The Goal is Dead – Long Live the Goal!

Concerning all matter of goal setting and declared objectives…

•  If the goal is over a year old and no progress has been made – it’s a dead goal.   The illusion of the future goal is preventing the real action taking place around things you could actually make progress on.  Somehow or other, just because we have the goal in our head or on our whiteboard is enough to convince ourselves we are actually making progress towards it. The reality check against self-illusory goals:
• You are going to do it one day soon… (It’s easy to fool someone – the easiest person to fool is you). Over a year old goal? It’s a dead goal going nowhere very slowly.
• Waiting for someone or something to happen before you can make headway? C’mon, give me a break – are you seriously buying that ‘when the ducks are lined up’ routine before you get cracking?  When a goal is meaning-full or captivating you will be unstoppable. Don’t believe me? Check out your own history. When you have made big progress against something you really wanted – did external factors ever have a real chance of beating you back? No, thought not.
•  “When I find time…”  One of the most effective shifts in awareness a human being can make is to recognise the debilitating effect of that stopper blocker.  Time found? Where does one find time? In a cupboard, under the sofa? You never find time, its no coincidence that we MAKE time for meaningful goals.

 Evidence of commitment (to a goal) Lives in Results.

 Commitment exists when our actions meet the expectation of our words – when intent, words and action flow from one to the other.

 Commitment = persistence. If you are committed, your support is uncompromising and unending. You are willing to do anything in support of the commitment. This applies to relationships as much as it applies to professional or personal commitments. Commitment drives us and anchors us during challenging times. Commitment helps us to maintain our unstoppability. We persist to that which we’re committed.

 Commitment is purposeful. Commitment involves choice. Commitment is never haphazard or random. While we may lose our perspective from time to time, commitment always involves choice and intent. Commitment enables us to be purpose-full.

 Commitment lives in communication supported by ACTION. Communication involves verbal and nonverbal interaction. While commitment lives in words, evidence of commitment lives in our actions and results. Be attentive for evidence of commitment in communication.

 The results, outcomes and circumstances you are achieving are a true indication of where your commitments lie.

Sometimes that is a harsh reality to buy. I tell myself I’m committed to becoming more IT savvy, or to getting fit, or to getting home at a decent hour, or to telling my boss just how out of order he can be.  The results say otherwise – it’s called self-delusion. The first step beyond self-delusion is telling the truth to yourself.  I’ve had some pretty edgy conversations with clients who say they are really committed to ‘family time’ yet they fail to meet their goals in this regard – month in month out.  I have had some pretty sticky conversations with myself about what or I’m committed to.

 Have an honest look at what you are currently accomplishing and decide if you are happy where your commitments lie.

(Yes, that is my whiteboard – scrubbed clean, purged of dead goals and obligations)