This one surprised me. I started writing about goals and productivity, but when I slowed down I realized those were just the surface. The question that cracked it open was: when do I feel most like myself? That’s when I wrote this.
My partner actually said something like this to me last year. Reading that sentence out loud made me realize I’d been doing it so long it stopped feeling like a choice.
This came from the second self-discovery prompt. It felt uncomfortable to write because I genuinely wasn’t sure of the answer.
I had 8 values I liked. Ranking them forced me to make real choices. When I asked myself what I’d choose if I could only keep one — Integrity came up every time. Family jumped to #2 because when I’m honest, it’s the thing I protect the least. That felt important.
Top areas appear here
Low areas appear here
This was honest — not aspirational. Career got a 9 not because I love how much it takes up, but because it literally does. Giving it a 9 felt uncomfortable. That discomfort told me something.
The compass made the imbalance obvious. Joy and Spirituality were nearly empty. I’ve known this for a while. Seeing it visually made it harder to ignore.
Looking at my compass, Career was the highest score and Joy was the lowest. That gap told the whole story.
I’ve been in therapy for two years. This one I knew — I just hadn’t written it down in this context before.
Your Life Compass imbalances and values now feed your Action Goal. Before moving on, make sure you’ve scored your compass and identified your top imbalances.
Using the goal template: My goal is to ___ so that I can ___, in order to ___.
I used the Career example in “See examples” as a starting point. Then I rewrote it until it stung a little — that’s when I knew it was mine. The key was adding “not who I think I should be” at the end. That part was true.
I do this every single morning. It sets the tone for the whole day.
I said yes to three things this week I didn’t want to do. Noticing the pattern.
I define a “bad day” by what I didn’t finish. That’s been my barometer for years.
These are working. The team is more engaged when I make time for this.
When I protect this, my Family score goes up. Simple cause and effect.
Physical Activity was a 4. This is already helping — I just need to protect it.
My goal is to change this metric. I want to feel good about who I was, not just what I produced.
I get sharp and abrupt when I’m stressed. My team feels it. I want to be better here.
This is the direct path to improving Joy and rest.
Growth & Learning scored a 7. I want to keep it there. This habit will help.
Community was a 4. I’ve been so focused inward. Time to look up.
Joy was a 4. I have no unscheduled mornings. This is the simplest fix.
Your destination goal is set. Now the real work begins. Each milestone gives you 3 weeks of daily practice and reflection to move toward it.
The work begins when you stop performing — even for yourself. This milestone, you’re not fixing anything. You’re just starting to notice what’s actually there.
This goal was set in Action Brainstorming. Every Charting the Course goal below must be able to trace back to it. If a goal doesn’t support the destination, it shouldn’t be here.
Rebuild real presence in my closest relationships — not just showing up, but actually being there
Family & Friends scored a 6. Not terrible — but I know the quality isn’t what it should be. I’m physically there but often somewhere else mentally.
Create a daily practice that has no productive output — purely for the sake of being, not doing
Joy scored a 4. Every hour of my day points at something. I needed a goal that breaks that pattern entirely, not just improves it.
Get honest about when I’m performing vs. when I’m actually being myself
This came from what I wrote in Self Discovery #2. I’ve been shifting to fit what situations seem to need for so long, I’m not sure I know the difference anymore. This milestone is about learning to notice it.
This intention was pre-written for Week 1. When I read it, I thought — I genuinely don’t know what that would feel like. That was my answer.
This was the Week 1 pre-written task. It seemed too simple at first. It wasn’t.
This slot is yours. I left it blank Week 1. I had plenty to work with already.
The milestone asked me to reflect on patterns from the week. I used the Reflection Lens prompts at the bottom of the planner. The pattern was obvious once I wrote it down.
After completing all 3 milestones (9 weeks), continue forward to the Balance + Growth section at the end of your guidebook. Score your Life Compass one final time to compare where you started to where you are now.
After 9 weeks, Alex’s Joy went from 4 to 7, Spirituality 3 to 6, Physical Activity 4 to 6. Career came down from 9 to 8 — not because work mattered less, but because other things started to matter more. That shift felt like the whole point.
Ready to begin?