By Michele Scism
The Results Lady
Do you have long-term projects with short-term expectations? If you do, that is a sure path to frustration and failure. This is the time of year when we are looking for tips to help us feel like we are achieving our goals.
Lifestyle goals such as exercise and healthy diet have to become habits in order to be effective. Business development also takes time and planning, and it doesn’t happen overnight.
Your world has shifted. There’s voice mail, e-mail, pagers, and faxes that have made a “waiting” period unacceptable and almost obsolete. With information immediately available, we expect relationships and goal achievement to be done the same. As you read this you know that it is unreasonable to expect that, don’t you? We’ve been led by advertisers to believe that we deserve immediate gratification, and that it is readily and effortlessly available!
When you want to train a puppy, you know that it’s going to take time and consistent reinforcement. You’re ready for that, because you want your puppy to behave in an acceptable way. Why then, are you so patient with the puppy and so hard on yourself?
When you plant seeds in the garden, you tend them, water them, hope for sunlight and nurture them. Are you nurturing yourself?
The best way to move gently and effectively towards your goals is to take a reasonable approach. Break your long-term project goal into sub-goals. Break it into doable, short-term chunks. Today prepare the soil; tomorrow plant the seeds.
Each action you take and each step is satisfying because you know that it is contributing to the completion of your goal. You cannot rush Mother Nature with your garden, and the same is true for your goals.
This process is much more than “bloom where you’re planted”, because when you’re the gardener you choose what to plant and how to nurture it. Do the same for yourself and your business. Your goals will be accomplished in due time, and you won’t end up up-tight and frazzled.
For more on goal setting be sure to check out the goals section on this blog. There are several really great videos on goal setting that you might find interesting.
Thank you for this great post and reminder about not rushing anything.
I love the idea about breaking big projects into small chunks and celebrating each small victory.
My family did the same thing when we were getting out of debt. You break your debts down from smallest to largest and celebrate each time you wipe one out.
After reading this post I can see how it can work with my long term business goals too.
Hey Jeff you are so welcome. Sometimes we just need to be reminded. Thanks for commenting, Michele
Thanks, Michele for reminding us to be patient with ourselves. Our world is indeed much faster now and it’s easy to get so goal-oriented that we accumulate more stress than joy. As you say, going slower and chunking down is the real key to success.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year!
-Jeannette
Thanks Jeannette – I am so glad you liked it. Breaking things into smaller segments always works for me and I know it can work for others as well.
Hi Michele –
Another tip for goal reaching is to use the SMART system when setting your goals. These are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Rather than set a vague goal to “save money this year,” you’ll want to have specific and measurable goals with time limits or deadlines in place. “Put $200 into my savings account every pay period this year” is a much more obtainable goal.
Have a wonderful New Year!
Be Well.
Paul.
http://AllAboutGratitude.com
Awesome Paul! Thanks for reminding us – SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. It is so important that it be all these things because if it isn’t it is just a dream. Thanks Paul
That is a great point Lynn. By choosing 3 goals for the next day you won’t be setting yourself up for failure. So many people have a huge list and don’t realize that there isn’t enough time in the day to do it all and then feel like failures when they don’t get them done. Thanks for commenting. Michele