HeatherO

2010 Goals Part 1: Pencil Your Plan

HeatherO on 12 31, 2009

Goals, Goals, Goals!

This time of year is full of them. Many call them resolutions, which would mean ‘resolute”. Which is kind of funny considering that only 2% stick to them beyond January 15th!

There are as many thoughts on goal setting as there are goals in the cemetery of those unachieved. If you Google “how to set goals”, you will get 37 million results.

I’ve done the written, specific and attainable approach, the write down specific steps approach, the vision board approach (which I still do every year!), the 30 day – 3 month- 1 year-5 year approach, the baby steps approach, the start over in June when you realize there’s not a chance in hell you’ll achieve them approach…and on and on.

What I’ve learned is to think of the process like a trip.

First, You have to know where you are going, and it helps to know why.

(If the Why of the trip is to ‘enjoy time with family’, don’t wait until you get there to enjoy them! Have loads of fun along the journey!)

Be flexible, be open to the possibility that the route may change.

I recently went on a day trip. I knew the route, had the GPS and I knew where I was going.  As I was driving,  the GPS lady said to exit left ahead, as expected.

I noticed however, that a sign ahead indicated that I should go straight. The straight lane was apparently a new bypass. By not being so focused on the “plan”, the one that I had set my mind to, or even the way that the GPS was insisting that I should go, I got to my destination via a new route that was much quicker and easier!

Or, sometimes we run into detours. We usually don’t like them. We whine, complain, and some even freak out over them! The truth is, detours usually exist to protect us from great danger ahead. They send us in a slightly different direction and even often cause delays, but they help us to avoid unforseen bumpy roads, missing bridges and other unpleasant, if not deadly disasters!

Sometimes, those detours take us some really cool places we would have never found or chosen. Sometimes they get us there faster, sometimes it takes longer, and we often don’t ever know what harm they protected us from.

So, embrace the detours and be open to new routes!
Write down your goals, and write the plan – in pencil.

I don’t mean change your goals willy nilly, or even your plan.

Successful people make decisions quickly and change their minds slowly.

Don’t change the plan when it gets tough, or boring, or necessarily when it doesn’t seem to be working. Like a trip, sometimes all you can do is keep driving! But be aware, and flexible along the way!

Know your destination, pencil in your plan, keep that eraser handy and your eyes and ears open.

Then, put the pedal to the metal and go!

You won’t get there sitting in park reviewing the plan!