Goals

"If you chase after two rabbits - you won’t catch either!" Chinese proverb.

"If you can’t say it on one page – you don’t understand it". Albert Einstein.

“Everyone takes their own field of view – for the limits of the world” Schopenhauer.

"Where attention goes, energy flows - and where energy flows, life grows!" Anon.

So, let's get focussed and unblock those negative “mindsets” that blur your vision of what’s possible.

Write down your goals!

Harvard Business School conducted a survey with the graduating students....

Question 48 was “Do you have life Goals?”

Question 49 was: “Are your goals written down?”

Only 4% of the graduating students had written goals.

Twenty years later the same people were contacted, and the results were astonishing:

The 4%, who had written goals, were worth more financially in total than the 96% who did not!

Make goals SMART

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely (by when)

Goals are about motivation...

Motivation is about what energises you to achieve something, for example:

physical things you want to have
ways of living or being that you want to experience
“values” you hold dear to yourself and want to live out

This is quite a complex area and as we grow older these motivations change.

The biggest danger is to end up in a job that requires you to think and act in ways that are not in conformity with the inner “you”.

You will soon experience conflict inside – you will not be fully satisfied in what you are doing, because it does not align with who you really are and what you really want to do and to be.

Goals may differ over time:

Immediate – next 12 months
Medium / Longer term

So have a think...

My WORK LIFE goals are…

My PERSONAL LIFE goals are…

My SOCIAL LIFE goals are…

Having done this – is a conclusion beginning to emerge for you?

If yes, then write it down and reflect on it - go for a nice long walk or whatever you enjoy doing and let your mind chew it over.

When you feel real peace inside about a goal, it's probably the right one for you to go for.

MORE ON MOTIVATORS

Be aware that anything you put your mind and effort into will have a cost attached to it...

Time away from loved ones and friends
Stress
Loss of sleep
Long working hours

Achievement

How do define that? Does it change through your life?
What have you got to give? (Skills, interests, passions etc.)

Money

How much
What for...?

Success

How do define that? Does it change through your life?

Recognition

How do define that? Does it change through your life?

Making a difference

What really turns you on? What floats your boat?
Is it about giving something to the world, making the world a better place, about making you richer, or a combination of these?

Personal growth

How important is it to you to further your development, to enhance your skills, to gain more letters after your name?
Are you the type of person who wants to gain more qualifications or just get stuck into your career?
What further personal development do you want?

AND REMEMBER...

To follow your chosen career, you may need to take jobs that do not pay well to start with - but which provide you with the relevant skills, experience and qualification to achieve your longer-term aims.

A CAUTIONARY TRUE STORY

"At Business School during our MBA we had a speaker come in.

They were the Managing Director of one of the UK's leading manufacturing companies.

He said something we will never forget:

'So, I have the keys to the Jaguar (he dangled them in his hand),

I'm MD at 42 of the largest business in my sector.

I'm now divorced and live on my own.

And I do have to ask myself - was it all worth it?'

It made us all think - as it was meant to of course - did he have his priorities and his purpose right?

It was a sobering moment for a bunch of thrusting busting MBA students all gunning to go out there and make it all happen"".