Are you feeling a little jaded about goal-setting because you think, “What’s the point? I never quite reach my goals anyway!”
If your answer is “Yes,” I can honestly say, “Me too! I’ve been there.” I personally don’t like it when I have to re-do my goals because I set some that I didn’t reach.
Maybe you’ve set some goals for 2008 and have already lost steam because things aren’t moving along like you hoped they would. Here we are in February and some of us are already feeling a little (or a lot) behind. The exasperation that follows can cause us to give up on our goals even before we give them much of a chance to bloom.
No matter how you feel about goals, I’m going to ask that you consider dropping your aversion to them — if you have any — for one reason. And that reason is this: successful, happy, productive people have goals. And because you are human, it’s healthy to have desires, something positive to shoot for, and something good to look forward to.
Here is something to consider: It doesn’t matter if you don’t reach all of your goals. The process of going for your goals is a meaningful and worthy pursuit.
Having goals and taking action on them enriches your life, helps you grow as a person and brings experiences to you that you otherwise wouldn’t have. Plus, if you’re not growing, you’re stagnating. It’s just the way it is.
Here is my guess on why we shy away from our goals almost as soon as we set them: OUR GOALS SUDDENLY LOOM LARGE AND SEEM TOO HARD TO REACH! I hear this from my coaching clients a lot.
So, here are my tips for getting moving again on those things that you really want in 2008…
Achieve Great Things by Attempting Small Things
Big things are accomplished by thinking small, because small things are the only things we can do right now. Don’t underestimate the power of the small. You can achieve great things by attempting small things, step by step and day after day.
Chinese Philosopher Lao-tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, or “Great Way,” more than 2,500 years ago. His wise guide remains a relevant source of inspiration today. In it he wrote:
“A tower nine stories high starts with one brick. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
I think that might be the most commonly quoted phrase from Lao-tzu’s entire work because it’s so encouraging. We can begin from where we are, right here, right now. It doesn’t matter what set of life circumstances we’re dealing with.
Thinking big makes our goals seem daunting and unrealistic, unachievable even. And when we’re overwhelmed, we tend to procrastinate and stagnate.
Don’t get me wrong. I want you to have BIG dreams. I am a believer in the philosophy, “The Bigger the Dream, The Bigger the Dream Come True,” but I’ve learned that goals and dreams can be accomplished ONLY by us choosing our next step and taking it — over and over again. We get to the end result through daily action, not by fretting or daydreaming about the final destination.
If You Can’t Do A Lot, Do a Little
Taking action is not to be confused with going at a frantic, exhausting pace that leaves us feeling burned out and unable to enjoy life as we’re going along. Taking action should feel empowering. It builds lasting motivation because the feeling of accomplishment is generated from the inside.
If you can’t do a lot today, just do a little and chalk that up to “being enough”.
Think about this: Before you say ”I’ll do it tomorrow” and put off taking the next step to advance your goal, do just ONE thing today. People that study human behavior tell us that it takes about 20 minutes to get into any task. So be good to yourself and honor the goals that you’ve set for your life. Give yourself a full 20 minutes to drop into action and get into the flow. Do just ONE thing today; after that, if you’re still not in the mood, leave it alone for the rest of the day and pick it up again tomorrow. At least you’ll know that you did something positive, even if it’s just ONE thing.
If you do just ONE thing to advance your goal every day for one full year, you will be 365 steps closer to your goal!!!
And 365 steps are a LOT of steps. Surely you will be much further along with any ambition you have in your life. And you’ll progress quite nicely without burning yourself out or turning your world upside-down.
Coaching Tip — Take It One Day at a Time
Great results are achieved by taking daily action, one day at a time. You don’t have to deliver anything big today so take the pressure off. Just keep the wheels in motion. Keep the mojo going. Begin today and let your momentum take care of the rest. Yes, you must take part in your life and show up to participate but you don’t have to take the joy out of living by setting yourself up to be nothing less than superman (or woman).
For example, I have a woman in my practice who is running a business on her own. She recently told me, “Daily action, one day at a time, is all I can do right now. And so far, it seems to be the only thing that has ever really worked for me.”
So you have your goals. That’s awesome! You’re off to a great start. One day at a time is all that is required of you now.
