What’s Goal Setting, and Why Is It Important for Military Wives?

You’ve probably heard that setting S.M.A.R.T. goals is the key to accomplishing big things. But what’s goal setting, really? And why is it so important for military wives to set and achieve goals? While there are numerous goal-setting exercises and strategies, the power it setting goals is knowing this: You don’t need to accomplish a goal to feel how you want to feel; you can feel that way now. 

Working on goals from a place of want rather than need is one of the best goal-setting strategies because it creates more sustainable progress. Not only will you see better results with this approach, but you’ll likely enjoy the process more. So, what does goal setting mean? Let’s dive into this topic and explore goal setting for military wives, so you can shift your mindset to accomplish big things.

What’s Goal Setting for Military Wifes and Why is it Important?

First things first: what does goal setting mean? Whether you’re a newlywed military spouse or a seasoned veteran, it’s valuable to make goal setting an integral part of your life. After all, your husband is in the military, which means your life will always be in flux. By taking steps to goal setting, you can help bring some stability into your routine. Setting and working toward goals provides a sense of purpose and direction, which can be hard to come by when your life is constantly changing.

It’s also nice to have something to work toward and focus on while your spouse is on months or year-long deployments. By choosing a few things you want to change, improve, or accomplish, you can take control of certain aspects and thrive during deployment and beyond. As you start to uncover what it looks like to set goals and achieve them, consider these six truths of goal setting for military wives. They can drastically improve your deployment plan and keep you moving toward all you want to accomplish.

Truth: You Can’t Really Change Something Unless You Love It

Working on changing something from a place of love and acceptance is way more productive than from a place of unacceptance and dislike. It changes everything about the goal-setting process. It also influences how you go about achieving your goals and your experience during the journey. Working on achieving your goals can actually be fun and enjoyable when you adjust your mindset and approach the thing you want to change with love. And when you enjoy the process, the change becomes sustainable. 

Truth: Your Expectations for Yourself and Your Results Matter

It’s essential to give yourself permission to have appropriate expectations for yourself and the results you’re trying to create while taking steps for goal setting. A key aspect of goal setting for military wives is choosing realistic goals. This doesn’t mean your goals need to be small, but they do need to be practical for the time, energy, and mind space you have available. This is especially true when developing your deployment plan. You can get SO much done and accomplished if you have realistic expectations and are kind to yourself when things don’t go exactly as planned (because, let’s be honest, do they ever?!).

Truth: You are Worthy of Keeping Your Commitment to Yourself

Working on goals is such a valuable endeavor because we learn how to make commitments and be accountable to ourselves. How many times have you said you would prioritize self-care or set aside 20 minutes a day to work out? And how many times have you broken that commitment to yourself? We’ve all been there. But now is the time to start keeping your commitments to yourself–you are worthy and deserving of your word. When you begin to do this, you’ll gain faith and confidence in yourself, which feels amazing and helps you continue the pattern in other areas of your life.

Truth: B-Minus Work that Gets Done is Better than Perfect Work that Doesn’t 

When it comes to achieving your goals, learning to be happy with moving forward with results that are anywhere from B-minus and up is essential. Too often, we can let an “if I can’t do it perfectly, I won’t do it at all” mindset hold us back. Or, we waste time getting everything to an A-plus level because it’s the only way we feel good about ourselves. I used to experience this. Now, my goal is to do A+ work, but I’m thrilled with B- and up. This mindset shift has made goal setting as a military wife so much easier and way more enjoyable. It results in massive action vs. passive action that leads me closer to my desired outcome daily.

You can learn more about this idea in the Simply Resilient Podcast Episode 3 – B Minus Work vs. Perfectionism!

Truth: You Can Enjoy Results Before They Are Reality

Remember as a child how you would enjoy the anticipation of Christmas day all season long? Just the thought of eating cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning while opening your presents kept you motivated to “be good.” Similarly, you can enjoy anticipating the results of a goal today, even if they haven’t happened yet. It starts by knowing that the results will come and having the confidence in yourself to enjoy the results today as you work toward them. Approaching goal-setting strategies with this mindset shift increases the likelihood that you’ll achieve your goals and makes the process of achieving them more enjoyable.

You can learn more about this idea in the Simply Resilient Podcast Episode 18 – Enjoying Results Ahead of Time!

Truth: You are an Amazing Military Wife Who Can Accomplish Big Things

You might just need a little mindset shift to get you started on the right foot. Before I learned how to manage my mind and thoughts, practicing goal-setting exercises was a struggle. It was hard to stay committed to what I wanted to change, and I found myself getting discouraged by unrealistic expectations. This led to me being harsh on myself, which is more discouraging than anything. Now, I love making and achieving my goals because even the process is enjoyable, not just the result.

One of the biggest goals I’m most proud of is starting my military wife life coaching business and podcast during my husband’s last deployment. It is one of the most positive things in my life, and now I get to help military wives like you learn how to set and achieve big goals too! You can read my story and learn about my coaching services to see how I can help.

Want more on the topic of goal setting for military wives? Check out these Simply Resilient Podcast episodes:

• Episode 26 – Protocols
• Episode 41 – Growing Through Challenges
• Episode 51 – Staying Motivated Webinar
• Episode 63 – When You’re Feeling Burned Out
• Episode 92 – Resiliency Training Goals Week 1