A life without goals is an aimless life. Much like a football match without goalposts. How do you know where you are heading? How do you know when you have arrived? You need to set clear measurable goals with timelines. We stumble when we set over-ambitious goals. Obviously, we have set ourselves up for failure. And when we fail, we conclude that setting goals are meaningless. We give up and return to the aimless living.
One Step at a Time
A goal is not the same thing as wishful thinking. A couch potato who decides to run 5 miles tomorrow morning before sunset has failed before lacing up his running shoes. He has not attempted and succeeded at running half a mile, but wants to attempt five…
Success inspires greater effort. It is better to set a tiny achievable goal and progressively raises the bar than attempt to climb Mount Everest on the first attempt. This is called progressive overload. You gently nudge yourself beyond current limits, going at a comfortable pace.
However, it is not a crime to fall short of our goals. The correct response to falling short would be to simply lower the bar until you scale through. Then raise in slightly, and aim higher; one step at a time. It is very tempting when you have fallen way behind to attempt to make up for lost time and raise the bar sky high. Start from where you are, and take it from there.
Your goals have to be clear, concise, finite, and realizable.
After you have produced your clear, concise, measurable, attainable, etc goal, a veritable work of art. You don’t just frame it, hang it on the wall, and admire it. You back it up with an action plan, to actualize it. Action plans that will find their way into your daily, weekly, and monthly to-do list. If it becomes a part of your daily routine, then you are in business…
To Swallow an Elephant
The easiest way to swallow an elephant is to chop it into bite-size pieces, then chew and swallow it one piece at a time, taking it one day at a time. If you keep at it, before long, the pile is gone! The easiest way to achieve great things is to start small and keep at it. If you attempt one great leap, well your guess is as good as mine. It begins with setting a realistic goal.
What happens if you set a goal and all the work, and find out midstream that you are not going to meet the target, after giving your best? Simply lower the bar. You are not competing with the Joneses. There is no medal awarded for meeting inflated goals. Admit that you missed it, scale down, and breast the tape in style.
As you become comfortable with one level, you can raise the stakes slightly higher. Before you know it, you have reached and exceeded your original goal.
Stress Relief
Sometimes in an attempt to achieve so much, we overwork ourselves and get really stressed out. When you find yourself in this cul-de-sac, simply admit to them that the target/deadline/expectation was set by you. Lower it, and the pressure fizzles out.
Don’t damage your health in an attempt to meet your goals. If you break down, You will find out that you suddenly have enough money and time to spend in the hospital, far away from your daily to-do list….
Image: athenatrainingandconsulting.com
