Goal Setter Blog

Don't you hate unresolved issues? Things that never seem to budge. Setting goals is one thing. Achieving them is another matter. How many casualties are found on the path to weight loss or debt cancellation?

Willpower alone sometimes doesn't cut it. Like trying to fit square pegs into round holes it's not going to work.

The quickest way to reach a difficult goal is to find somebody "who's been there - done that". Sometimes you have to be smart and humble enough to admit that you can't fix it on your own. Rather if you could come across someone else who completed that journey it might not be that lonely anymore.

Sometimes your resources are inadequate. Are you trying to shift 20 tonnes of dirt with a wheelbarrow? Are you applying yourself to the task regularly or are you missing out on opportunities?

Sometimes you sabotage your own efforts. Are you trying to exercise but you are stuffing your face after the exhaustion? Good habits need to displace bad habits. You can't keep both.

Sometimes you need a feasibility study or rather a test run. Are you going to enjoy doing that and be committed to it? Better to be honest with yourself and wait until you have enough energy to tackle that one rather than starting half cock. Worse you may be doing some progress but you can't measure it so you give up saying to yourself that it's not working. Sometimes there is a delay between action and reaction. Do you have reasonable expectations as to how long it would take for your efforts to bear fruit?

What about a trip to the library or a search on the internet to figure out how it has been done before? Are your expectations too high? Can you break down that big goal into manageable tasks? Do you need to go into partnership with someone else? Do you need to relocate to another town to make it happen in more hospitable circumstances?

Do you have the right mindset? Question your reasons for doing this. Do you have a hidden agenda? Is pride or jealousy getting in the way? Do you have selfish motives or can you think of other people who might benefit making the whole exercise even more worthwhile?

Do you have the acceptance of your family or friends or are you doing it alone? Do you thing you can keep it a secret? Are you being encouraged or put down when you talk about it? If you were to communicate a bit more would you rise in their appreciation and would you enlist their support?

Sorry for firing so many questions. The fact is that a spark of creativity might come to you unexpectedly as you literally sleep on it. Take a break. Smell the roses. Come back to it with a new angle. There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.

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Have you ever noticed how trivial things clamour for your attention while the important things get relegated behind?

It takes personal discipline to take charge of your life - the penalty for failing to do so is frustration. Frustration then in turns gives way to depression when you finally give-up on reaching your goals altogether. After that, depression leads to addiction when you are desperately looking for avenues to ease the mental pain you're going through.

But wait that's the wrong way - what's the right way then? Breaking down your main goals into achievable milestones. Don't you get a kick when at the end of the day you can pat yourself on the back as you tick items off your list.

You are unlikely to commit to a major goal if you haven't tasted the success of achieving a more manageable task beforehand. So here is the vicious cycle : no prior achievement equates to no motivation to go to the next step. We are all creatures of habit. If you see something happening in your life time and time again - you grow to expect it. It works just the same for good things or bad things.

What is the use of a goal setting system? It keeps you on track - that's what! We are our greatest enemy and it is so easy to deceive ourselves. Ultimately you will not grow beyond your own expectation. Self-image is the key. There is a fine balance between being puffed-up and being beaten and depressed. It is not a one-off occurrence either. It is something you must do regularly.

Who needs a goal setting system? Every procrastinator is a candidate! Some people claim they've got it all in their head... When they say it with all honesty they simply mean that they take charge of their immediate future and deal with each problem as is comes. Setting goals is most useful for things that lie beyond our horizon. It is a covenant with yourself to cause the immovable to budge. The commitment you've made to see things change will cause you to muse about devices that will overcome your obstacles.

Modern management techniques are all about divide and conquer. Everybody can eat an elephant if you endeavour to do it one spoonful at a time. But people will fall by the wayside if they don't see tangible results within their expectation. They are things in life beyond your visible horizon that need to be addressed in order to succeed. It takes nine months for a baby to be formed in the womb. Some people don't have a clue what they'll be doing nine months from now. If you fail to plan you are in essence planning to fail. You'll be tossed about by what catches your attention at the time.

So do yourself a favour. Don't claim it's all in your head. Put it down on paper. Or even better keep a diary of what you want to achieve. Each day jot down each step you've taken to nibble at the mountain. When you look back at that journal a year from now you'll be amazed at how far you've travelled from that courageous start.

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If you haven't set any goals and are cruising through life nonchalantly you won't be let down. As the saying goes: "Blessed are those who aim for nothing for they shall not be disappointed".

Does that mean that life is a mad race? It's all a matter of balance. How do you know if you are making progress or slipping backward if you don't have a measurable standard to go by?

It's not just those who are caught prisoners in an addictive cycle who suffer from the failure to set clear and achievable goals - it's also all of us who fail to pledge to ourselves to see to it that our circumstances do change for the better.

Now I am going to spring a dirty word on you - ready? It's called discipline! The bad news is that unless you set boundaries around your life you are going nowhere fast. The good news is that if you manage to rein-in the rebel within you, you will go places.

So how do you make it happen? May I suggest you have a good look at this life coaching service. It is your life coach website where you can describe what you want to do. More importantly it will be your standard of achievement where you can determine your progress. Where you spend your time and money tells me a lot about your commitment to reach your goals. Having to keep a record of where you spend each of those precious resources will cause you to face a few things about yourself.

Two by-products of this disciplined approach is that you will start planning your week ahead (managing your time) and making a budget (managing your money). Welcome to the real world! Life is a fight. Life is a challenge. Life is an obstacle course. Don't just start the race - finish the race! Bad things happen to good people for no fault of their own. Turn your back on the past. Unlearn bad habits caused by your past failures and take stock of your potential. If you don't start believing in yourself who will? You hold the keys to your future no matter your age, your looks, your education, etc...

If life is a fight then what is worth fighting for? Unless you are committed on reaching your goals your energy will disappear at the first setback. Expect difficulties - they are part of life. If you have setbacks it only means one thing: you are alive and it's up to you to discover ways to get where you want to be.

Learn from children. Nobody told them; "It can't be done." They dream and role play through games all day long. They act out and verbalise what is in their imagination.

Rediscover the child you once were and realise your dream.

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"Blessed are those who aim for nothing for they shall not be disappointed."

What are the motivators which would have us rather not set goals?

Rebel at heart - if you have an issue with authority you will not even be able to submit to setting your own priorities let alone somebody else's.

Discipline - setting goals means you can no longer do as you please. You have to do what your goals tell you to do - a sobering thought for some.

Lack of accountability - ignoring goals which do not perform does not make them go away. They need to be re-negotiated with the new evidence at hand.

Fear of failure - the crushing sense of defeat. It is less painful to miss out on a good outcome than to be hurt again - so we tell ourselves.

Lack of vision - the new goal does not have a framework to fit into. Goals do not live in isolation but either compete with each other or support each other.

Lack of commitment - the ability to say no to things outside our vision. We are not sold out enough on the expected outcome to warrant a change of habits.

Effort - some people get out of bed because they have to - others get out of bed because they want to embrace what a new day has to offer.

Unable to dream - unless you can clearly see your goal in your mind you will not be motivated to go after it.

Isolation - lack of contacts, role models, worthwhile information to inspire. We are social animals and there are things we cannot do on our own. Bad company corrupts character.

Lack of resources - goals require time or money or both. Reallocating your time and finances clearly tells what your priorities are. Which goal has the best chance to unlock your horizon for other goals to follow through?

Lack of self-esteem - some people wrongly think they are undeserving and would not pat themselves on the back when they reach a given milestone. This is a critical step not to be missed because it will give you the fuel to keep on going.

Lack of strategy - setting goals without figuring out how to reach them is like embarking on a journey without a map.

Unbelief - "I tried that before and it didn't work!" This kind of self-talk will cause you to miss out on your potential. What you believe about yourself will determine what you will do about your life.

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The fact that we see so many goal-setting programs and self-appointed life coaches springing out everywhere is proof that things are getting tougher for everyone.

So the marketing gurus have sniffed a golden opportunity out there to make a buck out of someone else's misery. The thinking goes like this: 1- find out what people want 2- give it to them. I wonder why nobody has ever thought how to sell peace to the Palestinians. I suppose their market research concluded there was no money in it...

So for the rest of us who are not spin doctors and don't work in marketing we are left wondering why it is such a hard slog to make a living compared to 20 years ago.

Obviously if you were not in the workforce 20 years ago you don't have a clue what I am talking about because you do not have that point of reference.

Competition has intensified. No business is safe from having their market stolen from under their feet by some global predator.

Productivity has increased dramatically. With technological breakthroughs it takes only one person to supervise an entire production line. In yesteryears it may have taken 100 people to produce the same output.

Outsourcing is the key to leverage cheap labour. You can run a whole enterprise from your home office by delegating tasks to Indian contractors who will build your website and run your call centre for a pittance.

Women are not happy to stay at home to raise children. They want to be breadwinners and call the shots. They divorce their partners just like you move to a new house or buy a new car. Those who are fulfilled in motherhood may struggle to bring their dream to pass and still need to enter the workforce just to put a deposit on a house.

The forever-young syndrome inflicts a de-facto bias against those in their fifties. Mature workers find it near impossible to compete because their aged qualifications are deemed irrelevant in an ever changing world. Those in leadership are reluctant to hire someone who is their elder and experience is downgraded. We live in the new age where nothing is to be gained from those who have-been-there-done-that.

People are hesitant to set goals when they doubt whether they are achievable at all. The middle-class is under threat. Rich people flaunt their wealth and do not sponsor worthy causes bar a few. Homelessness creeps in as people can't afford housing of their own and sleep in a car at night.

The scene is set for a breakthrough. Will you make it or will you be swept away?

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