January 18, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode, we dive into why plans, goals, and resolutions often fail—and how to overcome those challenges. We introduce the WOOP Framework (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) to help you create a personalized action plan and share practical resources to keep you on track all year long.
We’re also sharing key takeaways from a session we hosted for VEST Members, our peer network of women professionals. You’ll learn effective strategies for planning your goals, setting up systems of accountability, and staying motivated. Plus, we guide you through a powerful exercise to help you visualize your future self and see what’s possible when you start applying these tools. Don’t miss this actionable conversation!
Show Notes
VEST Wheel of Life Assessment
How to Build a VEST Vision Board
Mapping Out Goals using the WOOP Framework
VEST Peer Network
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Connect with the VEST Team and Show Hosts
Erika Lucas, Gaby Eichenlaub, Sarah Soetarjo, Jae Johnson
If you enjoy the episode share it with a friend, leave us a review and don't forget to hit the subscribe button. If you are ready to take your career and business to the next level, apply to join our community of professional women, all eager to help you get there and stay there. Check out our VEST Membership and apply today! www.VESTHer.co
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This week, we hosted an inspiring coaching session
with VEST members to plan for asuccessful 2025.
So, beginning of the year,planning goals, intentions and,
you know, planning out andmapping out achievements that
VEST members want to accomplishin the new year.
During the session, we explorewhy plans, goals and resolutions
(00:22):
often fail.
We also learn about how to mapan individual plan using the
WHIP framework Wish OutcomeObstacle Plan.
We also participated in peerand accountability breakouts and
share valuable resources tohelp us stay on track throughout
the year.
Now, that was a private sessionthat we couldn't bring to you,
(00:42):
so instead we're having thisepisode where we're highlighting
some of the most impactfultakeaways that we couldn't bring
to you.
So instead, we're having thisepisode where we're highlighting
some of the most impactfultakeaways that we all learned or
took away from that lesson orthat session, and we're
encouraging everyone that'stuning in for this particular
episode to head out to our shownotes at wwwvestherco forward
(01:03):
slash podcast.
There you'll find all of theresources that we use during the
session, including step-by-stepincluding a step-by-step guide
to mapping your own goals usingthe WOLF framework.
We also share tips foridentifying your focus areas
using the VestWheel LifeAssessment.
We have a how to Build a VisionBoard and a lot of other
(01:27):
resources.
So definitely head over towwwvestorco forward slash
podcast to access all of those,but for now, let's go ahead and
dive in.
Ladies, what were your biggesttakeaways from the session?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm happy to share.
I was moderating the chat, andsomething that one of our
members mentioned was how shefinds it easier to prioritize
the work habits in her life, andso she accomplishes a lot in
her professional life and shereaches a ton of goals but how
(02:09):
it can be hard to prioritize thehabits that you personally want
to achieve.
And when she said that in thechat, a lot of people chimed in
and said that they struggle withthe same thing, and I think a
lot of us do, and so I foundthat interesting and I think
that it's important for us totry to prioritize ourselves, as
(02:33):
hard as that can be.
We have to be able to fill upour own cup before we take care
of really anything else in ourlives, and as women in the
professional field, we wear manyhats at work and at home, and
so to be able to wear those hatsproperly, we have to be able to
(02:55):
prioritize our personal needs,and I think figuring out ways to
do that is important.
So, whether it's with the WUCP,whether it's SMART goals, I
think it's important to justprioritize ourself so that we
can wear those hats and wearthem well.
You know, I love that.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Yeah, thank you, jay.
Great point, jay.
I think one of the biggesttakeaways I had from the session
was just when we went over whyplans tend to fail right.
So really reflecting on whathas worked and what hasn't
worked in the past, because Ithink it's so easy to just jump
right into a goal.
You know it's the new year, newme like setting resolutions.
(03:39):
It's time to go.
What are you doing?
How are you changing?
And I think it's reallyimportant to take that time to
go.
What are you doing?
How are you changing?
And I think it's reallyimportant to take that time to
reflect on what you've done,what's worked, what hasn't, to
really set yourself up for thegoals, the meaningful goals,
that you want to achieve in theyear, in the month, in life.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Sarah, how about you?
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Sarah, how about you, I think, just adding on to
Gabby's point in terms oflearning from what you've done
previously um, I think so often,when we don't accomplish
something in a day, we just giveup, um, and I feel like that
shouldn't be the case.
You know, know, it's like you.
(04:25):
Okay, this day I didn't get todo it, but we'll start again
tomorrow and just continuing andgiving yourself more grace,
because it's 365 days to a year,a long time.
So you know, you still have 365days to get yourself back up
and continue doing what you needto do.
(04:45):
So I think, yeah, more grace.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, and it's easy, right when it's easy to fall
into cynicism.
That's how I find myself, likefeeling cynic about resolutions
or like, oh my gosh, it's justanother year or whatever.
But in the reality, most of usthat are feeling that way, it's
because we feel depleted andmaybe burned out.
And then you actually do takethe time to do all of this
(05:09):
planning and mapping outresources and figuring out
systems that are going to helpyou, keep you accountable.
I think helps a lot with thatand helps a lot with, like you
said, giving yourself grace whenthings don't pan out the way
you plan them.
And it doesn't mean that youhave to quit, it just means that
you hit a bump and you wouldnever you know, never tell your
(05:31):
friends or other best members ohmy gosh, you suck.
You know you failed today.
You would.
You would just give them graceand say try again tomorrow.
So we need to treat, we need tohave that same kindness with
ourselves as well.
Well, what about youindividually?
What are some of the challengesthat you personally face when
you're planning out for the yearand how do you overcome them?
(05:52):
Anyone?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I think for me it's that overwhelm of wanting to fix
so many different areas in mylife and not really prioritizing
the right one, so gettingoverwhelmed with too many
options and then not being ableto find a solid plan for any of
them.
So then it just kind of feelslike nothing is working.
(06:17):
But it's really because Ididn't take the time to
prioritize what I wanted to do.
I just kind of was like asquirrel where it's like over
here, over here, over here.
So that's something that I'vereally been focusing on this
year too is just taking the timeagain to reflect, taking the
time to prioritize and thenmoving on to the next important
(06:39):
step, which is planning outright.
So what are what are my firststeps?
Um, and not looking for me,specifically, not looking too
far ahead, because then it getsagain a little bit more
overwhelmed, and just planningout my first steps.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Love that Sarah.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I can really um, oh sorry, Sarah, no, you go ahead.
I can relate with what Gabbysaid of feeling overwhelmed and
there's a lot of pressure.
I think kind of what you weresaying, erica, about the new
year and like how are you goingto be new and how are you going
to be different, and I think itcan create like anxiety almost
(07:21):
sometimes, even though, but youhave to look at it in a certain
light for it to not be, uh,filled with anxiety.
And I think to help combat thatfeeling is just talking to
people that you really trust, um, and that know your best
interest at heart, andexplaining kind of the things
that you want to change and arewilling to change, and getting
(07:47):
out of your head, you know,because it can feel overwhelming
and you can list off you know10 things you want to change,
but it can feel, you know it canfeel lonely at times.
So I think being around peoplethat you trust and love and who
love you back that can help youwalk through those processes are
a really good idea too, becausewe definitely don't have to be
(08:09):
alone when doing all this either.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
So I also love that some of the members share.
You know, for this year my goalis to rest.
It's to not always be on thisconstant achievement and
go-getting mode, and that's okaytoo.
That can be a goal right, likefirst assessing, maybe, what you
(08:31):
need to let go this year, and Ilove that a lot of members
share that.
And it has to do with you know,if you're feeling overwhelmed
and tired and you just need torefresh and maybe focus on other
areas of your life that don'tnecessarily have to do with work
, it's totally fine.
So I love that.
Thanks for sharing, sarah,anything from you.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Just to add to what you were just saying, I feel
like we are so conditioned tothinking that resting is not
productive.
You know, know, like you're notlike this guilt that you feel
for just taking some time offand resting is so productive
right it is.
It is something that is you'reworking on it.
You're working on re-energizing, recharging, so just sort of
(09:19):
changing your mindset tothinking that way when you are
taking a rest.
So I think that's somethingthat I'm definitely going to
work on this year.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
I took my first nap of 2025.
I talked about that during thesession and I actually did it
yesterday.
For some reason, my energy wasjust gone after, like, I think,
1pm yesterday and you're right,sarah, I feel guilty because
there's so much to do, but Iliterally just had no energy and
just had to go and take a napand I felt guilty, but then I
(09:52):
also felt great and today I wasready to go and pick back up.
So love that A lot of ourmembers share unique approaches
some of their unique approach tokeeping themselves accountable
throughout the year.
What strategies maybe stood outto you that some members share,
or what strategies do you useto keep yourself accountable
(10:14):
throughout the year?
Sure?
Speaker 3 (10:17):
I think, picking back on what, jay, you said earlier
about finding someone you trust,I was super energized after our
session on Wednesday and Ithink it is that having a
trusted group where we'resharing and we're communicating
to each other right is like youfirst have to be vulnerable
(10:39):
enough to share your goal withsomeone else, and so I'm so glad
that so many of the members didshare their goals, but also
their tips and tricks and justhow they deal with things.
I think that informationsharing has been super valuable
and just re-energizing,especially during this
overwhelming year again the newyear.
(11:01):
Just re-energizing, especiallyduring this overwhelming year
again the new year, new meseason Not just in our session
but also in our chats withmembers throughout this month.
Again, they've just shared somuch and it's just re-energized.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
And it re-energizes a lot Like I love.
I think one of our Rachel, oneof our members share.
She wasn't able to attend thesession but she shared on the
chat how her morning routine.
Just seeing that, for me it waslike, oh my God, because it's
real right, like we read so muchonline about, like what you
should do at the beginning, andI don't know about you guys, but
(11:34):
for me it just doesn't feellike.
It just feels too, I don't know, not practical, and I just love
hearing all the practical waysin which you know all the VAS
members were managing andnavigating life and work so well
.
Gabby, I want to turn it over toyou.
(11:56):
You facilitated most of thesession and kind of guided us
through the two exercise.
The two exercises and in yourrecent, I know you did a lot of
research to kind of, you know,go over what gets in the way of
people achieving their goals.
What are some of the ways inwhich you can hack your habits
and and keep yourselfaccountable?
(12:16):
What was one key insight aboutwhy people often fail that you
found very interesting?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
I think for me, it was that accountability part of
it, right.
One of the things that weshared with members and on our
social media was that 42% thatjust by writing down your goal,
you increase your chances ofachieving it by 42% right?
(12:48):
I know we also had a sessionwith another best coach where
she talked about accountability,right, and creating those
systems and how the more youwent through the accountability
steps, the more likely you wereto achieve your goals, right.
So it's just that aspect ofagain being vulnerable enough to
(13:13):
really sit down and think aboutyour goals and you know what is
important being vulnerableenough to share that, whether
it's on paper, on pen, in person, with someone else, right,
talking about it, talking aboutit just once, right, explaining
that.
And then the accountability partof like, okay, we're going to
(13:33):
do check-ins, we're going totalk about this and we're going
to see where we are, not in ashaming way, right, but just in
a what can we do better?
What?
What worked, what didn't workagain, that reflection aspect of
it, um.
So I think I think that'ssomething, um, that can get
missed, right.
You, you think about your goalsand you think about what am I
(13:55):
doing, how am I supposed to doit um, what is my plan?
But then that actual sharingaspect of it gets lost.
So you bring someone along withyou on your journey and you
learn from them as they sharetips and tricks, and you keep
each other accountable bycontinuing to do it together,
right?
So I think that's a.
(14:16):
That was super eye-opening forme.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Yeah, love that.
Jay, you mentioned during thesession that you and your
husband he's reading the bookbut also bringing you along and
kind of together.
You guys are implementing someof the strategies in the Atomic
Habits book that a lot ofmembers actually commented that
(14:43):
they are also.
They've either already read,some have implemented in it, but
overall everybody loves thatbook.
Um, but you specifically talkedabout habit, uh, stacking.
Can you break down how you'reusing that habit stacking?
Uh?
How does, how does that looklike for you?
Or what are you?
Um, are you and Noah thinkingabout in terms of implementing
(15:04):
that in this new year?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah.
So habit stacking has beenreally helpful for me because it
kind of takes away thatoverwhelming aspect of reaching
a goal by breaking it down intosmall habits that feel easier to
implement in your day-to-daylife.
You know, like Gabby and I weretalking about, you sit down and
you're like okay, here's thethings I want to change, here's
(15:29):
the goal I want to hit, but whoa, like there's a lot of steps to
get there and this feelsoverwhelming.
So, um, looking at how your youknow your day-to-day life
already is, what habits do youalready have implemented?
Um, and talking about morningroutines, that's where I'm
trying to implement my goodhabits.
So what do we do every morning?
(15:49):
I, I brush my teeth everymorning and I wash my face every
morning.
So writing those uh, having aset habit that you can build off
of, is essentially what habitstacking is.
So after I brush my teeth andwash my face, then I'm going to
read my book for 10 to 20minutes.
(16:10):
So reading in the morning,that's a habit that I would like
to stack on to my alreadyhabits that I'm already doing,
habits I'm already doing.
After I do the reading, thenI'm going to have a nice protein
filled breakfast to help myenergy levels and then, after I
have my protein breakfast, thenI'll have my vitamins, which
(16:31):
will also help my energy levels,and that's something that I am
trying to work on and that'skind of my goal is to have more
energy.
And, um, I think, like we'retalking about Erica, morning
routines can like, when you readabout them, they can feel so
practical or impractical andyou're like I don't know if I'm
(16:52):
going to be able to stick tothat, cause it sounds a little
like I just kind of want tostart my day.
But really, when you slow downand you take your time, it can
make your day flow better.
And you have this more.
You have this sense of, youknow, natural energy just from
taking care of yourself in themorning.
(17:13):
And that's essentially whathabit stacking is is taking your
habits that you've already doneand adding a couple every day
that that um is reaching towardsyour goals.
So for me, it's, you know, it'sreading, um, my book for 20
minutes and then eating a reallygreat breakfast and taking my
vitamins, and those threestackable habits alone are
(17:35):
helping me feel more energizedthroughout the day, which is
which is what I've been wanting.
So, um, yeah, it's been reallycool to, to, to not specifically
read that book, but to learnfrom from Noah and get some
great advice and um, it's beenreally helpful.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Yeah, and I love that .
Um, even before, you talkedabout, uh, stacking habits.
Um, actually, sarah, you talkedabout how one of your goals is
doing eight to 10,000 steps butalso spending more time
intentionally with your kids,and so now you go on walks but
take your kids.
I mean, that's a form ofstacking right, like you're
spending more time with thekiddos but then you're also
(18:15):
taking them out for a walk toachieve your step count.
And I haven't read the bookrecently, but, if I remember, I
think part of the benefits ofstacking goals is also to make
it uber obvious, right, becausethe more obvious that it is, the
more disciplined you're likelyto be right, like it's part of
building a system ofaccountability.
(18:36):
It's like, just make it obviousso that you don't miss it and
you don't even question.
It's no longer a decisionbecause you've already decided
I'm going to brush my teeth andthen I'm going to read my book
and then I'm going to take myvitamins.
It's not.
You don't have to add energy toyour brain to make a decision,
or what should I read my?
Know you're?
That's just what you're goingto do and you're just going to
(18:57):
stack things and make it easier.
Same with you, sarah, and yoursteps and spending time with
your babies, so I love that.
Another question that I have,sarah and Gabby, particularly
for you, because you know wetalk about this all the time.
I mean, as a society, womenstill bear most of the
(19:19):
caregiving responsibility,household management, chores,
etc.
And I know that it'sparticularly harder when you
have small little ones at home,which both of you have.
So just curious as to maybesome tips that you can share
(19:41):
with us in how you're bothbalancing work and raising
children.
Do you have a specific approachin setting realistic goals for
the year while you're stillmanaging home and professional
responsibilities?
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Yeah, I think for me, when you're in this season of
life, so much of what you canachieve really depends on your
support system.
So my approach, at least thisyear, when I set my goal, was to
work on it with my husband andvice versa, so we would set
individual goals and then whatour goal is as a family, so we
(20:17):
can both understand what isneeded to support one another to
be able to succeed, making itrealistic.
And then another thing is justto break down my goals into
smaller, actionable steps thatyou can incorporate into your
daily routine so that it doesn'tget lost, and then they
essentially become habits.
(20:38):
So it's not your point, erica,it's not given a decision Like
that's just something that youdo.
You go and watch, that's whatwe do, so we'll see how it goes.
I found it quite useful.
So far, so far, so good.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Good, I love what you said in terms of that season of
life, because I have an eightand an almost four year old and
I feel like every every year isa little different.
And I was at the beginning ofthis year when we were talking
about my husband and I weretalking about our goals.
We were just kind of reflectingon last year and at this stage
(21:20):
my eight-year-old is very muchinto sports and last year we
were like inundated with sportsand afterschool activities, and
even for my three-year-old aswell.
So daycare events and schoolevents, and it gets so easy, you
know, you think toddler stage,baby stage, like it's all about
the children.
But you can also carry thatinto like their later stages as
(21:44):
well, and I love attending thosegames and I love attending
those school sessions and youknow, after school activities.
But just looking back on it,like we really didn't prioritize
ourselves, we didn't prioritizeour needs and goals, and so
there was definitely a lot of uhburnout on on our end.
So really taking the time to uhfigure out like what do we want
(22:08):
to do, not what do we have to do, but what do we want to do and
how do we want to take care ofourselves and you know what do
we want to achieve and where dowe want to go this year.
So really like asking ourselvesthis question upfront, versus
kind of reflecting at the end ofthe year when it's already
happened and you realize thatthe whole year has passed and
you haven't really done what youwanted to do.
(22:30):
So that I think that was areally great talk that we had at
the beginning of this year.
And then, as far as tool, Ihonestly like live by a calendar
, just like being able to writeeverything down and seeing what
the month looks like, how itgets filled out.
Is it too crazy?
Is it too?
I guess, even this year?
(22:51):
Is it too kid activity filled?
And is there time to prioritizemyself, my relationship, my
hobbies, things that I want toget into this year?
Speaker 1 (23:04):
So yeah, I love that and yeah, I think obviously all
of us work together.
So all of us have seen Gabby'sorganizing skills in her
calendar.
You know, mega mapping plans.
So definitely, gabby, we'veexperienced it firsthand how you
(23:24):
work and how you think.
And another thing that I lovehere is that everybody kind of
seems like to make the time todiscuss and plan their goals
with their significant other.
That's great, because I dothink it's important having that
.
You know, I love, love, sarah,how you started answering the
(23:48):
question of balancing by sayingit depends on the support system
that you have.
You know, and I think that allof us four here are very
privileged that we are in ahealthy relationship where we do
have that support system, andwe also want to recognize that
not everybody has that right andnot everybody has that in a
romantic relationship and or afamily support system or even a
friend support system and acommunity support system.
(24:09):
Those of us that have executiveboards, you know, or boards
that we have to report to and wehave to report to on a monthly
basis or quarterly basis orannual basis, we know that it
works.
We may not like it, you know,getting ready for those
(24:31):
stakeholder meetings and doingall of that, but at the end of
the day, it does work because wemeasure right Is it working?
Is it not working, what do weneed, what do we not need?
So it just helps in such a insuch a way.
So I always encourage everyonethat you know you need your own
advisory board.
If you don't have one, and evenif you do have one for work,
(24:52):
you need a personal one, right?
Somebody that can kind of helpyou assess how you're doing life
in your own terms.
So, just, I don't know.
I think that we are veryprivileged and that I also
discuss my goals with Chris andhow we did the previous years
with our financials, with ourpersonal goals, with our
business goals, but alsorecognizing that not everybody
(25:15):
has that.
And so if you don't have that,it's even more important that
you find yourself a supportsystem to be there for you, and
it can be friends, it can befamily, it can be, you know, if
you don't have that right now,maybe joining a peer group it
doesn't have to be best, but ofcourse we would love to have you
invest.
So if you're thinking abouthaving a support system, please
(25:36):
do check out our peer group andwe would welcome you with open
arms.
Before we close and we turn itover to having like a segment
for listeners to do their ownplanning and exercise, I want to
ask all of you anything elsethat you want to share from this
(25:58):
week's session and this and forthis episode that might be
super helpful for this.
Those listening.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I think, something that we've touched on a few
times and that's reallyimportant.
It's just.
I just want to talk about restagain, because I think it's so
important and I think we havesuch a hard time, um, with
feeling okay about it, um.
But I think, just to kind ofsimplify it down in a way that
(26:29):
we can try to not feel so guiltyis, if you are feeling
physically, mentally,emotionally, like you need to
rest, then I think, just trustyour body, and I think it's just
as simple as that, and I don'tthink I think we can.
If we just really focus on that,then maybe we can take away
(26:50):
some of the guilt because, um, Ithink we should always trust
our, not only our instincts andour gut, but also our body, um
and uh, our body is ouremotional and mental state as
well, and so, even if you aren'tphysically tired and you're
like, well, I didn't even moveenough today, well, you might
have done a lot of other mentalwork that you're not even aware
(27:14):
of yet.
So I think, when it comes torest and taking naps and taking
that time for yourself to try totake away some of the guilt if
your body or your mind istelling you that you're just
tired.
I think that's all thepermission that you need.
So I would just encourage allof us to really just trust
(27:35):
ourselves and our bodies, that'sanother book.
What's it called?
The Body Keeps the Score.
I've heard really good thingsabout that book I want to read,
but I think it's basically aboutthat, like trusting your body
and and what it tells you.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
So let's put it on the, let's put it on the show
notes.
Uh, if members want to check itout as well.
Listeners.
Sarah Gabby, what about youguys?
Speaker 3 (28:03):
I think for me, a standout thing, a takeaway from
the session, was definitely totake the time to not only
reflect on what's important, butthen also to reflect on those
small wins.
I think it's so easy to focuson the big overarching goal and
it can seem so far away, but asyou look back you tend to forget
(28:26):
how far you've come from whenyou started.
So, not only taking the time toreflect, but also taking the
time to really celebrate thosesmall wins, to celebrate
progress over perfection I thinkI'm undiagnosed perfectionist,
self-diagnosed perfectionist,and so really taking the time to
think it may not be perfect,but it's done, or you know, look
(28:51):
how far I've come I think it'ssuper important.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Absolutely love that.
I was going to say somethingvery similar to Gabby, I think
I'm.
I focus on the, on justachieving being perfect.
But you know you tend to giveup on the goals once you make a
small mistake.
But to my point earlier, it's365 days in a year.
You know your work in progress.
(29:15):
Celebrate the small win.
So small, small steps.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Yeah, and you know that saying perfection and
growth can't coexist, right?
So it's about giving ourselvesthe grace to be imperfect and
also realizing the beauty ofbeing imperfect is that there's
always room for growth andlearning opportunities.
Well, with that, you know, wewant to turn it over to the
listeners that are taking thetime to listen to this episode
(29:44):
or watching this on YouTube.
However, you're consuming thiscontent, one of the most
powerful exercises that weactually had Vast members
complete during the session wasto envision their future self,
right, imagining let's.
Often, especially as women,it's very easy for us to think
about what if things don't workout?
What if things go south?
(30:06):
But what if things go right?
Right Like.
We often tend to go throughthat trail of negativity and
fail to think well, what ifeverything works?
What if we achieve everythingthat we set out to in the next
year?
What would that future selflook like?
And so we ask them to reflecton that Right Like.
(30:27):
Imagine yourself a year fromnow having achieved everything
you set out to.
What does it feel like?
What are you doing?
Who are you spending time with?
And then we ask them to reflectwhat needs to change today in
order for you to become thatversion of yourself, and so it
was a very powerful exercise.
We received a lot of goodfeedback from the members that
(30:49):
participated, and we want to nowinvite those of you listening
to do the same.
Take a moment to imagineyourself a year from now and
everything that you set out toaccomplish.
Imagine that you've realized.
What does your future self looklike?
You know what again.
Where are you?
What are you doing?
Again, where are you?
What are you doing?
Who are you with?
(31:09):
How does it feel like?
How are you spending your dayWith whom?
And once you picture yourselfdoing that, take a step back and
reflect on the changes thatneed to happen again.
So, what habits need to change?
Are there any unproductivepatterns holding you back?
Relationships holding you back?
What relationships need toshift?
(31:33):
Who in your circle is actuallysupporting your growth and who
might be getting in the way ofyou becoming that future self?
And then be real about whatsystems you need to implement
right.
How are you going to keepyourself accountable?
How are you going to make thosesystems obvious, actionable and
sustainable over time, so thatyou can stay consistent?
(31:54):
Take the minute to do that, andif you are one of we had a lot
of members that are strugglingwith like even identifying where
to focus their energy becausethey can't feel overwhelmed, as
you guys mentioned.
So we also put together theVest Wheel of Life Assessment
and the toolkit that I mentioned.
So, again, you can go towwwvestorco forward slash
(32:18):
podcast and click on thisepisode and in the show notes
you'll see all of the tools thatwe provided, including this
Vest Wheel of Life Assessment.
This tool will help youevaluate the areas in your life,
whether it's personal,professional or beyond, and
pinpoint where you might needmore attention on improvement.
This is, if you don't knowwhere to start, if you don't
(32:40):
know where to focus, if you arejust feeling overwhelmed.
I really suggest that you takethe time to do this exercise.
This is another thing that,sarah, you mentioned.
You actually did with yourhusband and it was pretty
similar.
So that's fun too.
You can maybe do it with aloved one or with friends.
Get together with friends anddo that, yeah.
(33:00):
So again, wwwvestorco forwardslash podcast and you can access
.
Click on the episode and you'llbe able to access all of the
show notes.
And finally, just remember thatnavigating life, building habits
and staying accountable is hardwork.
It's not something that we'remeant to do alone.
You know this whole myth ofmeritocracy that you're supposed
to do all of this.
(33:21):
Keep your head down, work hardand things will come to you.
It just ends up.
Even if you do achieve, likemany of us have, and whether
it's corporate America orwhatever your profession is, we
end up feeling very lonely.
So this is where community isreally important, and having a
support system is very importantAgain.
(33:43):
Whether it's VAST or anotherpeer community, it can make all
of the difference.
So be sure that you look forthat.
If you don't already have agroup of like-minded individuals
that can provide youencouragement, accountability
and support, be sure to look forone this year.
Make it, maybe make it one ofyour goals.
Thank you so much for listening.
(34:04):
If you enjoy the episode, sharewith the front and don't forget
to leave us a review, as itenables us to reach even more
women.
No-transcript.
Speaker 5 (43:45):
And if you're ready to take your career to the next
level, apply to join ourcommunity of professional women,
all eager to help you get thereand stay there.
A review and if you're ready totake your career to the next
level, apply to join ourcommunity of professional women,
all eager to help you get thereand stay there.
Go to wwwvestherco and applytoday.
This week, we hosted an inspiring coaching session
with VEST members to plan for asuccessful 2025.
So, beginning of the year,planning goals, intentions and,
you know, planning out andmapping out achievements that
VEST members want to accomplishin the new year.
During the session, we explorewhy plans, goals and resolutions
(00:22):
often fail.
We also learn about how to mapan individual plan using the
WHIP framework Wish OutcomeObstacle Plan.
We also participated in peerand accountability breakouts and
share valuable resources tohelp us stay on track throughout
the year.
Now, that was a private sessionthat we couldn't bring to you,
(00:42):
so instead we're having thisepisode where we're highlighting
some of the most impactfultakeaways that we couldn't bring
to you.
So instead, we're having thisepisode where we're highlighting
some of the most impactfultakeaways that we all learned or
took away from that lesson orthat session, and we're
encouraging everyone that'stuning in for this particular
episode to head out to our shownotes at wwwvestherco forward
(01:03):
slash podcast.
There you'll find all of theresources that we use during the
session, including step-by-stepincluding a step-by-step guide
to mapping your own goals usingthe WOLF framework.
We also share tips foridentifying your focus areas
using the VestWheel LifeAssessment.
We have a how to Build a VisionBoard and a lot of other
(01:27):
resources.
So definitely head over towwwvestorco forward slash
podcast to access all of those,but for now, let's go ahead and
dive in.
Ladies, what were your biggesttakeaways from the session?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm happy to share.
I was moderating the chat, andsomething that one of our
members mentioned was how shefinds it easier to prioritize
the work habits in her life, andso she accomplishes a lot in
her professional life and shereaches a ton of goals but how
(02:09):
it can be hard to prioritize thehabits that you personally want
to achieve.
And when she said that in thechat, a lot of people chimed in
and said that they struggle withthe same thing, and I think a
lot of us do, and so I foundthat interesting and I think
that it's important for us totry to prioritize ourselves, as
(02:33):
hard as that can be.
We have to be able to fill upour own cup before we take care
of really anything else in ourlives, and as women in the
professional field, we wear manyhats at work and at home, and
so to be able to wear those hatsproperly, we have to be able to
(02:55):
prioritize our personal needs,and I think figuring out ways to
do that is important.
So, whether it's with the WUCP,whether it's SMART goals, I
think it's important to justprioritize ourself so that we
can wear those hats and wearthem well.
You know, I love that.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Yeah, thank you, jay.
Great point, jay.
I think one of the biggesttakeaways I had from the session
was just when we went over whyplans tend to fail right.
So really reflecting on whathas worked and what hasn't
worked in the past, because Ithink it's so easy to just jump
right into a goal.
You know it's the new year, newme like setting resolutions.
(03:39):
It's time to go.
What are you doing?
How are you changing?
And I think it's reallyimportant to take that time to
go.
What are you doing?
How are you changing?
And I think it's reallyimportant to take that time to
reflect on what you've done,what's worked, what hasn't, to
really set yourself up for thegoals, the meaningful goals,
that you want to achieve in theyear, in the month, in life.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Sarah, how about you?
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Sarah, how about you, I think, just adding on to
Gabby's point in terms oflearning from what you've done
previously um, I think so often,when we don't accomplish
something in a day, we just giveup, um, and I feel like that
shouldn't be the case.
You know, know, it's like you.
(04:25):
Okay, this day I didn't get todo it, but we'll start again
tomorrow and just continuing andgiving yourself more grace,
because it's 365 days to a year,a long time.
So you know, you still have 365days to get yourself back up
and continue doing what you needto do.
(04:45):
So I think, yeah, more grace.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, and it's easy, right when it's easy to fall
into cynicism.
That's how I find myself, likefeeling cynic about resolutions
or like, oh my gosh, it's justanother year or whatever.
But in the reality, most of usthat are feeling that way, it's
because we feel depleted andmaybe burned out.
And then you actually do takethe time to do all of this
(05:09):
planning and mapping outresources and figuring out
systems that are going to helpyou, keep you accountable.
I think helps a lot with thatand helps a lot with, like you
said, giving yourself grace whenthings don't pan out the way
you plan them.
And it doesn't mean that youhave to quit, it just means that
you hit a bump and you wouldnever you know, never tell your
(05:31):
friends or other best members ohmy gosh, you suck.
You know you failed today.
You would.
You would just give them graceand say try again tomorrow.
So we need to treat, we need tohave that same kindness with
ourselves as well.
Well, what about youindividually?
What are some of the challengesthat you personally face when
you're planning out for the yearand how do you overcome them?
(05:52):
Anyone?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I think for me it's that overwhelm of wanting to fix
so many different areas in mylife and not really prioritizing
the right one, so gettingoverwhelmed with too many
options and then not being ableto find a solid plan for any of
them.
So then it just kind of feelslike nothing is working.
(06:17):
But it's really because Ididn't take the time to
prioritize what I wanted to do.
I just kind of was like asquirrel where it's like over
here, over here, over here.
So that's something that I'vereally been focusing on this
year too is just taking the timeagain to reflect, taking the
time to prioritize and thenmoving on to the next important
(06:39):
step, which is planning outright.
So what are what are my firststeps?
Um, and not looking for me,specifically, not looking too
far ahead, because then it getsagain a little bit more
overwhelmed, and just planningout my first steps.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Love that Sarah.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I can really um, oh sorry, Sarah, no, you go ahead.
I can relate with what Gabbysaid of feeling overwhelmed and
there's a lot of pressure.
I think kind of what you weresaying, erica, about the new
year and like how are you goingto be new and how are you going
to be different, and I think itcan create like anxiety almost
(07:21):
sometimes, even though, but youhave to look at it in a certain
light for it to not be, uh,filled with anxiety.
And I think to help combat thatfeeling is just talking to
people that you really trust, um, and that know your best
interest at heart, andexplaining kind of the things
that you want to change and arewilling to change, and getting
(07:47):
out of your head, you know,because it can feel overwhelming
and you can list off you know10 things you want to change,
but it can feel, you know it canfeel lonely at times.
So I think being around peoplethat you trust and love and who
love you back that can help youwalk through those processes are
a really good idea too, becausewe definitely don't have to be
(08:09):
alone when doing all this either.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
So I also love that some of the members share.
You know, for this year my goalis to rest.
It's to not always be on thisconstant achievement and
go-getting mode, and that's okaytoo.
That can be a goal right, likefirst assessing, maybe, what you
(08:31):
need to let go this year, and Ilove that a lot of members
share that.
And it has to do with you know,if you're feeling overwhelmed
and tired and you just need torefresh and maybe focus on other
areas of your life that don'tnecessarily have to do with work
, it's totally fine.
So I love that.
Thanks for sharing, sarah,anything from you.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Just to add to what you were just saying, I feel
like we are so conditioned tothinking that resting is not
productive.
You know, know, like you're notlike this guilt that you feel
for just taking some time offand resting is so productive
right it is.
It is something that is you'reworking on it.
You're working on re-energizing, recharging, so just sort of
(09:19):
changing your mindset tothinking that way when you are
taking a rest.
So I think that's somethingthat I'm definitely going to
work on this year.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
I took my first nap of 2025.
I talked about that during thesession and I actually did it
yesterday.
For some reason, my energy wasjust gone after, like, I think,
1pm yesterday and you're right,sarah, I feel guilty because
there's so much to do, but Iliterally just had no energy and
just had to go and take a napand I felt guilty, but then I
(09:52):
also felt great and today I wasready to go and pick back up.
So love that A lot of ourmembers share unique approaches
some of their unique approach tokeeping themselves accountable
throughout the year.
What strategies maybe stood outto you that some members share,
or what strategies do you useto keep yourself accountable
(10:14):
throughout the year?
Sure?
Speaker 3 (10:17):
I think, picking back on what, jay, you said earlier
about finding someone you trust,I was super energized after our
session on Wednesday and Ithink it is that having a
trusted group where we'resharing and we're communicating
to each other right is like youfirst have to be vulnerable
(10:39):
enough to share your goal withsomeone else, and so I'm so glad
that so many of the members didshare their goals, but also
their tips and tricks and justhow they deal with things.
I think that informationsharing has been super valuable
and just re-energizing,especially during this
overwhelming year again the newyear.
(11:01):
Just re-energizing, especiallyduring this overwhelming year
again the new year, new meseason Not just in our session
but also in our chats withmembers throughout this month.
Again, they've just shared somuch and it's just re-energized.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
And it re-energizes a lot Like I love.
I think one of our Rachel, oneof our members share.
She wasn't able to attend thesession but she shared on the
chat how her morning routine.
Just seeing that, for me it waslike, oh my God, because it's
real right, like we read so muchonline about, like what you
should do at the beginning, andI don't know about you guys, but
(11:34):
for me it just doesn't feellike.
It just feels too, I don't know, not practical, and I just love
hearing all the practical waysin which you know all the VAS
members were managing andnavigating life and work so well
.
Gabby, I want to turn it over toyou.
(11:56):
You facilitated most of thesession and kind of guided us
through the two exercise.
The two exercises and in yourrecent, I know you did a lot of
research to kind of, you know,go over what gets in the way of
people achieving their goals.
What are some of the ways inwhich you can hack your habits
and and keep yourselfaccountable?
(12:16):
What was one key insight aboutwhy people often fail that you
found very interesting?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
I think for me, it was that accountability part of
it, right.
One of the things that weshared with members and on our
social media was that 42% thatjust by writing down your goal,
you increase your chances ofachieving it by 42% right?
(12:48):
I know we also had a sessionwith another best coach where
she talked about accountability,right, and creating those
systems and how the more youwent through the accountability
steps, the more likely you wereto achieve your goals, right.
So it's just that aspect ofagain being vulnerable enough to
(13:13):
really sit down and think aboutyour goals and you know what is
important being vulnerableenough to share that, whether
it's on paper, on pen, in person, with someone else, right,
talking about it, talking aboutit just once, right, explaining
that.
And then the accountability partof like, okay, we're going to
(13:33):
do check-ins, we're going totalk about this and we're going
to see where we are, not in ashaming way, right, but just in
a what can we do better?
What?
What worked, what didn't workagain, that reflection aspect of
it, um.
So I think I think that'ssomething, um, that can get
missed, right.
You, you think about your goalsand you think about what am I
(13:55):
doing, how am I supposed to doit um, what is my plan?
But then that actual sharingaspect of it gets lost.
So you bring someone along withyou on your journey and you
learn from them as they sharetips and tricks, and you keep
each other accountable bycontinuing to do it together,
right?
So I think that's a.
(14:16):
That was super eye-opening forme.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Yeah, love that.
Jay, you mentioned during thesession that you and your
husband he's reading the bookbut also bringing you along and
kind of together.
You guys are implementing someof the strategies in the Atomic
Habits book that a lot ofmembers actually commented that
(14:43):
they are also.
They've either already read,some have implemented in it, but
overall everybody loves thatbook.
Um, but you specifically talkedabout habit, uh, stacking.
Can you break down how you'reusing that habit stacking?
Uh?
How does, how does that looklike for you?
Or what are you?
Um, are you and Noah thinkingabout in terms of implementing
(15:04):
that in this new year?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Yeah.
So habit stacking has beenreally helpful for me because it
kind of takes away thatoverwhelming aspect of reaching
a goal by breaking it down intosmall habits that feel easier to
implement in your day-to-daylife.
You know, like Gabby and I weretalking about, you sit down and
you're like okay, here's thethings I want to change, here's
(15:29):
the goal I want to hit, but whoa, like there's a lot of steps to
get there and this feelsoverwhelming.
So, um, looking at how your youknow your day-to-day life
already is, what habits do youalready have implemented?
Um, and talking about morningroutines, that's where I'm
trying to implement my goodhabits.
So what do we do every morning?
(15:49):
I, I brush my teeth everymorning and I wash my face every
morning.
So writing those uh, having aset habit that you can build off
of, is essentially what habitstacking is.
So after I brush my teeth andwash my face, then I'm going to
read my book for 10 to 20minutes.
(16:10):
So reading in the morning,that's a habit that I would like
to stack on to my alreadyhabits that I'm already doing,
habits I'm already doing.
After I do the reading, thenI'm going to have a nice protein
filled breakfast to help myenergy levels and then, after I
have my protein breakfast, thenI'll have my vitamins, which
(16:31):
will also help my energy levels,and that's something that I am
trying to work on and that'skind of my goal is to have more
energy.
And, um, I think, like we'retalking about Erica, morning
routines can like, when you readabout them, they can feel so
practical or impractical andyou're like I don't know if I'm
(16:52):
going to be able to stick tothat, cause it sounds a little
like I just kind of want tostart my day.
But really, when you slow downand you take your time, it can
make your day flow better.
And you have this more.
You have this sense of, youknow, natural energy just from
taking care of yourself in themorning.
(17:13):
And that's essentially whathabit stacking is is taking your
habits that you've already doneand adding a couple every day
that that um is reaching towardsyour goals.
So for me, it's, you know, it'sreading, um, my book for 20
minutes and then eating a reallygreat breakfast and taking my
vitamins, and those threestackable habits alone are
(17:35):
helping me feel more energizedthroughout the day, which is
which is what I've been wanting.
So, um, yeah, it's been reallycool to, to, to not specifically
read that book, but to learnfrom from Noah and get some
great advice and um, it's beenreally helpful.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Yeah, and I love that .
Um, even before, you talkedabout, uh, stacking habits.
Um, actually, sarah, you talkedabout how one of your goals is
doing eight to 10,000 steps butalso spending more time
intentionally with your kids,and so now you go on walks but
take your kids.
I mean, that's a form ofstacking right, like you're
spending more time with thekiddos but then you're also
(18:15):
taking them out for a walk toachieve your step count.
And I haven't read the bookrecently, but, if I remember, I
think part of the benefits ofstacking goals is also to make
it uber obvious, right, becausethe more obvious that it is, the
more disciplined you're likelyto be right, like it's part of
building a system ofaccountability.
(18:36):
It's like, just make it obviousso that you don't miss it and
you don't even question.
It's no longer a decisionbecause you've already decided
I'm going to brush my teeth andthen I'm going to read my book
and then I'm going to take myvitamins.
It's not.
You don't have to add energy toyour brain to make a decision,
or what should I read my?
Know you're?
That's just what you're goingto do and you're just going to
(18:57):
stack things and make it easier.
Same with you, sarah, and yoursteps and spending time with
your babies, so I love that.
Another question that I have,sarah and Gabby, particularly
for you, because you know wetalk about this all the time.
I mean, as a society, womenstill bear most of the
(19:19):
caregiving responsibility,household management, chores,
etc.
And I know that it'sparticularly harder when you
have small little ones at home,which both of you have.
So just curious as to maybesome tips that you can share
(19:41):
with us in how you're bothbalancing work and raising
children.
Do you have a specific approachin setting realistic goals for
the year while you're stillmanaging home and professional
responsibilities?
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Yeah, I think for me, when you're in this season of
life, so much of what you canachieve really depends on your
support system.
So my approach, at least thisyear, when I set my goal, was to
work on it with my husband andvice versa, so we would set
individual goals and then whatour goal is as a family, so we
(20:17):
can both understand what isneeded to support one another to
be able to succeed, making itrealistic.
And then another thing is justto break down my goals into
smaller, actionable steps thatyou can incorporate into your
daily routine so that it doesn'tget lost, and then they
essentially become habits.
(20:38):
So it's not your point, erica,it's not given a decision Like
that's just something that youdo.
You go and watch, that's whatwe do, so we'll see how it goes.
I found it quite useful.
So far, so far, so good.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Good, I love what you said in terms of that season of
life, because I have an eightand an almost four year old and
I feel like every every year isa little different.
And I was at the beginning ofthis year when we were talking
about my husband and I weretalking about our goals.
We were just kind of reflectingon last year and at this stage
(21:20):
my eight-year-old is very muchinto sports and last year we
were like inundated with sportsand afterschool activities, and
even for my three-year-old aswell.
So daycare events and schoolevents, and it gets so easy, you
know, you think toddler stage,baby stage, like it's all about
the children.
But you can also carry thatinto like their later stages as
(21:44):
well, and I love attending thosegames and I love attending
those school sessions and youknow, after school activities.
But just looking back on it,like we really didn't prioritize
ourselves, we didn't prioritizeour needs and goals, and so
there was definitely a lot of uhburnout on on our end.
So really taking the time to uhfigure out like what do we want
(22:08):
to do, not what do we have to do, but what do we want to do and
how do we want to take care ofourselves and you know what do
we want to achieve and where dowe want to go this year.
So really like asking ourselvesthis question upfront, versus
kind of reflecting at the end ofthe year when it's already
happened and you realize thatthe whole year has passed and
you haven't really done what youwanted to do.
(22:30):
So that I think that was areally great talk that we had at
the beginning of this year.
And then, as far as tool, Ihonestly like live by a calendar
, just like being able to writeeverything down and seeing what
the month looks like, how itgets filled out.
Is it too crazy?
Is it too?
I guess, even this year?
(22:51):
Is it too kid activity filled?
And is there time to prioritizemyself, my relationship, my
hobbies, things that I want toget into this year?
Speaker 1 (23:04):
So yeah, I love that and yeah, I think obviously all
of us work together.
So all of us have seen Gabby'sorganizing skills in her
calendar.
You know, mega mapping plans.
So definitely, gabby, we'veexperienced it firsthand how you
(23:24):
work and how you think.
And another thing that I lovehere is that everybody kind of
seems like to make the time todiscuss and plan their goals
with their significant other.
That's great, because I dothink it's important having that
.
You know, I love, love, sarah,how you started answering the
(23:48):
question of balancing by sayingit depends on the support system
that you have.
You know, and I think that allof us four here are very
privileged that we are in ahealthy relationship where we do
have that support system, andwe also want to recognize that
not everybody has that right andnot everybody has that in a
romantic relationship and or afamily support system or even a
friend support system and acommunity support system.
(24:09):
Those of us that have executiveboards, you know, or boards
that we have to report to and wehave to report to on a monthly
basis or quarterly basis orannual basis, we know that it
works.
We may not like it, you know,getting ready for those
(24:31):
stakeholder meetings and doingall of that, but at the end of
the day, it does work because wemeasure right Is it working?
Is it not working, what do weneed, what do we not need?
So it just helps in such a insuch a way.
So I always encourage everyonethat you know you need your own
advisory board.
If you don't have one, and evenif you do have one for work,
(24:52):
you need a personal one, right?
Somebody that can kind of helpyou assess how you're doing life
in your own terms.
So, just, I don't know.
I think that we are veryprivileged and that I also
discuss my goals with Chris andhow we did the previous years
with our financials, with ourpersonal goals, with our
business goals, but alsorecognizing that not everybody
(25:15):
has that.
And so if you don't have that,it's even more important that
you find yourself a supportsystem to be there for you, and
it can be friends, it can befamily, it can be, you know, if
you don't have that right now,maybe joining a peer group it
doesn't have to be best, but ofcourse we would love to have you
invest.
So if you're thinking abouthaving a support system, please
(25:36):
do check out our peer group andwe would welcome you with open
arms.
Before we close and we turn itover to having like a segment
for listeners to do their ownplanning and exercise, I want to
ask all of you anything elsethat you want to share from this
(25:58):
week's session and this and forthis episode that might be
super helpful for this.
Those listening.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I think, something that we've touched on a few
times and that's reallyimportant.
It's just.
I just want to talk about restagain, because I think it's so
important and I think we havesuch a hard time, um, with
feeling okay about it, um.
But I think, just to kind ofsimplify it down in a way that
(26:29):
we can try to not feel so guiltyis, if you are feeling
physically, mentally,emotionally, like you need to
rest, then I think, just trustyour body, and I think it's just
as simple as that, and I don'tthink I think we can.
If we just really focus on that,then maybe we can take away
(26:50):
some of the guilt because, um, Ithink we should always trust
our, not only our instincts andour gut, but also our body, um
and uh, our body is ouremotional and mental state as
well, and so, even if you aren'tphysically tired and you're
like, well, I didn't even moveenough today, well, you might
have done a lot of other mentalwork that you're not even aware
(27:14):
of yet.
So I think, when it comes torest and taking naps and taking
that time for yourself to try totake away some of the guilt if
your body or your mind istelling you that you're just
tired.
I think that's all thepermission that you need.
So I would just encourage allof us to really just trust
(27:35):
ourselves and our bodies, that'sanother book.
What's it called?
The Body Keeps the Score.
I've heard really good thingsabout that book I want to read,
but I think it's basically aboutthat, like trusting your body
and and what it tells you.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
So let's put it on the, let's put it on the show
notes.
Uh, if members want to check itout as well.
Listeners.
Sarah Gabby, what about youguys?
Speaker 3 (28:03):
I think for me, a standout thing, a takeaway from
the session, was definitely totake the time to not only
reflect on what's important, butthen also to reflect on those
small wins.
I think it's so easy to focuson the big overarching goal and
it can seem so far away, but asyou look back you tend to forget
(28:26):
how far you've come from whenyou started.
So, not only taking the time toreflect, but also taking the
time to really celebrate thosesmall wins, to celebrate
progress over perfection I thinkI'm undiagnosed perfectionist,
self-diagnosed perfectionist,and so really taking the time to
think it may not be perfect,but it's done, or you know, look
(28:51):
how far I've come I think it'ssuper important.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Absolutely love that.
I was going to say somethingvery similar to Gabby, I think
I'm.
I focus on the, on justachieving being perfect.
But you know you tend to giveup on the goals once you make a
small mistake.
But to my point earlier, it's365 days in a year.
You know your work in progress.
(29:15):
Celebrate the small win.
So small, small steps.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Yeah, and you know that saying perfection and
growth can't coexist, right?
So it's about giving ourselvesthe grace to be imperfect and
also realizing the beauty ofbeing imperfect is that there's
always room for growth andlearning opportunities.
Well, with that, you know, wewant to turn it over to the
listeners that are taking thetime to listen to this episode
(29:44):
or watching this on YouTube.
However, you're consuming thiscontent, one of the most
powerful exercises that weactually had Vast members
complete during the session wasto envision their future self,
right, imagining let's.
Often, especially as women,it's very easy for us to think
about what if things don't workout?
What if things go south?
(30:06):
But what if things go right?
Right Like.
We often tend to go throughthat trail of negativity and
fail to think well, what ifeverything works?
What if we achieve everythingthat we set out to in the next
year?
What would that future selflook like?
And so we ask them to reflecton that Right Like.
(30:27):
Imagine yourself a year fromnow having achieved everything
you set out to.
What does it feel like?
What are you doing?
Who are you spending time with?
And then we ask them to reflectwhat needs to change today in
order for you to become thatversion of yourself, and so it
was a very powerful exercise.
We received a lot of goodfeedback from the members that
(30:49):
participated, and we want to nowinvite those of you listening
to do the same.
Take a moment to imagineyourself a year from now and
everything that you set out toaccomplish.
Imagine that you've realized.
What does your future self looklike?
You know what again.
Where are you?
What are you doing?
Again, where are you?
What are you doing?
Who are you with?
(31:09):
How does it feel like?
How are you spending your dayWith whom?
And once you picture yourselfdoing that, take a step back and
reflect on the changes thatneed to happen again.
So, what habits need to change?
Are there any unproductivepatterns holding you back?
Relationships holding you back?
What relationships need toshift?
(31:33):
Who in your circle is actuallysupporting your growth and who
might be getting in the way ofyou becoming that future self?
And then be real about whatsystems you need to implement
right.
How are you going to keepyourself accountable?
How are you going to make thosesystems obvious, actionable and
sustainable over time, so thatyou can stay consistent?
(31:54):
Take the minute to do that, andif you are one of we had a lot
of members that are strugglingwith like even identifying where
to focus their energy becausethey can't feel overwhelmed, as
you guys mentioned.
So we also put together theVest Wheel of Life Assessment
and the toolkit that I mentioned.
So, again, you can go towwwvestorco forward slash
(32:18):
podcast and click on thisepisode and in the show notes
you'll see all of the tools thatwe provided, including this
Vest Wheel of Life Assessment.
This tool will help youevaluate the areas in your life,
whether it's personal,professional or beyond, and
pinpoint where you might needmore attention on improvement.
This is, if you don't knowwhere to start, if you don't
(32:40):
know where to focus, if you arejust feeling overwhelmed.
I really suggest that you takethe time to do this exercise.
This is another thing that,sarah, you mentioned.
You actually did with yourhusband and it was pretty
similar.
So that's fun too.
You can maybe do it with aloved one or with friends.
Get together with friends anddo that, yeah.
(33:00):
So again, wwwvestorco forwardslash podcast and you can access
.
Click on the episode and you'llbe able to access all of the
show notes.
And finally, just remember thatnavigating life, building habits
and staying accountable is hardwork.
It's not something that we'remeant to do alone.
You know this whole myth ofmeritocracy that you're supposed
to do all of this.
(33:21):
Keep your head down, work hardand things will come to you.
It just ends up.
Even if you do achieve, likemany of us have, and whether
it's corporate America orwhatever your profession is, we
end up feeling very lonely.
So this is where community isreally important, and having a
support system is very importantAgain.
(33:43):
Whether it's VAST or anotherpeer community, it can make all
of the difference.
So be sure that you look forthat.
If you don't already have agroup of like-minded individuals
that can provide youencouragement, accountability
and support, be sure to look forone this year.
Make it, maybe make it one ofyour goals.
Thank you so much for listening.
(34:04):
If you enjoy the episode, sharewith the front and don't forget
to leave us a review, as itenables us to reach even more
women.
No-transcript.
Speaker 5 (43:45):
And if you're ready to take your career to the next
level, apply to join ourcommunity of professional women,
all eager to help you get thereand stay there.
A review and if you're ready totake your career to the next
level, apply to join ourcommunity of professional women,
all eager to help you get thereand stay there.
Go to wwwvestherco and applytoday.
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