To Goal or Not to Goal

To Goal or Not to Goal

It?s hard to find a personal achievement program that doesn?t tell you to set goals. But should you, really? Is goal-setting truly the key to realizing our dreams? Maybe not. Sometimes it?s good to question the fundamentals.

On the plus s

ide, goals serve to define where we?re headed, to keep us focused on our purposes, and give us a way to keep track of our progress. They provide a structure and a basis for planning the actions we deem necessary to move us toward our objective.

But in the real world, does goal-setting really work? For those who take the time to learn what makes a well-chosen goal and to understand the processes involved in pursing them, the answer is yes. But few people actually make the effort or find the training to learn these things.

For most people, goal setting equates with making a committed resolution to reach an objective: to lose 30 pounds, to close more sales, to get a website developed, to find a mate. And we all know what becomes of resolutions. The latest figure I saw said that a whopping 92% of those who set New Year?s resolutions failed to achieve them. I suspect the figure would run nearly as high for resolutions made at any time of year.

If yo

u?ve run across one of the formulas for defining a good goal, like the SMART acronym, you have a slightly better chance of success. (SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Tangible, or some variation of those qualities.) But to successfully use a goal as an effective guide action guide requires more than that. Unless you?re willing to invest some time in learning about successful goal-setting processes, you?re probably better off not setting goals at all. Why set yourself up for failure and the discouragement it brings?

If you do decide you would do well with the structure a goal-setting program provides, make sure the program you choose teaches you how to maintain balance by setting goals in several areas of your life. And make it one of your goals to set aside hours for living with no goal in mind. Otherwise you can become so oriented toward a specific end and specific means that you lose your flexibility and your ability to see unexpected opportunities.

Instead, you may want to consider adopting an alternative approach to moving toward the things you desire. One good way is to choose a general life-arena where you would like to see positive changes and to let it guide your choices for the next 90 days. You might choose to focus on making choices to support your health, for example, or your career, or relationships. Or you might want to focus on a general trait, such as becoming more organized or expressing more appreciation of others. Then as you go through the next three months, pay attention and see what opportunities for gaining more harmony arise in that arena and act on them. While this method lacks the structure of goal-setting, it has the strong advantage of keeping you more focused in the present, and that, really is the only moment we ever have. Consider it, not only for your personal life but for your business life as well. You may discover it?s just the process you?ve been seeking.
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Want to learn more about realizing your dreams? You can subscribe to Susan?s free newsletter ?The Magical Mirror,? find top dream-builder resources, and read success tips for creating life the way you want it to be at www.thetomorrowgame.com Susan K. Minarik has been involved in the personal achievement field for over 20 years and is the author of ?Winning the Tomorrow Game: How to Discover and Create the Life of Your Dreams.?

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