Setting Goals vs. Setting Intentions and My Favorite Ideas for New Beginnings
+ Spring Forward is happening March 11-13: doors are open to the waitlist today!
+ Book a session and mention this episode to get a free card reading: 2 spots in Feb
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Today’s episode is brought to you by Spring Forward
Spring Forward is a three-day workshop to discover your desires, release what’s holding you back, and create an actionable plan to call it all in. Because with the way this year started, you desperately need to break out of winter blahs and start spring with momentum.
On day 1: you’ll get clear on what matters most in your work, wellness, and self, so you can stop running on autopilot and start moving with intention.
On day 2: you’ll define what you want and design self-care rituals for your days, so alignment isn’t just a feeling, it’s how you live.
On day 3: you’ll map out next steps in work, wellness, and self so you can go forward with clarity and confidence.
And you'll get reflection prompts, planning templates, and guided meditations to support your shifts beyond the workshop.
Put the live calls on your calendar now:
March 11, 12, and 13 from 12-1:30pm CST
Replays will be shared, of course!
Sign up now to join at the waitlist price of $99 instead of the full price of $198.
All the links + things mentioned
Goal-setting questions to ask yourself:
What role and function does the act of goal setting play for me?
What style of goals feel best for me?
How many goals is the right amount?
Does sharing them help or hurt my process?
Remember to write your goals down where you’ll see them and interact with them as time passes.
We’ve all heard of SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This concept is cited to come from a corporate planner named George T. Doran in 1981.
During Day 2 of Spring Forward, we will define SMART Desires.
SPACIOUS: Leave room for imagination and serendipity. They're expansive, not restrictive.
MEANINGFUL: Reflect what truly matters to you. Without outside pressure expectations.
ALIGNED: Mind, heart, and inner wisdom co-creation. They click because they come from within.
RESONANT: Lives in feeling, not logic. They stir something in your being, giving butterflies, not burnout.
TIMELESS: Let things unfold on their own timeline. No pressure, just trust and divine timing.
Questions to ask yourself when setting intentions:
What do I need?
What intentions will support me?
Current favorite ideas for new beginnings:
Journaling with intuition: take the free workshop
Choosing a word for the year, mine for 2026 is ARRIVE
Vision boarding, of course!
Listen to the podcast episode: Vision Boarding with Intuition
Use my free vision boarding templates: yes please!
The full roundup of all my New Beginnings Ideas & Quotes to Inspire Your Next Fresh Start
Remember this: your goals don’t have to stretch you thin, they can support you.
Free Journaling Workshop
Learn to access your inner wisdom in a whole new way with the self-care practice you’ve been coming back to since middle school.
As I was preparing for this episode, I came across this goal sheet from inside my journal for the second half of 2010. Some of these personal goals are a distant memory and some still hold true for me today!
Working with me this spring
Schedule An Hour of Answers to clear the outside noise and face the questions you’ve been spiraling over. Get guidance from your inner wisdom so you can make moves in work, worth, and wellbeing.
When you book, you’ll answer pre-session prompts about what you want to get out of our time together. Then we’ll spend 60 minutes on Zoom, audio-only, getting answers from your intuition. After the call, I send the recording, plus detailed notes on what came through so you can put those insights into action.
Mention this podcast episode when you schedule it and I’ll add an Intuitive Card Reading after your session as a special gift!
Where perfectionists finally find inner peace.
Business & life coaching to sift through the drama, let go of guilt, and quiet the noise, so you can act alignment with your truest ambitions, not your anxiety.
Listen to Episode 220 of Celebrate Cultivate
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Hello, you are listening to Celebrate Cultivate. I'm your host, intuition coach and voice in your earbuds, Kaileen Elise Sues. Today we are going to talk about setting intentions versus setting goals, what they both are. Why I've struggled with both of them in the past and what I'm trying now. And also just like what has worked for me and my clients to actually achieve and get to the things that we want.
Plus, I'm gonna share a few of my favorite ways to mark a new beginning, plus like something strange that has happened to me with Google that has made me really consider what a new beginning is. We're gonna get into all of that real. Shortly. But first I wanna tell you, this episode is brought to you by Spring Forward, a three day workshop to discover your desires, release, what's holding you back, and create an actionable plan to call it all in.
Because with the way that this year has started, and we all know. How insane, terrible, heartbreaking, crazy, and overwhelming. This year has been already you all, we all I need, we all need to break out of winter Blas and start the spring season with momentum in spring forward. On day one, you'll get a clear picture.
And understanding for what matters most to you in your work, wellness, and self. So you can stop running on autopilot and start moving with clear intention. On day two, you'll define what you want and design self. Care rituals that like actually fit into your days. So alignment isn't just a feeling or something you're reaching for, but it's actually how you live.
On day three, you'll map out next steps in work, wellness, and self. So you can go forward, pass the workshop, and into the rest of the season with clarity and confidence, and you'll also get reflection prompts, planning templates, and a guided meditation for each. Theme of the day to support your shifts beyond the workshop so you can access all of those on the go moving forward for the rest of the season.
Put the live calls on your calendar. Now, if you're like in front of your computer, we're gonna get together on March 11th, 12th, and 13th from 12 to one 30 central time. Of course, the replays will be shared if you can't make those times. And the wait list two. Join is open today, February 19th. That means you can sign up for the wait list right now and join at the price of $99 instead of the full price, which is 1 98.
All you have to do is click the link in the show notes for today's episode, or of course, you can also find all the links that you need@Kaileenelise.com or. In the link in my bio on Instagram, I'm at Kaileen Elise. So why are we talking about goal setting and intentions and new beginnings now? Well, like I said, the start of the year has been really crazy and it's.
The beginning of the Chinese New Year. We're also at this point where the weather might be changing a little bit for some, the Olympics have me thinking a lot about goals and goal setting because you know, those athletes have been working their whole lives, or at least the last four years to get to this point.
I've also personally been, as I've shared a little bit. Working on having healthier habits and have some weight loss goals. For myself, I also have a lot of goals for work that I've been refining and and working towards. Recently also, March, coming up is my birthday month, so I always think about goals then and of course.
Also spring forward is that reset that so many of you I know enjoyed last year. That's why we're bringing Spring forward back again this year. And any of you who do join us in spring forward, we're gonna set goals, we're gonna set measurable desires and call it whatever you want. Like a cute name. Is nice and really does help actually make things stick and have a vibe to it.
But when you, when you set a goal, like that's just part one, right? And my personal experience with goal setting goes way, way back, because I was an athlete and I remember setting goals at like age eight and nine, and always for the longest time, I mean, really until very recently. Like the last few weeks or maybe the last few months, the goals that I've set for myself have been like a huge stretch.
I always have been somebody who dreams really big. I have lots of aspirations and desires, and in recent years, that's also been mixed with this realization that like, I don't. I always want everything that I think I want, if that makes sense. I've achieved a lot of things that I've set out to achieve, and sometimes I've gotten those things, like I've reached the goal and then been like, wait a second, this isn't what I thought it was.
This isn't exactly what I've wanted. And I, I've shared some of those stories in the past, you know, about becoming a stay at home mom, and that was literally my life's dream, my life's goal, and then being like. Record scratch, like that is definitely not the, that's not what I thought it was. I'm not what I thought I was, and so I've had enough of those situations happen, but I've also had dreams that I, I went after that I didn't achieve.
Swimming is a perfect example. I was. Ranked in the nation when I was 10 years old, I was in the top 10 in the nation. Like, that was a huge accomplishment. I set team records. You know, I, I was a part of a relay team in high school that set a national record. Like I don't, I can't even rattle off the accolades anymore because like, they don't really matter.
The, the main thing was I really wanted to go to the Olympics. I didn't even. Achieve like the time that you need to get to go to Olympic trials, and lots of people go to Olympic trials and they never make it to the Olympics. So I had these dreams and then I, I would not achieve them. And in recent years, that has been work.
You know, I, I've set. Big, big goals in work and then, you know, any of us here, working mothers, you know how it goes. Like you think you have x amount of time to do something. You don't, you think you have the, the capacity and the energy to do something. Maybe you don't, you know, it's just, it's been. A lot of learning and working and setting goals and not setting goals.
And the, the insight I had recently is like peeling back a layer. And this is a question if you're listening to this and any of this is resonating, I wanna offer to you is like. At this point in our lives, you're, you're not your coach. Your swim coach isn't telling you to set goals, right? Like, I'm not in a position where I have to do any of this.
I get to, I choose to. And so if I'm going to set a goal, the first question to ask is why? Like, why even set the goal? What is the function of the goal? Or not even just the goal, but like of goal setting in the first place. Like why do you like to set goals that are beyond your reach? Because then there is a chance that you get it and amazing or.
Is it the reaching is the thing that motivates you. The reaching for something beyond your reach is the thing that's gonna get you where you want. So in which case, like maybe what you actually want is three feet closer than what you're actually reaching for if you're following me. So in thinking about that and asking myself that question, what I realized is that me personally, I do not enjoy setting goals that I.
Cannot achieve or that are beyond my reach. I have a longstanding history. In my own experience of setting goals that I can't hit or that I will choose not to hit, or that I just can't even reach. And so then I end that timeframe, whatever it was, and I don't get the thing. And then I feel really disappointed and defeated.
And you contrast that with what I also said is like I have achieved certain things and then been like, I don't want that. So when I've been thinking about goal setting. R in the last few months, uh, since I've had this little question pop up inside my head and this insight of like, Hmm, what is the actual purpose of goal setting in the first place?
What I've realized is that for me, there isn't a huge difference between my to-do list and my goals. Which is kind of weird, right, because laundry is also on my to-do list. But when I, when I think about it realistically for, for setting goals for work, specifically, the goals that I have for myself are things that I should be able to do this.
Fear they are related to the past. I can look at the past and say, okay, yeah, this is what I've done before. This is the revenue I'm anticipating in the future. These are the programs that I want to open the doors to. These are the kind of people that I wanna work with. And then set goals that are in alignment with all of that.
And then the other thing that I've realized recently when it comes to goal setting for me personally, is that writing it down is great and it's a huge part of goal setting, but that's not enough. I also have to put it somewhere I'm gonna. See it that I can reference that I'm going to touch and interact with on a regular basis at the beginning of this year when I was like, huh, it's time to set some goals, because that's what I've always done.
You know, it's like the beginning of the year. It's time to set fresh goals. And I could not, for the life of me remember what any of my goals were for 2025. I had no idea. And I don't know where I put them. So that was like big red flag number one of a, having that realization of like, why, what role does goal setting play in my life?
How does it motivate me or not motivate me? And like when that question hit me, when I started to think about that, it was. Really revolutionary. Maybe this is something you've already figured out for yourself, but for me it was like, whoa. Yeah, I haven't, I haven't really thought about that. Like what flavor, what style of goal setting serves me best?
And I'll tell you what, it does depend on what season of life you're in and where you are and what your capacity is and all of that. But. I know that writing it down isn't enough because I will lose what I wrote down. So I made it a point this year to put it at the top of the notion page that I use every single day.
I've got my goals, I've got 'em in my, my financial spreadsheets for my company. I've got my goals posted there. Like I've just got them in a few places now that I can cross reference. And also, I think another thing is not setting too many goals, because if you set. Too many goals, then it's harder to keep track of the goals, right?
My overarching goal for this year is to live my life as if I love it, because I do love my life and that isn't. Exactly a measurable goal. Like when I talk about smart goals, you probably learned about those maybe in high school, but that's specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. That concept is cited to come from a corporate planner named George T.
Duran in 1981, so that is a long time ago. And he came up with this concept of smart goals, and I feel like it spread like wild flower, wild flowers spread like wire wild. Wow. That's really hard for me to say, but you know what I'm saying? It spread like fire or flowers or whatever, and. When I was getting ready for Spring forward last year, I wanted to do an interesting spin on smart.
So we did smart desires, and we will do this again in Spring Forward this year. If you like the idea of this, then maybe you should join, but the spin of it is this spacious. Leaving room for imagination and serendipity, meaningful. It reflects what you truly matters to you, aligned with your mind, heart, and inner wisdom in co-creation, resonant.
So it's lives in the feeling, not just in the logic, and it's timeless letting things unfold on their own timeline without a ton of pressure. So. The smart desires definitely are more of a vibe. They are more aligned with this like bridge between what I look at when I think of goal setting versus intention setting.
So intention setting kind of feels like the. Response, the feminine response to goal setting being like super masculine and just like action oriented. For me, what I look at when I think of setting intentions is it's a practice of gathering a word or words that act as an anchor back to yourself and what you want and how you want to feel.
And when you're setting intentions, they. Could really be similar or the same as goals. The, I think, you know, when we, we think about some of these things, I love to look at practices and rituals versus routines and requirements, you know, but it, it can all be the same. It's really just the energy that you put behind it and what you choose to call it, which is why I always really recommend with any of these things that you take a moment to define.
What it means to you, like what is setting an intention? And then that beautiful question that dawned on me about goal setting. The same thing applies like why set intentions? What function and purpose does that serve for you? For me, intentions are this like anchor that I can come back to, to tap back into how I want to feel.
And intentions are a little bit softer. You know, they. Typically for me, they, they come through as breathe, be patient, listen, lead with love. You know, these things that could certainly be considered goals, but are also in support of my overall like emotional, mental wellbeing. So when you're working through intentions, some questions that you can ask is, what do I need?
You know, and really listening to your inner wisdom on what comes through. And then another question after, what do I need that you can ask is what intentions will support me? And just thinking about. Your intentions actually being a supportive function. And what if we thought of our goals that way? Like what if we looked at goals not as something to like beat ourselves up about for not getting them, but as scaffolding, as support for the life that we desire.
And that's sort of what I've been thinking about lately with goals is just like, I think as an athlete and just growing up as like a very type a, a plus high achieving like. People pleasing, which I, I would never consider myself a people pleaser until recently, but as I started to, like, look at some of the stuff, it's like, one of the reasons why I was a, a high achiever is because it made people happy.
It didn't just make me happy, like made other people happy. My parents, my coaches, my teachers, I, I really thrived or. Enjoyed that sort of positive feedback that I got from pushing so hard. But I don't know if it was always aligned with me, you know, I don't know if it was always like my truest, deepest desire, which is fine.
Like I'm not trying to travel back in time and fix anything that went wrong. I'm happy with my life now. I am living my life as if I love it because I do. You know, like what kind of goal is that? That's ama. I'm very, I feel very fortunate. Like appreciative to be able to, to say that's my goal and to not feel like I am.
I don't know, being a brat for saying that, you know what I mean? Like it feels authentic. It feels real, it feels true. So for you, when you are looking at goals and you're looking at intentions, it's curious to, to consider like what are the differences and what function, what role do they play? If you are in the practice of writing them down, putting them somewhere where you can see them is, is great.
If you're in. A year of you, for example. Then all of the folks in there, you can put your intentions for the season in the studio, and then I can see it also, and I can ask you about it and we can talk about it and we can ask your inner voice about it. So having a way to interact with your intentions, with your goals, that's also really important and, and being able to share them with people.
I, I did hear recently from somebody I really admire that. They've proven, and I don't know if this is true 'cause this is like now third hand, I'm telling you something. I heard that she said, so who knows if it resonates great and if it doesn't, fine. But she said that they AKA science, a KAI have no idea, has proven that when you say your goals out loud, a certain percentage of the population, it's at their brains.
Interpret that as if you already got the thing. So she was saying like if that is some, if that resonates with you, if that's you, then don't say your goals out loud because your mind's gonna be like, oh, cool, I achieved it. I did it. Then. I just thought that was so interesting 'cause that had never occurred to me and I have definitely been somebody who has said my goals and then not achieve them.
But I think it was because I've traditionally just set goals way too high. Way too far, way too big for what I'm. Actually want the work I'm actually wanting or willing to do, you know, so it is something to really, I think, give some time and space to considering, and if you wanna talk through this with me, you know, send me a, a DM on Instagram.
I'm at Kale and Elise. And we can go back and forth on it and we can also, you know, workshop this in Spring forward if for those of you who join, when I look at New Beginnings, so I mentioned that like something funny happened to me with Google, so. I have been posting about this, about things related to new beginnings for a really long time, and I get a ton of Google hits with like when people search for new beginnings and ideas for new beginnings.
And it happened years ago, but I've had my blog and my podcast for so long that it comes up on people's searches a lot. So I have spent. Because of this. 'cause I noticed this, I've spent a fair amount of time looking at like, what do new beginnings mean to me? What are the ideas that I have for new beginnings that I can offer to, to others?
And I have like a really nice blog post that I, I update often with, you know, new, fresh content. And if I'll link to it in the show notes, I've had a few podcast episodes about it, so I'll drop that so you can take a look. But I wanna talk through, you know, some of my favorite practices for new beginnings.
Of course, journaling is like tip top number one, and some of those questions that I always offer are my favorites still. So what do I wanna celebrate? What do I wanna cultivate? What do I wanna release and what do I wanna receive? Those I always come back to when I'm journaling, but I have a bunch also in this blog post that you can check out about New Beginnings and the role that New Beginnings play.
Really, a new beginning can be any time, right? Like today could be a new beginning. Tomorrow can be a new beginning, your birthday, a new year, a new season, a new month, a new quarter. Like anytime. It's just a matter of deciding like, I'm gonna start fresh now. And I think so often we put off new beginnings because we're waiting for the perfect time.
But something my inner voice has been saying to me a lot lately is just try, just try. Like the perfect conditions are not going to come. You make the conditions and you arrived to then conditions with what you got and as you go, that's where. That's where the momentum comes from is, is from being in motion and for showing up and for, for trying and resting.
Of course, like, I'm not saying push through at all costs no matter what. Like I think we're past that, but really, you know, knowing that perfection. It doesn't come from waiting, it, it comes from the imperfections, like the, even just that idea of like what's perfect and what's imperfect. It's just so interesting to me because there is no such thing as perfect in nature and we love nature, right?
Like what's the, a perfect day at. At the beach, like sure it exists, but also like some of the best memories, some of the best things in life come from less than perfect circumstances. Any ways. Where are we going with this? I feel like a, I feel like I could talk. With you right now, forever. And B, I got places to go because I'm actually recording this on a day when we have, our nanny is off because it's a holiday and my kids and my husband, everybody's downstairs.
So I gotta, I just gotta keep moving it along. I wanna share with you my word for the year for 2026, because choosing a word to guide you through this new beginning, this new season is definitely one of my favorite practices. Obviously aligns with intention setting and goal setting and just kind of anchoring into what is one quick, small, easy thing that you can come back to over and over again in those pursuits of your goals in the everyday living of life.
And so I've been choosing a word for the year for a long time, again with the not being able to like. Put it all in one place over and over again. I have some of my words for the year through the years, but not all of them. But like in 2010, my word was nurture. In 2018, I guess I couldn't pick one word, so I had four.
It was calm, smooth. Easy, magical. Last year, my word was trust, and this year the word that kept coming to me was arrive A-R-R-I-V-E arrive. And what that means to me is just again, like the, just try, like just arriving. W with what I've got arriving with my attention, with my presence, with my enthusiasm, putting my plate myself in places where I gotta rise to the occasion and arrive.
There's a lot of different interpretations, but it feels true for me. It feels like the right word, and even though it's not like. I don't know. I think I've had golden, you know, like I've had, I've had like really magical words, but I, I think that arrive is pretty magical. And we'll see. When I said a word for the year, it's almost like a little bit of a mystery, like.
It's like, okay, we'll see how this plays out. And it's, it's very much a, a co-creation with my inner voice. So that's my word. If you have a word for the year that you've picked, I'd love to hear it. Send me a, a DM on Instagram or send me, send me an email or something, or let me know in Vox or if, if you're a client of mine, because I think choosing one word.
Can feel again, kind of daunting, but it's also a fun practice. When I think back on like trust in 2025, like what did that word mean to me? It was not necessarily like trusting in a traditional way. It was like examining to find trust. You know, same thing with like, well wait, what is the purpose and point of setting a goal?
Like. In asking those questions and like picking things up and, and looking at them closer, that is where I found trust. One of the things I looked at last year was like, do I even wanna do this business? Do I wanna keep up the podcast? Like, what am I doing here and do I still want to do it? And is it something that still serves my clients?
And in asking those questions that I have so much more trust coming into this year. So it wasn't like I just like. Blindly trusted my way through 2025. I feel like that trust was like hard earned through asking questions and, and looking at things with a, a closer, more discerning eye. Of course, vision boarding is also one of my favorite ways to.
To embrace and mark a new beginning to get that new beginning energy, maybe on a random Thursday. You know, like it, it's just vision boarding is, is such a creative, fun practice. And we have, you know, a podcast episode recently about it. We have a workshop that you can take. I have free templates, so I feel like.
The, the resources are there if you are curious or interested in vision boarding or if you're like, I need a new vision board. I already know what to do. I just wanna hang out with you while I do it. Like, it's all there for you. But vision boarding has definitely always been one of my favorite ways to, to mark a new beginning.
So, like I said, you can do, you can set a goal. For anytime, anywhere, you can set an intention anytime, anywhere, and so of course, your new beginnings are also available to you whenever you want. When it comes to setting goals and setting intentions, you can do both. You can do one or the other. I've had full years of life where I was like, absolutely not.
I'm not setting a goal. Especially the years that I had brand new babies, I figured that out after my first with the, the second and the third baby. I knew like a full year is required before I actually set goals for myself. Now. I'm not gonna have a fourth. It's not happening. But if I were to, or if I could go back in time, I would tell that past version of me, you can set goals.
You totally can. Just set goals that feel really cozy and comforting and like that scaffolding like you. Your goals don't have to stretch you out of joint. They don't have to be beyond your limits to be considered a goal. I think that's something I just got. So wrong. And what I learned, you know, I'm, I'm learning, I'm adjusting.
And I think that is like all we can ask of ourselves in life is like, once we have that insight, we figure that out was like, okay, I'm not gonna do that again. I'm gonna set goals that feel like really good. And then if I hit. That goal. Fantastic. I can make a new one. You know, like there's no harm. And then adjusting and, and making more space for like that next step, that next goal if you, if you crush the goal that you set.
But I have definitely taken f. Like many years off of setting goals and then woken up one morning and been like, you know, I think I need to know where I wanna go next. So those are the kind of things I would encourage you to just look back on, check in on, and get help with if you need, because it is definitely easier to set goals, to set intentions to do those sorts of things.
With support, especially if it's been a while or if things haven't been clicking or you haven't been feeling an alignment, that is a time to, to get support. To get help. And it also can just be like, I'm kind of lonely and I've been doing this for a while by myself, and I would love to have, you know. Some structure, some support outside of me, and that's another great reason to work with somebody like me or to share your goals with a friend, to, to make it known on Instagram.
Like whatever you need to do to, to just kind of give it a little bit more life. So. Okay. That's it for today's episode. Remember to get on the wait list so that you can sign up for spring forward today for $98 that is half off the full price. And come say hi to me on Instagram. I'm at Kaileen Elise. Let me know one thing you're taking away from today's episode.
I will be back next week with your March visioning practice. Talk to you then.
Keep reading for more inspiration
Ideas to Welcome New Beginnings
Embrace a fresh start with these 23 prompts, practices, rituals and reflections. Whether you’re stepping into something new or just looking for new inspiration, this will help you celebrate the possibility of new beginnings.
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Come find me in the DMs, I’m @kaileenelise
Heeeey! I’m Kaileen Elise Sues.
Former HR girlie, failed SAHM, fresh 40-something. Your favorite coach and voice of calm with useful practices, intuitive insights, and small shifts that make a real impact.
My approach isn't about forcing you onto a proven path. It's about helping you break through emotional blocks and discover your true north. Because it’s about time you embraced your deepest wisdom and started living the life of your dreams.
