Text box: If you don’t have a goal, you don’t get the gold.
Dr. Alan Zimmerman’s Comment:
Think of something you wanted to do a year ago. Something that mattered to you.
Have you done anything about it? Or are you still saying, “One of these days”?
Sometimes life gives you good reasons to wait. But sometimes you’re ready to begin and just keep putting it off. Only you know which is true for you.
Most of us have something like that. And if we’re not careful, we’ll be talking about the same thing a year from now.
I learned something about goals when I was seven. I wanted a bicycle, and I knew exactly which one: the fancy bike with white sidewall tires and streamers hanging from the handlebars.
My family was poor. We could afford a used bike. We couldn’t afford the one I wanted.
So I started selling greeting cards door to door. My first goal was to sell a few boxes to people within a square mile of our house and earn money for that bike.
And I bought it.
But I kept selling. One goal led to another, and by twelve, I had a small international import business. I imported shoes from Czechoslovakia, watches from France, cuckoo clocks from Germany, and other goods that I sold door to door.
My delivery fleet consisted of one bicycle and a wagon. I pulled the wagon behind my bike, taking my merchandise through the neighborhood.
I wanted that bicycle badly enough to knock on doors. That’s the question worth asking about your own goal: Does it matter enough to you to do something about it today?
Your goal may have nothing to do with earning money. You may want a better relationship with your spouse, a healthier routine, or something worthwhile to do with your retirement. You may want to learn a skill or finish a project that’s been sitting half-done for years.
Whatever it is, wishing for it won’t give you much to work with. A clear goal will.
Here are three reasons to give yourself one.
1. GOALS BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE.
People often tell me, “I’d like to try, but I’m not very confident.”
I understand. It’s hard to believe you can do something when you haven’t done it before. But waiting to feel confident can keep you waiting a long time.
Give yourself a small goal and work on it. Make the call. Finish the first lesson. Write the first page. Then you have something to point to: “I did that.”
That’s how my confidence grew. Selling those cards gave me a reason to try something else, and then something else after that.
If you’ve let yourself down with promises you haven’t kept, don’t make ten more promises. Choose one you can keep this week. Give yourself some evidence that you can follow through.
2. GOALS GIVE YOUR ENERGY A DIRECTION.
You can be busy all day and still feel as though you didn’t do anything that mattered to you. You answered messages, ran errands, and took care of everyone else’s needs. Your own plans got whatever time was left over.
Usually, there wasn’t any.
A goal helps you decide what deserves a place in your day. Maybe you’ll spend twenty minutes learning a language for an upcoming trip. Maybe you’ll record a few family stories for your grandchildren. Maybe you’ll volunteer for a cause you care about.
And if you’re retired, please don’t assume your goal-setting days are over. You can retire from a job without retiring from learning, contributing, or trying something new.
You don’t need a goal that impresses your neighbors. You need one that gives you a reason to get moving.
3. GOALS HELP YOU OVERCOME OBSTACLES.
It’s easy to start when you’re excited. Then life gets busy, something goes wrong, and you wonder whether it’s worth the effort.
A goal gives you a reason to take another look before you quit.
Suppose you want a closer relationship with someone. One awkward conversation doesn’t have to end the effort. If you’ve decided to call each week and listen without interrupting, you have something specific to practice the next time.
You may need to change your approach. You may need help. You may need a different deadline. Sometimes you need to rethink the goal.
But don’t give up simply because your first attempt didn’t go the way you hoped. Ask yourself, “What can I do differently?”
ACTION: PICK ONE THING. START TODAY.
Take five minutes and choose something you want to work on over the next thirty days. Write down:
By __________, I will __________.
This matters to me because __________.
Within the next 24 hours, I will __________.
Be specific. “Have a closer family” doesn’t tell you what to do. “Call one family member every Sunday for the next four weeks and listen for fifteen minutes without distractions” does.
Put your first step on your calendar. Tell someone who will ask you about it.
Then set aside ten minutes four weeks from today to check: What did I do? What got in the way? What will I do next?
Don’t just write the goal and put it in a drawer. Come back to it.
COME WORK ON IT WITH ME.
Marilyn Schilling, an Administrative Office Manager, described her results from my live, online program:
“Your affirmation process got me focused on goals, and your affirmations helped me achieve my goals.” … “I started a weight-loss program and have already lost 10 pounds.” … “I’ve made progress on projects that I didn’t think I could do before.” … “I am no longer letting the negative talk get into my head, and my positive attitude is coming back because of what you taught me.”
You just wrote a goal above. Now comes the part that matters: making time for it when life gets busy.
If you’ve started and stopped before, come work on the skills that help you follow through in NEXT-LEVEL YOU™.
In our weekly live classes, you’ll learn practical skills, ask questions, and practice with others. Replays are available when you can’t attend.
GOAL Mastery is one of our twelve pillars. We also work on confidence, purpose, and accountability—the things you need when knowing what to do isn’t enough.
Bring one goal that matters to you. Put the classes on your calendar, participate, and use what you learn.
Explore NEXT-LEVEL YOU—start your seven-day free trial.
Try NEXT-LEVEL YOU free for seven days. Membership then automatically continues at the Founding Member price of $37 a month unless you cancel before the trial ends.
A year from now, what would you love to say you finally did?
Give it a goal. Take the first step today.