I've Learned An Important Lesson On Goal Setting

byRichBrennan

5.3K followers

Updated 7 years ago

Hi Folks

None of us here should need reminding about the importance of setting goals.

Every personal development speaker and author from Napoleon Hill, Jim Rohn,
Zig Ziglar, Bob Proctor to name but a few has waxed lyrical on the subject and if
you're not reading their books or listening to the audios, you need to do so.

Goals are those things by which we measure where we want to be in our business
and in our life at a specific point in the future. A goal without a date is just a wish,
right?

Yes, absolutely, but there are caveats.

I know from my previous experience in Network Marketing, how difficult it is to
explain your reasons to yourself and even more so to your Sponsor when you
move the date on a goal 'a little to the right'. Straight away, you're being put on
a guilt trip as the cliche switch goes to the on position: 'Do whatever it takes' '
Put your life on hold', 'Be straight with me, how serious are you, really? Because
I will only give my precious time to those who.....' yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.

It's so scripted you can almost move your lips to it! And we start to believe it and
beat
ourselves up.

At times, the Sponsor may have a point. If they have a downline who just won't
do what he or she needs to do and just lets deadlines slip unnecessarily, then
fair enough.

However, when setting goals for ourselves - or helping our team members set
their goals - we need to be realistic. A deadline has to be such that while it makes
us get off our backsides and do what we need to do with a sense of purpose, it sill needs to be achievable.

Whilst a goal should be a burning desire, it should not become an obsession.
Too much urgency is self-defeating.

The journey is every bit as important as the destination. If we are not enjoying
the journey because we are putting ourselves under too much pressure, because
we set a deadline we never actually had a hope in hell of achieving no matter how
hard we worked, then the joy of reaching the destination is somewhat diminished.

Unrealistic expectations of ourselves make us feel like a failure when we're not.

It is far more important to work on the actual project, rather than the deadline.
By doing what we can when we can, we will complete the job in hand. Progress is
still progress, however slow, and so long as we're moving in a forwards direction,
we will get there. Consistency is more important than speed. Better to be a Cart
Horse than a Race Horse. A Cart Horse has bags of stamina and just keeps on
keeping on, whereas a Race Horse is burnt out very quickly.

Realistic goal setting comes with experience. When we know what time we can
give to a project and how quickly we can do the work during that time, we will
eventually have some clear idea of when we're likely to accomplish the task in hand.

That's when we'll be able to put a date stamp on it, rather than at the very start.
Don't get me wrong, the deadline still needs to be tight to get us into action as it
can be all too easy to make excuses, and we are more likely to achieve it on or
near the schedule if we don't give ourselves the opportunity to just potter along.

When I started here at WA last January, I immediately did what I'd been brainwashed
into doing from my MLM days and wrote down all the dates when I'd finish the Bootcamp, when I'd complete the Niche Market training, when I'd get my first
sales commission, etc, and I've had to tear it all up and start again because not
only did 'stuff of life' inevitably get in the way, I'd done nothing like this before and
did not have the faintest idea what I was doing or how long it would take me.

I just did what I'd been programmed to do, plucked dates out of thin air and resolved
to 'do whatever it takes' to get there by those dates.

Prior to my recent unintended 2 and bit month time out of WA due to ill health
and stupendous, unanticipated work commitments I had almost completed Course 1
of the Bootcamp. Now that the Bootcamp has been revamped to version 2.0, I've
gone back and started again from scratch.

Now, armed with some knowledge of what's actually involved, a better feel for
how quickly I can assimilate all the techy stuff as a 50 year old complete novice,
a better idea of what hours I can fit in around my other commitments, I've re-written
my goals into something I feel is a bit more realistic.

I may may take longer, I may finish ahead of schedule, or I may finish bang on time.
I simply can't say for sure, but at least I'm a little clearer than I was at the beginning
and more able to make a semi-educated judgement.

But the lesson I've learned is that even if I go off schedule again, it's being persistent
and consistent that's going to get me there at some point. My focus from now on is
the task in hand, not the deadline for it's completion. I'll simply get it done when I get
it done by taking one step at a time.

On time would be nice, but if not I won't worry too much. I'm not going to fall off the
WA boat and watch helplessly while it sails off towards the horizon. And nor will you,
so if you're beating yourself up about some perceived lack of progress, STOP!

Take a reality check. Re-write your schedule based on what you've done so far in
the time you had whilst being honest with yourself about how efficiently you have
used that time.

Be self-critical in a constructive way. Imagine you're critiquing someone else. How
would you do it? You wouldn't beat up on them, would you? Of course not, so don't
beat up on yourself.

And remember, whilst acknowledging and addressing what you may have done
wrong, give yourself a bit of a pat on the back for the things you've done right -
just as you would with someone else. It's only fair.

ENJOY THE JOURNEY - Cheers! :-)

Rich