Focus on the Goal, Not the Problem

Focus on the goal ahead of you

Want to try this at home? No worries! Download a copy of our SMART Goals PDF Worksheet.

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What are you focusing on?

When I first meet with clients, they tend to want to focus on their current state (or the organization’s) and specific challenges. They want to vent. Sometimes venting helps them decompress, but too much venting can result in defeatism and paradigm paralysis. They visualize former failures and predict future ones. They get caught in what Daniel Kahnema calls System 1 thinking: fast, instinctive, and emotional.

Need some in depth help with goal settings, motivation or productivity ? Drop on by our directories choc full of productivity coaches, accountability coaches, and goal-setting coaches, and start reaching those goals! Or click here to have us match you to the best.

My first goal as a coach is to establish the client’s goal. Seeking a goal creates an active mindset and an optimistic vision for the future. It produces System 2 thinking: slower, more deliberate, and logical.

Questions to Ask when Goal Seeking

• What is the ideal future state?
• What would you like more of and less of?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• What does winning look like to you?
• What provides you meaning?
• What provides you happiness?

Naturally, clients don’t always jump into a super-positive state and stay there. They can slip back into old ruts. They may ask, “Why do I keep getting into these situations?” When they do, I encourage them to reframe the question and ask instead, “How might I accomplish X goal?”

Shifting the question dramatically shifts the answer. It puts the focus on the goal, not the problem.

The New Year as a Natural Reset Point

The transition into a new year gives clients a psychological “fresh start effect.” Research shows that temporal milestones—birthdays, Mondays, new months, and especially New Year’s—create a sense of separation between the “old self” and a “clean slate” version of the future self. This is why January feels like such a strong moment for change. People believe they can leave old patterns behind and step into a more intentional identity.

As a coach, I help clients harness this reset without relying on the quick rush of New Year motivation. Instead of saying, “This year will be different,” we translate that energy into clarity: “What do you want this year to stand for?” The New Year becomes a doorway, not a deadline—an entry point into more grounded, sustainable goal-focused thinking.

Reframing the Year Ahead Through a Goal-Focused Lens

A goal-focused New Year isn’t about reinventing yourself; it’s about intentionally choosing what you want to move toward. When clients feel discouraged by past setbacks, I invite them to look at the coming year not as a test, but as a canvas. The question is no longer, “What went wrong last year?” but, “What do I want to create this year?”

This reframe encourages clients to:

• Notice strengths they want to build on
• Identify the environments, people, and habits that support their goals
• Let go of past narratives that no longer match the future they’re working toward

The more they practice this mindset, the more the year ahead becomes a landscape of possibilities rather than a list of pressures. They start approaching challenges with curiosity instead of frustration, and their goals become guiding stars rather than obligations.

Want to try this at home? No worries! Download a copy of our SMART Goals PDF Worksheet.

Need some in depth help with goal settings, motivation or productivity ? Drop on by our directories choc full of productivity coaches, accountability coaches, and goal-setting coaches, and start reaching those goals! Or click here to have us match you to the best.