What do you  really want? 

This seems a simple question.  But it is surprisingly hard to answer honestly.  

We mean YOU.  Not what your firm wants, not what your peers are chasing, not what you thought you wanted when you started law school.  What do you want now in this moment of your life? 

In coaching, we often meet clients who are chasing goals that were really meaningful to them at one point of their life.  Perhaps it was getting a certain promotion or making partner by a certain age.  

Have you taken the time to reflect about what is most important to you? 

If you don't know the answer to that question, you might find yourself setting the wrong goals. 

Goals that are not aligned to your real values, your ambition and what you really seek - and need - to thrive.  

The importance of Fuzzy goals 

When you know what is important to you, you know what fuzzy goals to set.  These are the goals that are the broad value driven aspirations that live on the top of our goals hierarchy. They are directional in nature.  

The sort of high level visioning that comes with setting fuzzy goals is a core part of creating sustainable success that mirrors your best self.  The version of yourself - as a lawyer, as a human - that feels grounded, energised and aligned with most most important to you.  

In my own life, my awareness of and fostering of my most important values (learning, service, connection with others) enabled me to slowly - over time - create new interests and fuzzy goals that led me to leave my practice as a government lawyer, join a new model law firm where I work remotely and part-time and begin to foster a portfolio career, as I trained (and continue to train) as a coach, and study a Masters of Science in Coaching Psychology and create alongside Carla the Thriving Lawyer. 

It has been a lot!

But it has allowed me to live my values in action and continue to grow and learn in ways that I could never have imagined even five years ago. I can't wait to see what the next five years brings! 

Why Reflective Practice Matters 

A crucial part of this process has been engaging in reflection.  And recently, we've been exploring a more formalised process for reflective practice (see our recent blogs on Reflective Practice).  

Reflective practice allows you to evaluate your progress and recalibrate your strategies. Taking time to reflect helps you stay connected to what truly matters, encouraging growth in both professional performance and personal satisfaction.

As Carla talked about in the podcast episode, engaging in reflective practice is not about criticism but about creating opportunities for learning and improvement. This mindset shift is crucial for combating the perfectionism that often plagues the legal profession.

Experimentation: The Flexibility You Need

Once you know your fuzzy goal(s) and then start to think about more short term actions or goals to move towards your fuzzy goals, considering your goals with a spirit of experimentation can make all the difference.  It provides space for a spirit of curiosity and adaptability.

Challenges may be viewed as opportunities to test new strategies and adjust your path as needed.

For example, if a weekly goal doesn’t fit due to an unexpectedly busy schedule, adapt it rather than abandon it.

Reimagining failure as a source of data rather than a reflection of self-worth overturns traditional notions of success and perfectionism. This approach supports a more flexible and compassionate strategy to achieving your goals.

Taking Action

Once you are ready to take action, and being mindful of where you are in the change process (see our recent blog on change readiness), it is useful when setting experiments to consider the insights of self-determination theory. 

What actions might you take to support your autonomy, competence and relatedness with others? 

For example, perhaps the element of community/connectedness is what you need to focus on most to achieve a goal.  

Your challenge 

Take time, revisit what's most important to you. Think about those values.

What's the vision that you have?

If you're not sure, how might you find out? Check where you are in that stages of change. Are you just beginning or are you someone that's had that vision pretty clear for a while and now you are looking at how to take some big action steps?

Perhaps you're well on the way and you're just trying to maintain it, but know where you are in that stage so that you can pick the appropriate strategies and then try one small experiment that aligns with your idea of who you are as your best self and then reflect.

Take that time. It could only be a few minutes. 

Just make sure you make the space.