Yesterday I
talked about how sometimes setting goals can hold you back from reaching your
dreams. I’m sure that some of you
thought I might be crazy. But, honestly,
when we set goals, we sometimes set the bar a little too low because we are
afraid of failure, and those big dreams we have seem so far out of reach.
talked about how sometimes setting goals can hold you back from reaching your
dreams. I’m sure that some of you
thought I might be crazy. But, honestly,
when we set goals, we sometimes set the bar a little too low because we are
afraid of failure, and those big dreams we have seem so far out of reach.
However, I also said that setting goals is part of the
process of reaching your dreams; I just wanted you to start dreaming first.
process of reaching your dreams; I just wanted you to start dreaming first.
How do you set goals?
There is the tried and true SMART method of setting your
goals. It needs to be Specific,
Manageable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Bound.
goals. It needs to be Specific,
Manageable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Bound.
That R is always the hang up for me. In the actual acronym I believe Relevant is
the term that is used, but Realistic works just as well here. Realistic.
the term that is used, but Realistic works just as well here. Realistic.
Well, my guess is that some of your dreams, which need goals
to be achieved, will not be completely realistic. This is the main reason I wanted us to think
about our big picture dreams yesterday, without “realistic” holding us
back.
to be achieved, will not be completely realistic. This is the main reason I wanted us to think
about our big picture dreams yesterday, without “realistic” holding us
back.
It is easy to get to realistic and then start to doubt
yourself. Is this something you could
really do? It doesn’t seem very
realistic to live off the grid, it doesn’t seem realistic to not involve the
kids in a lot of extracurricular activities and instead do one activity
together as a family, it isn’t realistic to live in a small house with the
number of kids you have, it isn’t realistic to not take out a car loan, or not
use credit cards.
yourself. Is this something you could
really do? It doesn’t seem very
realistic to live off the grid, it doesn’t seem realistic to not involve the
kids in a lot of extracurricular activities and instead do one activity
together as a family, it isn’t realistic to live in a small house with the
number of kids you have, it isn’t realistic to not take out a car loan, or not
use credit cards.
But, what if it is realistic to do those things? You only need to change your thinking.
This is something that is incredibly difficult to do, and we
have been talking about it a lot over the past several days. There are things; finances, possessions,
commitments, relationships, that are holding you back. How can you change your thinking in order to
accomplish these dreams and goals?
have been talking about it a lot over the past several days. There are things; finances, possessions,
commitments, relationships, that are holding you back. How can you change your thinking in order to
accomplish these dreams and goals?
The difficult part about setting goals after dreaming is
that it can take a long time – the T part of the SMART goal.
that it can take a long time – the T part of the SMART goal.
I am someone who likes to have everything done
immediately. If I make a decision, I
want the finished result as soon as the decision is made. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work this
way. In fact, it rarely works this way. What about you?
immediately. If I make a decision, I
want the finished result as soon as the decision is made. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work this
way. In fact, it rarely works this way. What about you?
Most likely the reason that feeling is alive and well is
because of the instant nature of our lives today. If you want to watch TV, you turn on the TV,
if you are bored there is the internet, binging something on Netflix, an iPhone
that has a constant source of game apps that you can mindlessly play (I am a
big fan of Solitaire – geek I know!).
You don’t have to wait for much of anything these days, and that has
caused a lot of us (me included) to think that as soon as we decide on
something it should happen. And when it
doesn’t immediately happen we can begin to get discouraged.
because of the instant nature of our lives today. If you want to watch TV, you turn on the TV,
if you are bored there is the internet, binging something on Netflix, an iPhone
that has a constant source of game apps that you can mindlessly play (I am a
big fan of Solitaire – geek I know!).
You don’t have to wait for much of anything these days, and that has
caused a lot of us (me included) to think that as soon as we decide on
something it should happen. And when it
doesn’t immediately happen we can begin to get discouraged.
How do we combat against losing hope when setting goals to
reach our dreams?
reach our dreams?
Set smaller goals, and set them more often.
When you look at your big picture dream, the next step is to
break it down into smaller pieces. Your
dream is going to be this huge, almost unattainable, pie and the sky notion,
but when you sit down with that dream, you need to make it into smaller pieces
so that you can start to reach that dream.
break it down into smaller pieces. Your
dream is going to be this huge, almost unattainable, pie and the sky notion,
but when you sit down with that dream, you need to make it into smaller pieces
so that you can start to reach that dream.
Perhaps your dream is to travel around the country with your
family for a year. Awesome dream – it is
something I would love to do. However,
you have debt. Or your job doesn’t allow
you to work remotely. Or maybe you are
so involved in your community that if you left for a year you feel like
everything would completely fall apart (this isn’t the case, people are
surprisingly resilient when it comes to change). Pick one of those things, and break it down
even further to accomplish that one goal – become debt free.
family for a year. Awesome dream – it is
something I would love to do. However,
you have debt. Or your job doesn’t allow
you to work remotely. Or maybe you are
so involved in your community that if you left for a year you feel like
everything would completely fall apart (this isn’t the case, people are
surprisingly resilient when it comes to change). Pick one of those things, and break it down
even further to accomplish that one goal – become debt free.
It will help if you work backwards. If you want to do x then you need to do
y. If you want to do y then you need to
do z, and so on – although you might want to start earlier in the alphabet!
y. If you want to do y then you need to
do z, and so on – although you might want to start earlier in the alphabet!
Once you have looked at your big picture dream, and then
made a list of smaller steps to actually get to that big picture dream, then you
are ready to make your SMART goals.
made a list of smaller steps to actually get to that big picture dream, then you
are ready to make your SMART goals.
Look at those smaller steps, each of those should be the
start of a goal. Some of these smaller
steps might have multiple goals attached to them. If being debt free is one of your smaller
steps, you are going to need to break that down even further. “I will pay off x by such and such a date by
working an extra job, making my lunch at home, by not buying coffee every day
etc.”
start of a goal. Some of these smaller
steps might have multiple goals attached to them. If being debt free is one of your smaller
steps, you are going to need to break that down even further. “I will pay off x by such and such a date by
working an extra job, making my lunch at home, by not buying coffee every day
etc.”
This is how you make your dreams reachable. While it is wonderful to day dream about what
you want out of life, unless you begin to proactively break down that dream
into manageable steps with goals attached, it will continue to be way down the
line, always just out of reach.
you want out of life, unless you begin to proactively break down that dream
into manageable steps with goals attached, it will continue to be way down the
line, always just out of reach.
When
you look at your big picture dream, are you able to work backwards to see some
of the smaller steps necessary to make that dream a reality?
you look at your big picture dream, are you able to work backwards to see some
of the smaller steps necessary to make that dream a reality?
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