Secrets to Success
Secrets to Success
In the past two articles, we looked at some of the barriers to our success and reviewed several reasons why we often limit our potential when setting goals. Last week we raised the bar for our goals. Some ambitious readers took immediate action and shared their new goals and strategic plans with me. I am encouraged to see that people are taking this concept seriously, and quickly moving toward the direction they desire. Bringing passion
to your work lifeNow that you have your specific goals written down, let's go over the specific steps to take to ensure you will accomplish the majority of your goals effortlessly.
One reader wrote me with an excellent comment. He summarized one of the common obstacles many people face in the goal setting process. He mentioned that often his list of goals winds up looking more like a to-do list. Here is what I shared with him to avoid having that happen to you.
If your list of goals looks more like a grocery list, there's a good indication that you may be thinking of goals as tasks rather than destinations. This is very common, and is often evidenced by a lack of commitment to the goals. If you find yourself continually not meeting a particular goal, it is probably more a "passion problem" than a procrastination problem. Goals and the actions required to reach those goals should not look like a to do list. This will only result in draining your energy and passion -- the very things you need to successfully reach your goals!
This week's success secret: A goal, when properly formatted, will excite you once you're finished writing it. A quick, easy way to determine if what you are writing is considered a task or a goal is to look at the passion in the statement. Sound bizarre? Let me briefly explain.
A goal is a destination. It should be your guiding force that motivates you to action. When it is formatted properly, you will actually complete all the "tasks" required to reach that goal faster and easier, because you know your purpose behind what you are doing. The pleasure of achieving a goal will pull you toward that goal.
Here are two examples of passion-filled goals: "Before June 1, 2002, I will have an amazingly smooth running business that will make each person's job easier by making sure there is a system in place for every repetitive task we perform." Or, "I will be an inspirational leader within my company and by July 4, 2002, I will have helped build a fabulous group of motivated, happy employees that love coming to work to 'wow' our customers every day."
This week's Coaching Tip: Every goal you write must have a clearly defined time frame that will give you the target to shoot for. It must also have a specific way to measure it to determine whether you've reached your goal yet.
Bottom line: If a goal gives you more energy just by looking at it, then you know you've written it correctly. This is a sure-fire way to ensure you will accomplish the goals you set for yourself.
If you have difficulty finding the best "emotionally charged" words for your goal setting process, send me an e-mail, and I'll be happy to provide you a top ten list of words and terminologies you are welcome to use when writing your business/career/relationships/fitness goals.
Deborah Cole Micek, chief executive officer
of RPM Success Group, is a business success coach
and life strategist. Reach her at DCM@RPMsuccess.com
or (888) 334-8151.