In this episode of the Dietitian Success Podcast, I am doing something a little different. Instead of tackling three separate business questions, I am sharing my personal goal setting framework in full, doing a mid-year check-in on my own 2026 goals, and talking about why I believe this process is one of the most transformational things you can do for your business and your life.
This framework is the one I have refined over years of practice, used to go from a nine-to-five commuter to a full-time entrepreneur and Ironman finisher, and am now teaching in depth at the Dietitian Success Summit this September.
Inside, we cover:
- Why destination goals alone almost never work and what to do instead
- The difference between destination goals and process-oriented goals, and why the distinction changes everything
- Why the point of a big audacious goal is not whether you achieve it but who you become on the way
- How to identify which domains of your life need attention right now: personal, wellness, professional, and financial
- How to set three to five process-oriented goals that are actually trackable and achievable
- Why tracking matters as much as setting, and the app I use to do it
- My five personal goals for 2026 and exactly where I am at on each one at the midpoint of the year
- Why being behind on your goals is not failure and how to think about it without attaching your self-worth to the outcome
This framework will be taught in depth at the Dietitian Success Summit in September, and every attendee will receive the first ever Dietitian Success Planner, which is designed specifically around this process.
Links:
- Join the Dietitian Success Summit 2026: https://www.dietitiansuccesscenter.com/the-dietitian-success-summit-2026
- Check out the Entrepreneurship Tier of Dietitian Success Center: https://www.dietitiansuccesscenter.com/entrepreneurshipfordietitians
- Follow @dietitiansuccesscenter on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dietitiansuccesscenter/
- Connect with @kristako.rd on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristako.rd/
- Free Starter Kit: https://www.dietitiansuccesscenter.com/
A Goal Setting Framework That Actually Works: Destination Goals, Process-Oriented Goals, and My Mid-Year Check-In
By Krista Kolodziejzyk, RD, MBA, Founder of Dietitian Success Center
This episode is a little different from the usual format. Instead of tackling three separate business questions, I want to share the goal setting framework I have been refining for years, the one that I genuinely credit with taking me from a nine-to-five commuter with a three-hour daily drive to a full-time entrepreneur who also completed an Ironman triathlon. And then I want to do a real, honest mid-year check-in on my own 2026 goals, including where I am behind and why that is completely okay.
This framework will be taught in depth at the Dietitian Success Summit this September, and every attendee will receive the first ever Dietitian Success Planner, which is built specifically around this process. But I want to share the high-level version with you here because I think it is genuinely one of the most useful things I can give you.
Why Most Goal Setting Does Not Work
Most of us have had the experience of writing down a goal on January 1st, or at some other moment of inspiration, feeling genuinely motivated and clear about what we want, and then arriving at some point later in the year with no real memory of what we wrote down or any meaningful progress toward it.
This is not a willpower problem. It is a structural problem. The way most people are taught to set goals is actually not particularly well designed for achieving them. And the reason comes down to a distinction I want to spend some time on: the difference between destination goals and process-oriented goals.
Destination Goals vs. Process-Oriented Goals
A destination goal is the type of goal most of us are used to setting. It quantifies the end result: I want to make $100,000 this year. I want to lose 10 pounds. I want to buy a house. These goals describe where you want to end up. They are useful as a north star, and I do set one destination goal for my business finances every year. But on their own, destination goals are often not enough to actually produce change.
Here is why. A destination goal tells you where you want to go but does not tell you what to do today, or tomorrow, or next week, to get there. The gap between where you are and where you want to be is filled with a huge number of decisions, habits, and actions that a destination goal does not address. And when those daily actions are not defined, it is easy to feel simultaneously committed to the goal and completely unclear on how to actually pursue it.
Process-oriented goals solve for this. A process-oriented goal is not about the destination. It is about the daily or weekly habits and actions that, if done consistently, will move you toward whatever destination you have in mind, and often toward becoming a fundamentally different version of yourself along the way.
Here are some examples of what process-oriented goals actually look like. I want to go for 50 runs in 2026. I want to read 30 books this year. I want to have a FaceTime call with a long-distance friend once a month. I want to meditate 50 times this year. I want to post to my email list twice a month for the rest of the year.
Notice that each of these goals is binary. Either you did it or you did not. That is one of the most important features of a process-oriented goal. You can check in on it daily or weekly and get a clear, honest answer about whether you are making progress. There is no ambiguity. No wondering if you are on track. Just a simple yes or no that accumulates into meaningful change over time.
Why the Goal Is Not Really the Point
This is the part of the framework that I think is most counterintuitive and most powerful. The goal itself, the destination, is not actually the most important thing. The most important thing is who you become on the pursuit of it.
I first encountered this idea through Brooke Castillo, a life coach whose work I have found genuinely transformational. The principle is this: set a goal that feels almost impossibly out of reach, not because you expect to achieve it exactly, but because the process of pursuing it will change you fundamentally. The version of you that shows up consistently for their goals, that builds the habits, that does the work even when motivation is low, is a different person than the one who started. And that transformation is worth more than any specific outcome.
I experienced this firsthand. When I started this process years ago, I was working a nine-to-five job with a three-hour daily commute. I was active but had never done anything athletic that felt particularly ambitious. The idea of completing an Ironman triathlon, a 3.8 kilometer swim, a 180 kilometer bike ride, and then a full marathon, would have seemed genuinely absurd to me. And then it was not, because I had spent years building the identity and habits of someone who does hard things consistently.
The same shift happened in my business. I went from someone who never imagined herself as an entrepreneur to someone who runs a full-time business that has supported over 600 dietitians. Not in a single dramatic leap, but through years of small, consistent, process-oriented actions.
How to Structure Your Own Goals
I think about goals as falling into four domains of life: personal, which includes relationships, friendships, hobbies, family connection, and home; wellness, which includes physical activity, nutrition, mental health, rest, and meditation; professional, which includes career development, business growth, and learning; and financial, which includes savings, budgeting, debt repayment, and income goals.
I do not necessarily set goals in every domain every year. What I do is identify which domains feel like they need the most attention right now and focus my process-oriented goals there. If your career is humming along but your wellness has taken a hit, focus your goals on wellness. If your relationships have been deprioritized during a busy business season, let that be where you direct your intentionality.
Within your chosen domains, set three to five process-oriented goals total. That is the sweet spot. Enough to create meaningful momentum across different areas of your life, not so many that the whole system becomes overwhelming and collapses.
Some examples across the domains to give you a sense of what this can look like. Under personal, read 20 books this year, call a close friend once a week, take one overnight trip as a family each quarter. Under wellness, hit your activity goal five days a week, try one new recipe each week, attend 20 therapy sessions this year. Under professional, publish two blog posts per month, send a pitch to a new potential brand partner once a month, attend one professional development event this year. Under financial, put $500 into savings every month, review your business revenue against your goal every first Monday of the month.
The Tracking Step That Most People Skip
Setting goals without a system for tracking them is one of the main reasons people lose sight of what they set out to do. Tracking is not optional. It is the mechanism that keeps you honest and keeps the goal alive in your awareness throughout the year.
I used to use a goals journal, doing a short daily check-in over my morning coffee where I would note my progress toward each goal. When that became harder to sustain after having children, I switched to an app called Hello Habit. It has a free version that allows you to track up to five goals, which is perfect given the three to five goal recommendation. Every time you complete a goal-related action, you check it off. The app tracks your cumulative progress and gives you a visual sense of where you are headed.
You do not have to use this exact tool. A journal works. A spreadsheet works. A note on your phone works. What matters is that you have something that makes it easy to check in regularly, and that you actually do check in. I do not review my goals every single day. I go in once a week or so and backfill any progress I have made. The point is that I never lose sight of what I am working toward.
My 2026 Goals: A Honest Mid-Year Check-In
I shared these goals on Instagram at the start of the year, and I want to be honest about where I am at on each one now that we are at the midpoint. The honest answer is that I am behind on most of them. And I want to talk about that openly because I think the way you interpret being behind on a goal matters enormously.
Being behind is not failure. It is just data. And data is useful.
Here are my five personal goals for 2026 and where I am:
1. 20 sessions of therapy. I have completed six sessions so far. I have been going approximately every two weeks with some gaps due to scheduling. I absolutely believe I can still achieve this goal by December. And I want to say something about this one specifically: I believe therapy is one of the highest-leverage investments a dietitian entrepreneur can make. The things that hold most of us back in business are mindset blocks, not strategy gaps. A good therapist helps you identify and work through those blocks in a way that nothing else really can. I went from someone who saw therapy as something you only do when something is wrong to someone who uses it as a tool for intentional forward progression. That shift has changed my business and my life.
2. Attend The Weekly by Brooke Castillo 52 times. I have listened 15 times. I am a little behind but this one is very much within reach because it is available as a private podcast that I can listen to on my walks. I have all the episodes queued. I am not worried about this one.
3. Read or listen to 40 books. I have done 10. If I were on track I would be at about 20. I do not think I will hit 40 this year and I am genuinely at peace with that. I will probably net out around 30, which is 30 more books than I would have read if I had never set the goal at all. That is worth celebrating, not lamenting.
4. Achieve my Oura Ring activity goal 300 times. I have hit it 140 times. I am actually right on track for this one and I feel good about it. This goal works because it is tied to something I do every day regardless, which is move my body. The goal just makes that movement intentional and trackable.
5. Cook through every recipe in an entire cookbook. I have done about 12 out of 150 and I am behind. But this is also the goal that gets the most engagement on Instagram by a significant margin. People do not ask me about my business or DSC nearly as much as they ask about this cooking challenge. There is something about a goal that is tangible, personal, and visible that resonates with people in a way that business goals simply do not. I still believe I can finish this. My life is about to change significantly as I have more childcare in the second half of the year, and I am genuinely excited to keep going.
The Mindset That Makes This Work
The most important thing I can tell you about this framework is that it only works if you can detach your self-worth from the outcome. I look at my goals objectively and without emotion. I am not a better or worse person based on whether I hit 40 books or 30. I am simply a person who cares about reading, who set an intention, and who made meaningful progress toward something she values.
That detachment is what allows you to keep going when you are behind, to adjust without catastrophizing, and to actually enjoy the process of becoming someone who pursues big things. The goal is not the point. The person you are becoming is the point.
And the good news is: there are still six months left in 2026. Whatever you set out to do at the beginning of this year, it is not too late to make meaningful progress. Start where you are. Choose one domain that needs attention. Set one process-oriented goal. Decide how you are going to track it. And then start doing the thing.
If you want to go through this framework in depth with me in person, I will be teaching it at the Dietitian Success Summit in Toronto this September 28 to 30. Every attendee receives the first ever Dietitian Success Planner, which is built specifically around this goal setting process. It is going to be a really special session.
👉 Learn more about the Dietitian Success Summit 2026
Krista Kolodziejzyk is a Registered Dietitian and MBA, the founder of Dietitian Success Center, and the host of The Dietitian Success Podcast. She has supported over 600 dietitians in building and growing their businesses.
