Try this: close your eyes and jump five years forward. Where are you? Who’s with you? What changed about your mornings and evenings? Write what you see, hear, and feel. Then refine it into three sentences: (1) What you experience, (2) who benefits, and (3) the defining moment that proves it matters. If your Why doesn’t move you, it’s not specific enough.

Define your Mission (the building).
Mission is why you exist—not a task list. It should be big enough to outlive a single quarterly target. Use this formula:
“The mission for my life is to [do something I’m passionate about] by [method] using my [unique gift/skill].”
Maybe it sounds like: “To empower families to find belonging by guiding them home using my calm coaching and systems.” Or: “To help entrepreneurs do more than they thought possible by installing clarity and simple processes.” Notice how a Mission isn’t married to a job title; it travels with you as seasons change.

Picture your Vision (the impact).
Vision is your mission in motion—the effect on the world when you’re doing the work. If an orphanage’s Mission is providing safe shelter, the Vision is graduates who become thriving adults, perhaps opening orphanages of their own. Your Vision answers, “Whose life is different because I show up, and how will we know?”

Now earn your numbers.
Only after Why→Mission→Vision do we set goals. A teacher whose Vision is 100 confident readers can choose a tutoring goal like “25 students per quarter,” a cadence that ladders directly into the impact. When motivation dips, reconnect to the Why and Vision; numbers make sense again.

Put it together this week:

1. Write your Why in vivid detail.
2. Draft your Mission with the formula.
3. Describe your Vision in outcomes anyone could observe.
4. Translate Vision into one measurable goal you can celebrate—then design your plan.

You don’t need more discipline; you need more clarity. Clarity fuels commitment. When your goals stand on the soil of a compelling Why, housed in a sturdy Mission, and aimed at a living Vision, inaction becomes impossible.

You don’t need more discipline—you need more clarity. Clarity fuels commitment.