Goal setting
If you have ever ridden a bicycle or driven a car (that should cover most of you!), you have probably noticed that you tend to go where you are looking. This also applies to other areas of your life. If you are focused on all the things that can go wrong when you try something new, there’s a good chance at least some of them will happen. However, if you can focus on the possible positive outcomes the chances are some of them will also happen! This is where the process of goal-setting can come in. It helps us focus our attention on where we do want to go, not where we don’t!
It’s much easier to get motivated to do and achieve things if we actually decide where we want to look, what you want to achieve. However, it is even more important to choose a goal that really absorbs your interest and makes you feel good – irrespective of what the rest of the world thinks. If your secret dream is to be an artist and instead you find yourself working in a job making loads of money but with no opportunity to express your artistic side, goal-setting is pointless. Goal-setting really becomes powerful when it’s linked to achieving something that you yearn for, a deep long-lasting dream, a passion, something that makes a difference in the world. That doesn’t have to be saving the rain-forest (although it could be!). It could be learning how to be really good at your job and serving people that way. We all know what a pleasure it is to deal with people who are highly skilled at their job and who really care about the people they are serving, no matter what walk of life they are in.
Goal-setting helps you get from your current situation to your dream by looking at the steps you need to take today, this week, in order to get you there. If we take our example of the aspiring artist, she doesn’t have to immediately give up her job and go to live in a cottage in Clare! What about beginning by booking an art class this week, buying paints and paper this week? The first step is to admit and write down what our secret dreams are. You can do this by yourself or with a friend or with a coach. The second thing is to write out the next small steps you need to take to achieve that goal. The third and most important thing is to actually take those actions.
Good luck with your goals!
