Setting Goals
Baby Steps
We’ve been at this for a week now, and I think it’s time to take some definitive action. Let’s look back at our prosperity visions and see if we can find one small doable thing. Nothing too hard, nothing overly complicated… something simple and well within the realm of possibility.
I’m willing to bet that each of you have something on your list that you know you COULD accomplish, or do, or have, but you don’t, or haven’t, or won’t. It doesn’t have to be something that happens right away. It could be more long term, like finding a great job, learning a skill, or starting your own business.
Alternatively, you can use the “more money” idea. I am sure that we all have that on our prosperity list. In which case, you could start a list of all the ways you could begin to bring in more money. Clipping coupons. Odd jobs. Cutting costs. Selling stuff. Making stuff to sell. Etc.
Here’s another example: if your vision of prosperity includes travel… maybe you could think about planning a small trip. Traveling someplace close enough to be affordable and interesting enough to be fun.
Once you have found something small and simple that you think you can find the resources for. Write it down. Now, make a list of what is required. List all the steps that need to be taken in order to achieve it. Pay attention to any resistance you might feel. Be aware of and notice which of the steps you cringe at the thought of actually having to do.
Tomorrow we’re going to explore these resistances and road blocks. Today, we’re just writing down the abc’s of how we might get there from here.
Setting Goals
Here are some thoughts about goal setting that I found at Steve Pavlina’s website:
A major obstacle that prevents people from enjoyably achieving their goals is that they set their goals incorrectly to begin with. This problem occurs because people don’t understand the nature of time well enough. When people consider a particular goal, they often worry about the time commitment: If I start my own business now, it could take years to make it profitable. I’m so overweight it could take years for me to get in shape. If I break off this unfulfilling relationship, it could take years to get back on my feet again. Such thoughts are clearly demotivating, but more importantly they reveal a total misunderstanding of the nature of time.
We tend to think of time as a resource that we spend, just like we spend money. To complete a one-hour task is to spend an hour on it. How are you spending your day? Where do you want to spend your next vacation? How will you spend the rest of the year? Time is money, a disposable resource.
This is a silly and inaccurate way to think about time, however. Time is not a resource. You cannot spend time. Time spends itself. You have no choice in the matter. No matter what you do, the time is going to pass anyway. It doesn’t matter if you do one thing or another for the next five years. Those five years will pass no matter what you do.
In reality you are never in the past or future. You exist only in the present moment. Even when you remember the past or envision the future, you’re still thinking those thoughts in the present. All you really have is right now. And that’s all you ever will have. You can’t control the passage of time, but you can control your present moment focus. That’s all. No past. No future. Just right now.
The purpose of goal-setting isn’t to control the future. That would be senseless because the future only exists in your imagination. The only value in goal-setting is that it improves the quality of your present moment reality. Setting goals can give you greater clarity and focus right now. Whenever you set a goal, always ask yourself, “How does setting this goal improve my present reality?” If a goal does not improve your present reality, then the goal is pointless, and you may as well dump it. But if the goal brings greater clarity, focus, and motivation to your life whenever you think about it, it’s a keeper.
As you think about how your goals improve your present reality, eventually you’ll feel motivated to take action. At the same time, you’ll begin attracting resources into your life that will help you achieve your goals. There’s no need to force yourself — you’ll find yourself naturally drawn to take action as you keep bringing your focus back to the present. When you think about a goal in a way that motivates you right now, it’s only natural that you’ll begin taking action congruent with the goal.
When you set goals that increase the quality of your present reality, then what does it matter how long it takes to achieve the final outcome? Whether it takes one week or five years is irrelevant. The whole path is fun and enjoyable. More importantly, you feel happy and fulfilled this very moment. This drives you to take enjoyable action, so you’re productive too.
So what do you guys think? If you want to read his complete post, here’s the link. Is he right? What goals have you been successful with, and what goals do you find yourself continually struggling to keep up with?
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