This was our last preparation week for the “Be, Do and Have More (of what you want) Goals Challenge”. Thank goodness! I for one have had my fill of all this introspection and am ready to Quit Pissing Around with It and get started doing it. I hope you are too.
First, we listed 50 dream goals. Some were eliminated because they were ridiculous, and some were legitimate but were crossed off the list because they were not possible within the constraints of our life today. That left us with a group of possible goals that were worth exploring further.
Next we asked of each these remaining candidates: Why? What is in it for me or the people I care about if I were to achieve this goal? Reasonable, achievable, worthy goals were crossed off the list because we didn’t care enough.
Just because everyone else thinks you should change jobs, lose 50 lbs or go back to school does not mean that you do. We know that we often fail to reach our goals because, upon closer examination, we find they are not OUR goals – they are what others want for us. Maybe you should lose 50 lbs but until YOU decide you want to it cannot be your goal.
Finally, this past week our task was to select our four and expand on the “Why” for each by answering these five questions.
So here they are for my goals:
Benefits from reaching this goal
1. I want to lose 12lbs because it will allow me to be healthier and happier. And my knees won’t hurt as much.
2. I want to be free from my long-standing legal relationship because freedom changes us. This relationship exists only in the eyes of the law and yet it trips me up over and over again. With this resolved I can plan my future with much more certainty.
3. I want to continue to grow my faith because I love my new faithful friends and I envy the peace, trust and assurance they have.
4. I want to grow my reach because I know I can help others and helping more people is the way I will earn a living.
Skills or knowledge required to reach this goal
1. I have the knowledge required to reach the goal of losing 12 lbs
2. I will need great negotiation skills and knowledge of current divorce and property law to reach the goal of ending my legal relationship.
3. I will need to continue working to build my knowledge if I am to succeed in my goal of growing my faith.
4. I will need to keep expanding my knowledge of all things financial while improving my motivating and teaching skills in order to grow my reach.
Major obstacles and Mountains to climb to reach this goal
Wow, this answer is easy. For goals one through four, the major obstacle is me.
I might get distracted, bored, or tired. I might work at it for 2 weeks, hit a wall or a plateau and then get frustrated and quit. Or, something much more interesting might come along. Or nothing interesting comes along and I might just get lazy and decide 1) I’m really not at an unhealthy weight 2) it’s not worth the fight 3) things are pretty good right where I am or 4) I need a nap.
There is no mountain or obstacle that can’t be overcome for these goals with consistent effort for 12 weeks instead of 12 days.
Individuals and Organizations needed to help me reach this goal
You, my friends, to help keep me motivated and accountable.
For #1 I’m depending on Jim to keep buying and cooking only healthy stuff and for #2 a good lawyer for #3, my amazing faith friends and my church and pastor, #4 my clients
Plan for reaching this goal (write it out, tell it like a story)
1. I will continue on my vegan diet, cutting back on snacks and beer while adding more fruit. I will need to exercise much more consistently. I will walk everyday and cycle or skate or run 3 times a week.
2. I will keep my cool and an open mind while relentlessly pursuing an agreement. Then I will hire a lawyer to file.
3. I will hang around my amazing faith friends whenever I get a chance and watch and learn. I will read my bible (or listen) daily. I will attend church. I will tithe consistently.
4. I will spend at least two hours a day working to grow my reach, I will track what works and what doesn’t and re-evaluate weekly.
OK, that’s mine. I hope you did yours. Early tomorrow morning I will quit thinking about these goals and actually start trying to achieve them. I will track my progress every day (as should you) and report to you once a week on my progress.
I’d love to hear about your four goals.
This series starts at Busted