Improve your life

Choosing a Goal

Since, everywhere I look, people seem to be talking about goals, I thought I'd chime in with my two cents.... ok... again!

The thing is - and I talked about this yesterday - its important to choose the right goals or you may end up in a situation you weren't really looking for in the first place. Heck, maybe it turns out well - but chances are its not quite what you were looking for. So what are you looking for?

For me, I was once afraid of setting goals. Not because I feared achieving them, rather because I was afraid I would choose the wrong goals! Now that I look back on it, I realize how silly it all sounds. Realistically, if you set the wrong goal and achieve it, well, its further proof that you can achieve the goal that you do want to achieve.

But how do you skip that annoying step of going the wrong way in the first place? Well, there are a couple of ways.

Most commonly, you will hear people talking about a forward facing perspective (or something to that effect). And what they generally mean by that is, place yourself in the future after already attaining that goal. Feel it, know it, taste it, be it. How does it feel? Now - look back at yourself today, and start figuring out what changes and actions need to happen.

Now this is a fantastic way of setting a goal. Tremendous! And what I've found is, I'm not always able to accomplish this sort of forward facing perspective. I just can't seem to get "in the zone" for some things. Now - keep in mind - I said "some things". Depending on what it is, I can very easily visualize some things and not others. Don't know why, don't really want to spend the time trying to figure it out. Why? Because I found another way.

I found out that I could take a list of goals - all things that came out of my mind. Things that I thought would be neat to achieve. And then I would "try them on for size". Its like trying on a new coat. How does it feel? Is the fabric nice? Will it keep you warm? Can you move around in it? Does it constrict your movement? Or does it allow you to move about freely? Funnily enough, when you ask these same questions of yourself with regard to the outcome of a goal, you'll find out pretty quick if it really is important to you, and where it should sit in the list of your priorities.

If you're really having troubles deciding what you want to do most, what goal you want to pursue most of all, then check out the Decision Matrix in the next post. It helps you get a visual representation of how you can prioritize a list of items.

But the number one message for today is - chase your goals! Don't let indecision eat at any more of your life!

posted by Mark @ 5:04 PM