What is Your Goal Today?
I am one of those goal-oriented people you may have heard about. It’s a thing with me.
Some people tell me they don’t need to set goals. They say if they just work harder they will become more efficient and productive. I respectfully disagree. Goals are absolutely necessary. They fulfill a basic human need. They give life a sense of meaning and purpose. Without goals, boredom quickly sets in and enthusiasm wanes.
Some marriage ceremonies take months, even a whole year to plan. More effort can go into planning the ceremony than the marriage itself. Couples know how each aspect of the ceremony will work, but do they spend the same amount of effort planning how their married life will work?
By setting goals, the relationship comes into focus and potential problems can be averted.
Goals channel your time and effort; without them your energies are unfocused and dispersed unproductively. Setting goals increases your opportunities for success at work and at home.
At work, the goal-setting process forces you to spend time thinking seriously about your job and its most important aspects. Each year you are asked what your department plans to spend, and you are forced to anticipate costs and revenues. Budgets are really goals in disguise.
Make your goals as interesting and challenging as possible. Trivial goals will not motivate you. On the other hand, goals set beyond your capabilities to meet will lead to frustration. Set realistic goals that will challenge you and keep you motivated.
Goals can be long-term and short-term. You should have both. Saving for a new TV is a good short-term idea.
Establishing a healthier lifestyle will take longer and require a much broader perspective.
Review your list of goals regularly. Update them as necessary.
What happens when you reach a goal? First, you should celebrate. Let someone know that you’ve reached a milestone. Brag on yourself. Did you reach a big goal? Go out to dinner. Little goal? Have an ice cream.
Goals can relate to business and they can relate to your personal life. Is life becoming boring and mundane? That could mean that you need to think about setting some new goals.
The last time you went through this process, did you write your goals down? Did you prioritize the things you want to accomplish? Did you tick off items that you accomplished? That entire process assigns ownership and forces you to take your ideas past wishes into reality.
Remember, goals are like exercise, they make you stretch!
Back to the Receivables Talk Index