Summary: How to set goals in trauma and PTSD recovery is critical to success. Achieving anything you desire in life starts with having a goal. Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Start with the end in mind.” I like that idea because you achieve anything by having the right pictures in your mind, the right thoughts and taking the right actions. What recovery goals do you want to achieve this year? With the fresh start of 2014 you have the opportunity to design a path for yourself (to be tweaked as you go along) that puts you on course more than ever before to accomplish what you want in this post-trauma life. Setting goals begins with knowing what you want. January is a great time to focus and become clear on what you want to change. All of the things that bug you give you an opportunity to consider the opposite and decide if that’s what you want! Seeing the big picture of a goal can be overwhelming. Maybe you’re thinking of your whole recovery being finally achieved this year. (That was my New Year resolution many years ago.) But then, the minute you think about that the idea can seem so huge, like a mountain you’re attempting to climb in one big leap. Feeling overwhelmed is one sure way to put on the brakes. There is, however, a sure way to rev up your motor and feel good about moving forward. Setting recovery goals makes forward progress focused, organized and manageable. Recently, I interviewed Dr. Kim Dennis, the CEO and Medical Director of Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center about how to set recovery goals. Here’s a quick overview of what she suggested: Set goals that are tangible – Choose things that you will be able to know have been accomplished. For example, if you’re going to commit to more self-care, choose things that you will be able to see, “Yes, I did that.” Set achievable goals – Trying to make the big leap to a finished goal makes the process very difficult. Breaking down the big goal into smaller increments that you feel are attainable can make all the difference between feeling motivated to take action versus feeling motivated to take a nap. Discover your goal-setting process – You are a unique individual. Your process for goal-setting can be customized to what makes you feel comfortable. That may mean you map out several goals at once, or just detail one specific goal at a time. Trust yourself to develop a process that feels right to you. The more comfortable you are with the process the more likely you are to succeed with it. Have another person involved – Accountability can be key in actually following through. When you know someone is waiting for you to take an action you’re more likely to do it. Accountability partners can be anyone: professional, personal or colleagues. Set timeframes for each goal – When you have a date by which you have to take an action you create a sense of urgency and focus. Your mind will begin forming a strategy for how to achieve the task(s) involved. In all of the goal-setting process, practice self-compassion. There are goals that will be easy to accomplish, and others that are more challenging. When things don’t go as planned, accept what happens as “unexpected outcomes”. Pause, take a step back, reflect, asses and take a new action. Developing a goal-setting process is one more way to reclaim control. The more you do this the more you will be able to direct your recovery and steer yourself toward the ultimate goal: Being free from the effects of the past.
