4 March 2008
by 
It’s obviously important to Aim High and Shoot Low when setting goals, but how do you set goals you know will take you where you want to be? How do you follow through to accomplish your goals and discover what you really are capable of achieving?Setting a resolution, like those that abound in the early days of January, simply isn’t enough to give you a focal point to work towards in your every day life. As a freelance writer, my primary goal and resolution for 2008 is to transform my writing hobby into a fulltime career with a fulltime income.
Is it as simple as declaring intent? Of course not.
Each step along the path to success is made of small stones, little leaps of faith that stretch between where you were and where you are going. Every goal has unique steps and every person can take a varied path to similar goals.
The way YOU earn a full-time income will differ to the way I do it. Even your interpretation of ‘full-time income’ may vary depending on your upbringing and standard of living. My expectations are modest, but that doesn’t mean I set the bar so low that accomplishing this goal feels effortless.Define the purpose of your goal and then focus on the stepping stones. It may take a few stern talks with yourself, perhaps a session or two of freewriting, to work out your true reasons for wanting to achieve this dream. Push for the heart of the matter and tie yourself to the goal with as many emotional connections as you can determine.
You could even draft your journey like you might outline a novel. Sometimes it helps to set deadlines, work from a time-line, or keep lists. Track your progress and examine your failures and successes.However you progress from now to your future remember to reward yourself for every leap of faith you take. Closing your eyes to take that jump, however small, is a challenge worthy of celebration. Rejoice, and then set your sights on the next stepping stone just around the corner.
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Rebecca,
When I was deciding whether or not to finish my bachelor’s degree decades after starting it, someone said something that stuck with me and I’ve come back to it over and over throughout my life, when setting goals. “The time will go by regardless of what you decide. So, at the end of those xx years, what will you have to show for it?” Somehow that became a motivator for me. If I could just get through the current class, and the next class and then the next “current” class, I’d eventually reach my goal. With lots of support from family (especially my husband who saw little of me during that time), I earned my bachelor’s degree while working a full-time job. In fact, the journey became the best part and I went back for my master’s a few years after that. I have to admit, it helped that I was in a structured environment where the courses were set and I just had to perform. But if one can set up a structure and stick to it, great things can be accomplished. I really enjoy your writing, and enjoyed your guest post at http://www.BloggingExperiment.com. Keep up the good work and in a year, or so, you’ll have remarkable things to show for your time and effort!
Thank you for your wonderfully supportive comment! I truly appreciate your encouragement. Congratulations on pushing through for those degree’s. Aiming high and accomplishing your goals no matter how long or hard the journey is truly remarkable. It is important to make every moment count. To accomplish great things we must work toward them every single day.
Thanks for stopping by Moms and I’m glad you enjoyed my guest post.
Hello Rebecca,
Another inspiring blog post. I especially like the idea of aiming high and shooting low.
I’ve been on numerous management courses for my job and all of them keep coming back to SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-constrained). It doesn’t seem to work in my disorganised place of work because nobody seems to be bothered. Right motivation is definately a huge part of working towards your goals, which is why I really like your idea of freewriting to find out the reasons you want to achieve them.
I wish you all the luck in achieving your dreams.
RT
Thanks so much, Rebecca!
Tony Robbins teaches the Rapid Planning Method (RPM) method of goal setting.
R = Results: Decide what it is you want. Create your goal.
P = Purpose: Really come to grips about WHY you want to accomplish this goal and what it means to you if you accomplish it now or if you never accomplish it. He (and I) encourage making this step an EMOTIONAL experience. Really examine why the goal is important to you, feel the pain of imagining failure or never trying and feel the bliss that would come with your success, with the task completed.
M = MAP = Massive Action Plan: Break it into smaller steps that you CAN ACCOMPLISH! You can set your aim as high as you like if you break your goal down into manageable chunks.
Obviously, doing it in exactly this process is as time consuming as the S.M.A.R.T. method of goal setting. I tend to set one or two major goals to work toward. I reaffirm my Purpose/s frequently and then I just make sure I take at least one action towards that primary goal every single day. The more I do the better of course but so long as I’m moving forward I’ll get there.
Thank you for the warm wishes. I hope you accomplish all you begin and love the life you live doing it.