A great many people who’ve attended courses in self-development, have a negative reaction to the word “goal.”
The word “goal”registers as an expletive, a filthy four-letter word. Every time these people hear it they are reminded of ALL the goals they set and never achieved.
In fact, many people who set goals, despite all the rah-rah of the self-help teachers, cannot honestly point to much success at all using the process.
You can test your internal reaction when you read the following phrases:
“What are your goals?
You gotta have goals!
You cannot be part of the top 3% unless you have clearly written goals with plans for their accomplishment.
You cannot get rich, lose weight, become a (fill in the blank) without goals.
No one ever succeeds without a clearly written goal.”
What if I told you that ALL of the above are not necessarily true?
The idea that your goals MUST be in writing and MUST be clearly defined fits in the same category as the equally false advice about making sure you THINK BIG, take massive action, set goals that scare you and get out of your comfort zone.
The above may be true for a very tiny group of society, but it’s NOT true for everyone – myself included.
Many of my top achievements were NOT written down, nor did I have written plans.
How about you?
Am I against having written goals? Or plans?
No.
What I’m for is helping you figure out who YOU are and how YOU get things done.
I can thank my children and tai chi for helping me discover what I’m telling you.
Almost every day I practice the so-called slow motion martial art known as tai chi.
I’ve been going at it for years – and I am continually and continuously improving.
Yet, I have no written goals about the art and how good I should be.
Even so, I”m on the trail of tai chi and am constantly thinking about it – looking for tiny or seemingly insignificant ways I can make myself a little better.
As a result of looking at the SMALL – doing the opposite of thinking big – I’ve made major and dramatic improvements. So much so that every time I think I’m getting good, a new wave hits that catapults me to unexpected heights.
My daughter is the same way with dancing.
She’s never had a written goal about it. And she’s now on her 10th straight year of constant improvement.
In my son’s case, whenever he has set very specific goals, he has faltered. Yet, when he focuses on the journey and the process, his concentration and his results are staggering.
I can go on and on about this subject for days, but the real person I want to help is YOU.
Take a few moments and ask yourself a few basic questions:
1. What percentage of the goals I set for myself do I actually achieve?
2. How often do I feel paralyzed with fear and/or frustration a day or two after setting goals?
3. Am I taking less action or more after I’ve set goals for myself?
4. How often am I able to live in the present moment and enjoy my life?
5. Have I ever set goals and noticed that “all hell breaks loose” – i.e. the opposite of what I intended begins to manifest?
Again, these are some basics to get you rolling.
Matt Furey
P.S. Want coaching in Psycho-Cyb, Info Publishing, etc.? – then go here and fill out the application. We’re in the process of interviewing over the next couple weeks and would love to see you go to the next level in all your endeavors.
