Start with WHY
Why would you even want to set goals?
Why would anyone after what happened to the goals and plans, we made for 2020?
Fair questions… I guess the answer might be… if you don’t have a plan of your own, you are automatically subject to the goals and plans of others. Who would want to live like that? Zig Ziglar would call you a “wandering generality”.
It's about your own personal WHY. If you can't identify a why... then forget goal setting.
How to start.
How will you get from where you are to where you want to be?
Remember when Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where--" said Alice.
First, start with a solid evaluation of where you are today. What have you already accomplished? Where are you in life? How would you rate yourself if these eight areas; Career, Financial, Educational, Health, Social, Spiritual, Personal and Relationships. Give yourself a score from 1 thru 10, 10 being best.
Next, project yourself 10 years forward. In a perfect world, where would you like to be ten years from now. I know ten years is a long way to project. The magic of this is that you can free yourself of all of your limiting beliefs. We all know that many things will change in the next 10 years. Many new people will come along side us, many new technologies will pop up. So, let go of your head trash and imagine where you would like to be in each of the eight areas in 10 years.
Now, from the future, work backwards, asking yourself: “What would need to be true for ___ to be a reality?” Then, set intermediate goals that will move you in the trajectory of your 10-year vision. Set 5-year goals, ask the question again. Set 1-year goals, then ask the question again.
Eventually, you will wind up with a long-term vision coupled with interim goals, quarterly goals, monthly goals, weekly goals and daily goals. All of these will be congruent with your long-term vision. At the end of this long process you will know what you need to do today, and even what you need to do right now! This is going to take some time to accomplish, but “You can do it!”
Excuses
What excuses do you typically use for not setting goals? Here are a few that I have tried in the past…
They don't work for me.
I know what needs to get done... It's all here in my head.
Too old... too young.
It's all good, so why waste the time.
Fear of failure
Henry Ford said. “Whether you think you can, or you thank you can’t, you’re right.”
Excuses are just head trash. Put them where they belong; out of your head and into the “actual” trash.
There’s a great book out there by Kevin Schulman called “Goal-Setting Boot Camp”. This is a super practical guide to getting from where you are to where you want to be. Check it out!
Get the book "Goal Setting Boot Camp" or Download a FREE chapter here!
