How can you give your goal setting tactics a little more umpf?
One day a human went to heaven in the way that humans often do. Upon arrival, the human was greeted by a host of angels and given a tour of all of heaven’s wonders. Over the course of the tour, the human noticed that there was one room the angels quickly glided past each time they approached.
“What’s in that room?” the human asked.
The angels looked at each other as if they’d been dreading the question. Finally, one of them stepped toward and said kindly, “We’re not allowed to keep you out, but please believe us you don’t want to go in there.”
The human’s mind raced at the thought of what might be contained in that room. What could be so horrible that all the angels of heaven would want to hide it away? The human knew that one should probably take angels at their word, but found it very hard to resist temptation. “After all”, the human thought, “I’m only human.”
Slowly walking toward the room, the human was filled with dread and wonder at what horrors might be about to be revealed. But in fact, the room was filled with the most wonderful things imaginable: a beautiful home; nice things; great wisdom; a happy family; loving friends; and riches beyond measure.
Eyes wide, the human turned back to the angels. “But why didn’t you want me to come in here? This room is filled with the most amazing things I’ve ever seen!”
The angels looked at each other sadly, then back at the human.
“These are all the things you were meant to have while you were on earth, but you never believed you could have them.”
In a previous post we discussed the process of developing goals. All conventional wisdom points to the basic aspects of developing goals as being personal, specific, stated in the positive and with a plan in place to obtain feedback as to your progress toward your goals, and ways of using that feedback to adjust what you are doing to keep you on track toward achieving your goals. Development of business related goals follow the same guidelines. Conventional business wisdom calls for a five year plan broken down into one year segments and finally adjusted and revised every quarter. Goals set and plans worked using these guidelines can result in reliable attainment of basic business and personal goals.
For many years we learned of the method of developing S.M.A.R.T goals. Goals that are simply stated, measurable and meaningful, achievable, realistic, and timed moving toward what you want. Although tried and true, there may be some reasons why S.M.A.R.T. goals may not be so smart. The number one reason people don’t already have what they want is that they have learned not to let themselves want what they don’t think they can have.
In reality, it’s easier to have what you really want than what you think you can get. In fact, your goals may actually be in the way of your having what you want. By setting goals based on what you think you can have instead of what you really want, you will often wind up without the inspiration necessary to fuel you journey. Setting goals that make you say “Wow” fuels the soul and stimulates the mind. Try the millionaire’s guide to goal setting:
Once or twice a year, sit down with a nice glass of wine, or a really nice dinner. Take as long as you need to ask yourself, “What do I really want to do with my life. What would be fun and exciting to make my life about over the next year?” Take as long as needed to write down a list of ideas that totally inspire you. Check once or twice a year on your goals and adjust them up or down depending on how things are going. Remember that the only real purpose of a goal is to inspire you to fall more deeply in love with your life. Use the “Wow” scale to rate your goals:
0-10: Kill me now!
10-30: Life’s a bitch and then you die.
30-50: What can I do, I have a family to feed.
50-70: If I can just do this a few more years, I’ll have enough of what I need to be happy.
70-80: Why not?
80-90: This could be fun. I could really see myself doing/being good at this.
90-99: Absolutely as good as I can imagine it.
99-100: WOW!!!!!
A simple formula for life-changing results. Try it for yourself to stretch the impossible to the possible. Reaching for the ultimate goal will make anything in between far more than it could have been.
