Creating Goals or Building Castles In The Sky
Creating Goals or Building Castles In The Sky
Creating goals is one of the things that the human animal does best. And goal-setting is probably the most powerful performance-enhancer available to you., Let me repeat - if you want higher performance out of yourself - at work, on your career, in your relationships, wherever - the process of setting goals for yourself is where it begins. It usually takes two people.
And, it's where your demons come out and get to work! Most goal-setting is like the old New Year's Resolution chestnut - started with the best intentions, and gone in a week or so. There are reasons why goal setting sometimes doesn't work. They usually are related to our demons - the secret reasons why we sometimes don't seem to act in our best interests. Let's have a look at a few of them.
Demon #1 - The unwritten. When asked about our goals, we'll smile, tap our head, and say "I've got it all up here." Because the most consistent practice around goal-setting is to leave them unwritten. This gives you the opportunity to modify the goal or even forget it completely if things don't immediately go right.
Demon #2 - The unspecific. How about the kind of goal that says - "I want to start a great new business." This goal is missing time information, and a definition of "great." Maybe you wouldn't be quite so vague - but wouldn't you want your goal to be sufficiently specific so that you'd know when you've achieved it?
Demon #3 - The Global. The global goal says something like "I want there to be more love on the planet." This is not a goal but a vision, admirable, but dream-like. You can create a goal which expresses all the good-will and earnestness within you, but if it doesn't have some nitty-gritty specifics, you're wasting your own time.
These three demons help us avoid giving ourselves nice, clear, unequivocal goals. Why? Many of us would rather not win than risk losing. And so, we often keep our goals unwritten, unspecific or global, because then no-one can make us wrong. There's a rule which says you can't have success without the opportunity for failure, and vice versa. Fuzzy goals let us evade failure, but in so doing, we neatly evade success!
One last example: Picture yourself riding a bicycle. Up hill, down dale, you're pedaling along. You're an expert and highly skilled at moving this bike along. And all without your hands on the handlebars!
What's really happening is this - you're working hard but you have only a vague view of your immediate destination. Your no-hands bicycling means that you have to spend a lot of effort keeping the bicycle balanced. And there's no long-term destiny possible if you're focusing instead on pedaling and not falling down.
There's a neat little mnemonic called S.M.A.R.T. You've probably seen it before. S.M.A.R.T. goals are:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Action-oriented
R = Relevant
T = Time-based
If you tie your goal-setting to this acronym, you'll quickly see how specific your goals become.
Now I work as a business coach, and many of my clients often resist setting goals. Why? Because goals mean risk as well as reward. Goals mean new accomplishments, generated by that part of you not fully developed. Goals mean (drum-roll!!!) permanent change. They also may mean loss of comfort.
On the other hand, goals mean the possibility of changing unsatisfactory circumstances, relationships, jobs, careers, life-partners, etc. Goals allow you to escape from your past. Does that sound interesting?
Isn't it true that many people you know are repeating their past? That they make the same mistakes or live the same life, over and over again. Consider this - when you set yourself a goal, you are looking in the opposite direction - into the future. Things from your past which might drag you down are not part of your new goal or goals. They simply don't appear for you.
So stop right here [x]. Good. Write down something you'd like to have for yourself in the next year that you didn't have this year or last.. If more than one something pops up, keep writing.
If you're playing along fully (and I invite you to stop right now and write down something you'd like to accomplish in 3 or more months if you haven't already) you've probably made a couple of observations already - that thinking far ahead is interesting, and you wonder how, or if, you'll tackle the goal you just wrote down.
After you've written down your goal or goals, one more requirement. If you recall, when we started this article, we specified that it takes two people to make a goal. To make it work, share it with someone - a friend, a partner, a coach. That's a powerful assist in the process of making your goals real.
By the way - have a look at how strongly you may be resisting these suggestions! Only words, aren't they? But they seem to have a lot of power, don't they! They truly do. As you build more goals, you'll begin to see just how much power is there, waiting for you. - and it gets easier as you go along.
Creating Goals or Building Castles In The Sky - To learn more about this author, visit Craig Jennings's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
That statement implies fanciful daydreaming - unrealistic, fantastic. And yet, when someone criticized Henry David Thoreau's many visions as "castles in the sky" he pointed out - "The sky is the place to build them. You must design your castles in the air first - only then should you can get to work on the foundations."
Creating goals is one of the things that the human animal does best. And goal-setting is probably the most powerful performance-enhancer available to you., Let me repeat - if you want higher performance out of yourself - at work, on your career, in your relationships, wherever - the process of setting goals for yourself is where it begins. It usually takes two people.
And, it's where your demons come out and get to work! Most goal-setting is like the old New Year's Resolution chestnut - started with the best intentions, and gone in a week or so. There are reasons why goal setting sometimes doesn't work. They usually are related to our demons - the secret reasons why we sometimes don't seem to act in our best interests. Let's have a look at a few of them.
Demon #1 - The unwritten. When asked about our goals, we'll smile, tap our head, and say "I've got it all up here." Because the most consistent practice around goal-setting is to leave them unwritten. This gives you the opportunity to modify the goal or even forget it completely if things don't immediately go right.
Demon #2 - The unspecific. How about the kind of goal that says - "I want to start a great new business." This goal is missing time information, and a definition of "great." Maybe you wouldn't be quite so vague - but wouldn't you want your goal to be sufficiently specific so that you'd know when you've achieved it?
Demon #3 - The Global. The global goal says something like "I want there to be more love on the planet." This is not a goal but a vision, admirable, but dream-like. You can create a goal which expresses all the good-will and earnestness within you, but if it doesn't have some nitty-gritty specifics, you're wasting your own time.
These three demons help us avoid giving ourselves nice, clear, unequivocal goals. Why? Many of us would rather not win than risk losing. And so, we often keep our goals unwritten, unspecific or global, because then no-one can make us wrong. There's a rule which says you can't have success without the opportunity for failure, and vice versa. Fuzzy goals let us evade failure, but in so doing, we neatly evade success!
One last example: Picture yourself riding a bicycle. Up hill, down dale, you're pedaling along. You're an expert and highly skilled at moving this bike along. And all without your hands on the handlebars!
What's really happening is this - you're working hard but you have only a vague view of your immediate destination. Your no-hands bicycling means that you have to spend a lot of effort keeping the bicycle balanced. And there's no long-term destiny possible if you're focusing instead on pedaling and not falling down.
There's a neat little mnemonic called S.M.A.R.T. You've probably seen it before. S.M.A.R.T. goals are:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Action-oriented
R = Relevant
T = Time-based
If you tie your goal-setting to this acronym, you'll quickly see how specific your goals become.
Now I work as a business coach, and many of my clients often resist setting goals. Why? Because goals mean risk as well as reward. Goals mean new accomplishments, generated by that part of you not fully developed. Goals mean (drum-roll!!!) permanent change. They also may mean loss of comfort.
On the other hand, goals mean the possibility of changing unsatisfactory circumstances, relationships, jobs, careers, life-partners, etc. Goals allow you to escape from your past. Does that sound interesting?
Isn't it true that many people you know are repeating their past? That they make the same mistakes or live the same life, over and over again. Consider this - when you set yourself a goal, you are looking in the opposite direction - into the future. Things from your past which might drag you down are not part of your new goal or goals. They simply don't appear for you.
So stop right here [x]. Good. Write down something you'd like to have for yourself in the next year that you didn't have this year or last.. If more than one something pops up, keep writing.
If you're playing along fully (and I invite you to stop right now and write down something you'd like to accomplish in 3 or more months if you haven't already) you've probably made a couple of observations already - that thinking far ahead is interesting, and you wonder how, or if, you'll tackle the goal you just wrote down.
After you've written down your goal or goals, one more requirement. If you recall, when we started this article, we specified that it takes two people to make a goal. To make it work, share it with someone - a friend, a partner, a coach. That's a powerful assist in the process of making your goals real.
By the way - have a look at how strongly you may be resisting these suggestions! Only words, aren't they? But they seem to have a lot of power, don't they! They truly do. As you build more goals, you'll begin to see just how much power is there, waiting for you. - and it gets easier as you go along.
Creating Goals or Building Castles In The Sky - To learn more about this author, visit Craig Jennings's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
great job
Commented on Creating Goals or Building Castles In The Sky. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Craig's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Make Attitude Your Ally Addictive Entrepreneurship Marketing Effectiveness Networking Road Warrior Disappearing Leader |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009 | |
 |
The Top 10 GTD Times Posts
Best Posts for Productivity | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||