You set a goal, now what do you do with it?
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I find it fascinating the most people plan their vacation with better care than they do their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change. -Jim Rohn
Goals are a given.
You should have them, they should reflect your deepest values and highest vision, and you should be actively working toward them.
I advocate big goals.
Why not? What’s life for if not to take a chance, a big risk, and accomplish something that matters?
Besides, it’s tough to get inspired by a little, weeny goal. “Oh, I just can’t wait to get up tomorrow and make progress on getting that average job I’ve been dreaming about… and maybe, eventually, even buy a pre-owned mid-size sedan,” said Nobody, ever.
Your goals should inspire you. I hope they do. If you don’t have inspiring goals, go read this, then come back here.
What to do with your inspiring goals
So you have the big, inspiring, and kind of terrifying goals. The problem with big goals is, well, the size. Some of them are just intimidating.
What do we do?
We smash them into itty bitty pieces.
Smashing goals (better than pumpkins)
I read a book recently by Cynthia Kersey called Unstoppable Women: Achieve Any Breakthrough Goal in 30 Days.
It’s a great book, written for women, obviously, but full of smart concepts and reminders of stuff you already know but have forgotten and also a few kind of aha! gems that make you feel stupid (for not thinking of it yourself) and empowered (NOW you know) all at once.
One of those little gems is Kersey’s recommendation on how to handle your goal; that is, how to figure out what steps you need to take to reach your goal.
She recommends working backwards. [Ok, I was 100% sure it was in Kersey's book, but now that I look through all my notes etc., I can't find it... so perhaps it was some other book that I've forgotten, but I'm just going to give Kersey the credit until I figure out what. Feel free to correct me if you know whom I should be crediting.]
Look at your big goal and picture yourself there.
Then ask yourself: What were the last two actions I took that got me here? Move backward with each point. Do this all the way back to your own ground zero, and now you have your starting point… plus a whole road map of how to get from Point A – where you are now – to the point of reaching your goal.
I’ll give you a visual on this.
Start where you want to be, and hit rewind
It’s really just about breaking a goal down into steps, and then taking those steps, one at a time.
You can do that.
