The second part of the “goal-getting” story is two key questions that we need to address:
The first question is “do I really want it? (or does someone else, more than me?)”
Sometimes, we find ourselves working towards a goal that doesn’t really belong to us. It might be something that someone else thinks would be good for us – a loving parent; a well-meaning friend; that old school teacher whose voice still echoes in our head.
After many years of working on making sure that I am focused on MY goals, I still have to remind myself that the approval of others is not a good reason for doing almost anything!
Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important that any other”. So, check in – am I choosing to do this because I really want to, or because I feel that I “SHOULD”?
This year, let’s all stop “shoulding” and start choosing for ourselves!
The second question to ask is “how long will it really take?” Then pause and ask “no, really – how long?”.
With an optimistic mindset, we tend to under-estimate both the length of time and the effort required to get things done. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it encourages us to start things that might be overwhelming if we really calculated how long and/or hard they will be!
Doing a time/energy estimate that is a little more realistic is likely to increase our chances of success and decrease the possibility of disappointment when we don’t meet our unrealistic goals. Remember the SSDT from last week! Bite sized chunks of activity, no matter how small, will get you there!
Want more ideas? Try the quiz: https://www.tryinteract.com/share/quiz/5e91397419601c0014127f70
