On a regular basis we make futuristic promises to ourselves that we hardly act on. It may be time to unify with our inner being and start leveraging from our promises of tomorrow to get a head start on the activities we need to engage in today. Make a decision to start and then begin planning. But, how do you plan?
As I had mentioned in many of my previous posts, the way to jump start the path to change can only be done through the setting of goals. This has been one of my most troublesome areas. I have resisted taking the time to explore my inner thoughts and clearly define my purpose. It has taking me over two years to willingly commit to doing this. So, as I engage in this journey of self discovery, I have decided to share the process as it has been shared with me.
Several books and motivational readings are available that can guide you through the process of setting up goals. I had been exposed to the S.M.A.R.T Goal setting process earlier on. Last week I was introduced to the same process with a spin on it. Barbara Wilson, a great coach and speaker introduced me to SMAART Goal setting. This is the one that I have committed to seek through.
The SMAART process consists of setting up objectives that are specific, measurable, aggressive but attainable, agreed upon, relevant and time bound.
I have learned through experience that your goals must be specific in nature. A goal that is vague it’s bound to dissipate in thin air and fail from start. I used to think that my main goal was to be happy but – is that a goal? Or is that a result? Am I bound to fail? It can be part of a goal but not the goal itself. I read a book long time ago that said “what the thinker thinks, the prover proves” and I agree 100%. If your goal is to do more of what makes you happy, but you do not make an effort to expand on what it is that will make you happy, then deep inside you are planning to fail before you start – and you will not be disappointed. When you come across a vague goal – ask yourself – what is it that can help me get to that state of mind? Once you begin to answer that, then the specific goal will be formulated.
Once a statement has been thought you want to ensure that there will be ways for you to measure progress. If you are not able to see and appreciate advancement in things you do, you will very soon become uninterested and lose excitement. So, ask yourself, how can I gauge the advancement toward a particular goal? And if you cannot come up with an answer, begin to analyze the original objective, create variations and tweak it until an assessment can be done.
The most intimidating part of this process is to inspire goals aggressive enough to push us outside our comfort zone but not too far that we crawl back in, trembling with fear and with no intentions to wonder out again. Once the desire to experience a journey in a different way overcomes us, it is only natural that an urge to experience, experiment and come outside our safety net empowers us. However, we must be careful how much we push our inner soul; this is a crucial time of the development; like teaching a youngster to walk, if at any point in time that lust to experiment becomes terrifying the child will shot down and get back into crawling stage, the same will happen to our inner being. It is best to be cautious and alert to any fearsome signs than take ourselves so far out that when we hit the brakes we go flying out through the windshield and no longer can attain that goal we work so hard to get to.
Interestingly enough Barbara Wilson introduced a new step, one that we may think about a lot but not very often put into practice. Agreed upon – this is a call to share our defined goals with those who will be somehow affected by the objectives we set for ourselves. Entering into a mutual agreement with those that may influence our success cannot be taken lightly. In my experience, this step is as crucial as it is for an individual to be motivated to set up their goals. Very often I have convinced myself that my goals are not to be revealed to anyone – “they are my goals and no one needs to interfere or be involved.” Have I been wrong? I have discovered that those thoughts are self defeating. Those thoughts are part of the evil mind that wants to pull me down and away from getting where I want to be. Every goal that you can think of will somehow involve others. Always, identify who that individual(s) is and ensure that everyone is in agreement. Be smart and think of this agreement as a way of getting your own support system in place. Once you have the buy in, these individuals can become your accountability system.
Relevance is a characteristic that you must attach to your goals. Ensure that your objectives go hand in hand with your purpose, your desire, something you truly appreciate. If your goal is to relocate your home, but your mind, heart and soul cannot bear the idea of a move and you decide to ignore those feelings and proceed to conquer what you think you most desire, you may never be satisfied regardless of how new and exciting the things around you may be. Ensuring that your thoughts, your words, and your actions are in harmony is an essential part of setting up relevant goals.
Last but not least – time bound. Every idea most clearly have a time frame affixed to it. It is imperative to determine a time line for each goal and action plan that’s put in place. This is the system that is going to help you keep track of your progress as well as provide you with the encouragement needed to keep working toward that end result that is so desired.
This is by far the hardest process to accomplish. But, I strongly believe that once this is completed the remainder will be slightly easier.
Enjoy! Keep working on your desired outcome!
Thanks to Barbara Wilson for all her insight about this topic! She has reinforced my desire to continue in this journey of self-discovery.