The Problem With Goal Setting
Do you set goals as part of your business planning and strategy?
Goals are important because they set the direction or path of your business and life. We are taught to set goals early on in life from parents, teachers and even Business Coaches like me.
I believe you can and should set goals, however, there are conditions. For example, you set a goal to succeed on something and if you do, it feels like life’s a blast, if you don't accomplish the goal and fail you will feel like life sucks!
However, although I think goals are important, rather than oscillate between success and failure, once you have set your goal, forget about it, as the purpose of the goal is only to set the DIRECTION.
Instead, you need to focus all your energy into what you have to do to reach the goal, put all your emotional energy and focus into that instead. When you do this things start to happen and you begin to enjoy the journey.
Think about this, if you want to climb Mount Everest how much time will you spend when you actually get to the top of the mountain? You climb, you take a few pics, you have moments of exhilaration, then you immediately start to focus on the climb down, and hope you don’t get caught in an avalanche on the way back!
I know that I have done, and am trying not to, do this in my own business. Instead what if we enjoyed the weeks, months of acclimation? Enjoyed our time in Basecamp1, Basecamp2 and onwards? Investing in the process, not the outcome and relished the journey.
Paradoxically the more we enjoy the journey and detach from the outcome the higher the probability that you will reach the goal you wanted in the first place or in some cases an even bigger goal.
Remember, you don’t have control of the outcome, the benefit is the growth that happens when you do your best and try your hardest. You will already have grown and developed along the way. Even if you didn’t get to the goal you wanted when you first set off, you will have established a new route, that will take you on a different, maybe even better path and eventual outcome.
