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Plenty with Kate Northrup

130. Why I Don’t Set Time-Bound Goals (and What I Do Instead)

Plenty with Kate Northrup

Kate Northrup

Personalfinance, Education, Business, Productivity, Spirituality, Wellness, Self-improvement, Pleasure, Entrepreneurship, Metaphysics, Nervoussystemhealing, Timemanagement, Womensempowerment, Abundance, Embodiment

4.8840 Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Have you ever noticed how setting a goal with a deadline can sometimes make you feel more anxious than inspired?


In this episode, I share a personal story about how I realized that my attachment to time-bound goals was actually creating stress, scarcity, and disconnection from the very abundance I teach and strive to live by.


During one of our biggest program enrollments, I experienced a powerful shift: instead of tracking numbers and pushing for results, I decided to remove the “T” from my SMART goals—the “time-bound” part. The moment I released the false urgency and pressure of having to meet a goal by a specific date, something extraordinary happened. I felt lighter, more creative, and deeply connected to Source again.


I talk about:
✨ How time-bound goals can trigger scarcity and stress rather than motivation.
✨ The difference between “relevant” goals and what I now call resonant goals—those that feel aligned with your heart and purpose.
✨ The practice that helped me detach from outcomes and stay rooted in service, joy, and flow.
✨ Why focusing on the journey, rather than the destination, is where true fulfillment—and sustainable success—lives.


By removing the timeline, I opened myself to infinite possibilities—and ironically, it turned out to be our most successful launch ever. But the real win wasn’t in the numbers—it was in how it felt: spacious, peaceful, and abundant.


So if your goals have been feeling heavy or pressured, this episode will invite you to loosen your grip, release the clock, and reconnect to what truly matters. When you stop forcing outcomes on a schedule, you make space for magic.


Listen in, and let’s explore what happens when you take off the “T.”


“When I have an idea that a goal has to be achieved in a certain amount of time, it creates stress and scarcity in my body. When I remove the timeline, I return to abundance.”–Kate Northrup

🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤

00:00 Introduction to Abundance
00:35 The Concept of Goal Setting
03:37 Challenges with Time-Bound Goals
09:11 Removing False Urgency
11:16 The Journey vs. the Destination
13:10 Conclusion and Invitation to Change


✨ The Money Reset: Feel Good with Money—No Matter How Much You Make


Making more money doesn’t guarantee financial ease… but this will. The Money Reset is a free audio experience designed to help you rewire your nervous system for wealth—so managing money feels effortless. 🎧💸


Inside, you’ll learn how to:
💡 Break the ‘money in, money out’ cycle and create lasting stability.
🎯 Relax into a new relationship with money—where structure meets flow.
Use the 5-Minute Calm Cashflow Ritual to bring instant clarity to your finances.


More money won’t solve money stress—a resourced, supple nervous system will. Ready to shift? 👉 Get The Money Reset Now! 👈


Related Episode:

How I Structure My Days, Weeks & Months to Stay Aligned with My Goals (126)

Transcript

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0:00.0

When I have an idea that a goal has to be achieved in a certain amount of time, it creates

0:08.0

stress and pressure in my body, and it creates a sense of scarcity and lack.

0:17.8

Welcome to Plenty. I'm your host, Kate Northrop, and together we are going on a journey to help you have an incredible relationship with money, time, and energy. And to have abundance on every possible level. Every week, we're going to dive in with experts and insights to help you

0:40.0

unlock a life of plenty. Let's go fill our cups. So I want to talk about goals today,

0:48.1

which feels like honestly like a little bit of a robotic personal development topic, but I had an experience recently

0:55.6

during our relaxed money enrollment that was so visceral and so profound that I can't help

1:04.0

but sharing it. Like, I must share this. So very often, people say, you know, they say that you have to set smart goals.

1:15.5

And like every goal setting, you know, thing I've ever been to, whether it was, you know,

1:19.9

I got started in the direct selling industry.

1:23.2

So in network marketing, and there was like a lot of personal development training in that space.

1:28.6

And one of the things was goal setting.

1:30.8

And we always were told you have to start set smart goals.

1:36.2

Smart goals meaning specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time bound.

1:44.0

Right?

1:50.0

So that's what a smart goal is. And okay, fine. That works for some people. What I found is that there's a couple of things about smart goals. And one of them is that I do like specificity. I do like measurable because that way you know,

2:05.9

did I hit the goal or not, right? Like if my goal is, well, I just want to feel better,

2:13.1

well, is that specific? No. And is it measurable? Like, how will I know if I achieved it or not? So I get the

2:20.9

smart and measurable part. Is it achievable, right? Like if I'm like, oh, I want to go live on Mars,

2:26.8

that's not achievable. So maybe the A makes sense too. Relevant to me, I wish we would change that word to resonant, meaning, does this goal

2:38.1

feel exciting to you? Does this goal feel connected to your heart? Does this goal feel

2:44.9

connected to what really matters to you? So for example, I might set a goal around a monetary amount and feel like it's a

2:55.1

little flat. Like maybe I have a monetary goal for the launch. But for me, when I think about a

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