Goals Finally Make Sense

Like several people in the world I suspect I have had goals that I did not complete, goals I did no write down, goals that were more for someone else than they were for me and goals that were refined as I learned more from my life experience. So while I always understood that goals were a good idea… I did not know the importance that these other aspects of goals would have.

Not Completing Goals

This is probably the most common occurence with goals. I cannot tell you how many times I have thought I am going to exercise at least 20 minutes every day this week- and I don’t. This week I made it out only once.

I have also had bigger goals than exercising 20 minutes a day that have been left unfinished. I had a money goal set this past year that I did not reach- not even close. Looking back soon after I set the goal we also found an out of state speicalist that is helping with some of my sons medical conditions and have been busy with that.

What I have learned from unfinished goals is that it is okay sometimes to let them go. But I think it is important to be aware of all aspects of the situation and make the conscious decision. I did not make the conscious decision with that last money goal. While the results with my son have very much been worth it and I would not change a thing, it was not a conscious choice. I think a challenge at least I have is that I let myself get so busy with life- I am not acting consciously.

Hopefully my point here though is that life changes in big ways that may make the goal no longer in your best interest. Or maybe in some way you have already accomplished your stated objective, it just did not take as long as you thought it would. What I have also learned for those smaller unfinished goals is that if I really want to make them happen I need to do a few things such as planning. I need to get specific about the where, the when and maybe (if you live a life like mine) plan for any obstacles that may come up. Part of goals is planning for their success as well.

Write Down Your Goals

I will confess here and say I am especially not good about this one- but have a much greater appreciation for it on a couple of fronts. First is that writing down goals makes sure they are specific, there is physical proof that they exist. This helps mentally because you have a direction you are going. Your actions, daily, weekly and monthly- are guided by your goals instead of working on things. A goal to produce a results, rather than work on something produces a much different outcome.

To take this a step further I have heard not only to write down your goals but keep them in the front of your mind. I have heard of people that rewrite or reread them on a regular basis also do even better… because their goals are top of mind. So when it comes to making a quick decision it is the goal that has a better chance of guiding that quick decision, not a bad day someone just had.

Last on this point, there is a statistic I have heard that of the Harvard graduates that wrote down their goals compared to their counter parts… they made 10 times more money. Personally, that result to me is a bit mind blowing. All I have to do is write down my goals, pay attention to them and I would make alot more money? It seems crazy that something so big can come from something so simple.

A Goal for Someone Else

They say to post on your social media daily, blog weekly. I will be the first to admit I don’t. I am sure I can make many of the same excuses you hear and maybe give yourself. But once I have gotten clear on my goals- I have also started to get clear on how I am going to achieve them. And while I do still try to touch on social media and here on the blog- posting daily is a goal that just is not not serving me right now. That also does not mean there will not be a time in a future where it may serve me.

There also seems to be a need to have a goal that aligns with you. I have seen several times where my husband or daughter agree to a goal… because they know I am interested in it. But ultimately at those times when the goal does not align with them, it generally does not go well. So if setting a personal goal, do your best to make sure that it aligns with you. Conversely there are times in a group that a group goal may need some extra finessing.

So while I am suggesting that you make sure a said goal is indeed for you. I think one also needs to consider how the goal is impacting someone else. I know someone that had a goal to keep a specific job for 2 years. This particular goal would give them the required experience to apply for other jobs and they had historically struggled to keep a job. They wanted to prove to themselves that they could do it. However, when it was getting close to the end of their 2 year period there were concerns about the employer and level of income- that was affecting their family.

This person was at a cross roads. They could stay and work their committed 2 years. It would be a great boost to their confidence. But they could also move on as their appeared to be possible financial trouble with the employer and they themselves needed a raise. Sometimes one needs to evaluate goals not only to make sure they are personal goals but also consider if a goal is no longer serving them, it may be okay to move on.

Refine the Goal

I think one reason that I have not accomplished many of my goals is I needed to find out what I really wanted to do and it needed to resonate deeply. I was watching other people with their success and what they were doing then trying to model after them. While there is nothing wrong with that methods people were using to accomplish their goals and ways did not always align with mine.

It has only been in the past couple of years, and finally this past year that I have really been able to refine my goal of what I want to do with my photography and what I want Akoma Studios to be known for. I have constantly been side tracked with different things in photography. It has always been fun to learn this or participate in photographing that. And while it has led to some great experiences… it has also side tracked me from my goals. Now that I know what I really want to do- it is much easier to say no to things as it does not align with what I want.

Goals can be a bit of a moving target. I share this blog post because I did not know the implications, and benefits of writing down ones goal. I think we need not kick ourselves when times and goals change, and sometimes need to. I also now do not mind the years I spent growing- ultimately refinging my goals into what they are today. It has given me a much stronger why to keep going when I feel tired or frustrated. While goals should require some attention, the return on investment is great and I hope sharing my experience here can help someone else out.