This has been a fast and furious (no pun) year; lot's of movement and changes that I never would have expected. But....that's why I should continually re-cast goals.
Note 1. this is an updated repost from 2/2/2011
Note 2. I've added comments about "dreams" in August, 2013
Note 3. Personally, I don't do goals well in the typical "goal-setting" sense. My goals are very short-term (rarely do I set a goal past this Friday). What I do though, and I'm very driven, is DREAM.
One generation ago, we were a society that feared and resisted change. Now many accept change as unavoidable and do little to prepare for the consequences. Instead, most people I know flow with the times, struggling to make the necessary adjustments life throws at them.
How about you….how do you engage in the changes in your business, your life? Do you plan, set goals and prepare for changes? Or, are you in the more common camp of “go-with-the-flow.” How about dreams? Do you still have dreams? A few people seem to do well in spite of themselves with this “ready-shoot-aim” method. But that doesn’t work for most of us.
To be effective, we know we need goals and a plan of action, but we’ve set and missed so many goals that it’s gotten us down and we’re scared to set them again. In default we’ve taken to the go-with-the-flow or ready-shoot-aim method and we’ve failed.
So, how does one properly set and stay engaged in achieving goals? And what do dreams have to do with anything?
First, there needs to be a dream. You might call it a passion, desire or purpose. I call it a dream and define a dream as something I want real bad and when things get tough and rough, I can think about my dreams (a dream) and it will get me through the moment, the day...the event.
Whether your role is as a leader, manager, follower, single-contributor or combination thereof, you'll get better results from your goal setting by having a dream and practicing and staying engaged in T.A.S.K.S. - Based Goal Setting.
• Time
• Attitude
• Skill
• Knowledge and
• Style
In order to achieve a goal you must align the goal with your capabilities. If you don’t have the Time, Attitude, Skill, Knowledge and/or Style needed to accomplish that goal, then you’ll need to gain those particular capabilities.
This is the true essence of having long and short-term goals and the time in which you set to achieve them. Achieving good-meaningful-goals is a daily practice that with a few modifications to traditional goal setting rules you will achieve results.
Here is how to practice TASKS - Based Goal Setting:
1. Dream big, dream small, but dream and Put Your Dream To the Test (check out John Maxwell's book: click here)
2. Start growing by associating with what it's going to take to move towards your dream. Zig Ziglar said "you'll be the same 5 years from today as your are today except for what you listen to, who you associated with and what your read." Make the decision to grow.
3. Set short-term goals that drive you to grow towards your dreams
4. Evaluate and correct (learn) the Time, Attitude, Skill, Knowledge and Style you’ll need to accomplish each of your dream, your growth and your goals.
5. Increase your capabilities one-day-at-a-time.
6. Evaluate and correct your growth and goals on a continuous basis. Goals should be “living documents.” Things (life, lack of capabilities, etc) will get in the way that will cause you to not achieve many of them. But, you must be in a constant practice of evaluating, correcting and re-implementing the goal setting process. When it seems too tough, too rough, pause and reflect..think about your dreams. Let your dreams replenish your energy.
Brad McCoy, football coach and Dad to pro-football quarterback Colt McCoy, explains how he coaches football and takes on life; “prepare the player for the path, not the path for the player.”
So, with that in mind, continuously prepare yourself and you’ll do much better on the path you find yourself on. Don’t let your tolerance for change cause you to give up on something prematurely – focus on the dream and depend on the growth to help accomplish the minor goals that require minor changes that lead to big results.
To that end…..live purposefully.
Note 1. this is an updated repost from 2/2/2011
Note 2. I've added comments about "dreams" in August, 2013
Note 3. Personally, I don't do goals well in the typical "goal-setting" sense. My goals are very short-term (rarely do I set a goal past this Friday). What I do though, and I'm very driven, is DREAM.
One generation ago, we were a society that feared and resisted change. Now many accept change as unavoidable and do little to prepare for the consequences. Instead, most people I know flow with the times, struggling to make the necessary adjustments life throws at them.
How about you….how do you engage in the changes in your business, your life? Do you plan, set goals and prepare for changes? Or, are you in the more common camp of “go-with-the-flow.” How about dreams? Do you still have dreams? A few people seem to do well in spite of themselves with this “ready-shoot-aim” method. But that doesn’t work for most of us.
To be effective, we know we need goals and a plan of action, but we’ve set and missed so many goals that it’s gotten us down and we’re scared to set them again. In default we’ve taken to the go-with-the-flow or ready-shoot-aim method and we’ve failed.
So, how does one properly set and stay engaged in achieving goals? And what do dreams have to do with anything?
First, there needs to be a dream. You might call it a passion, desire or purpose. I call it a dream and define a dream as something I want real bad and when things get tough and rough, I can think about my dreams (a dream) and it will get me through the moment, the day...the event.
Whether your role is as a leader, manager, follower, single-contributor or combination thereof, you'll get better results from your goal setting by having a dream and practicing and staying engaged in T.A.S.K.S. - Based Goal Setting.
• Time
• Attitude
• Skill
• Knowledge and
• Style
In order to achieve a goal you must align the goal with your capabilities. If you don’t have the Time, Attitude, Skill, Knowledge and/or Style needed to accomplish that goal, then you’ll need to gain those particular capabilities.
This is the true essence of having long and short-term goals and the time in which you set to achieve them. Achieving good-meaningful-goals is a daily practice that with a few modifications to traditional goal setting rules you will achieve results.
Here is how to practice TASKS - Based Goal Setting:
1. Dream big, dream small, but dream and Put Your Dream To the Test (check out John Maxwell's book: click here)
2. Start growing by associating with what it's going to take to move towards your dream. Zig Ziglar said "you'll be the same 5 years from today as your are today except for what you listen to, who you associated with and what your read." Make the decision to grow.
3. Set short-term goals that drive you to grow towards your dreams
4. Evaluate and correct (learn) the Time, Attitude, Skill, Knowledge and Style you’ll need to accomplish each of your dream, your growth and your goals.
5. Increase your capabilities one-day-at-a-time.
6. Evaluate and correct your growth and goals on a continuous basis. Goals should be “living documents.” Things (life, lack of capabilities, etc) will get in the way that will cause you to not achieve many of them. But, you must be in a constant practice of evaluating, correcting and re-implementing the goal setting process. When it seems too tough, too rough, pause and reflect..think about your dreams. Let your dreams replenish your energy.
Brad McCoy, football coach and Dad to pro-football quarterback Colt McCoy, explains how he coaches football and takes on life; “prepare the player for the path, not the path for the player.”
So, with that in mind, continuously prepare yourself and you’ll do much better on the path you find yourself on. Don’t let your tolerance for change cause you to give up on something prematurely – focus on the dream and depend on the growth to help accomplish the minor goals that require minor changes that lead to big results.
To that end…..live purposefully.
