Anything is Possible!

I am getting ready to design a new set of learning opportunities for a client which I'll be delivering every other week for three weeks starting on October 29. These learnings are around achieving goals. As I'm putting the finishing touches on Session One, I receive notification of my friend Lisa Haneberg's latest post on her blog Management Craft and it's really gotten me thinking about what I can share with this client from her wisdom.

I won't be able to do justice to Lisa's original thoughts, so please read her post and just think about her observations. Her post brings up several questions for me.

1) Do most of us know what we really want so clearly that we could write it down and go after it on purpose?

2) Or is it more of a feeling we want to have when we wake up one day and realize that, even if we didn't write down specifics, we might just kind of realize one day that where we are is where we wanted to get?

3) Is it really important to achieve the milestones on our written goal charts? If so, is it so we can be right about achieving the specific goals we've set? Or is it in the way we've set the goals?

I'm thinking now that if many of us set goals at all, we probably set them low enough so they are reachable in a certain amount of time and with minimal effort. After all, we are conditioned to set goals we already know how to achieve. The boss will reward us with a bonus if we achieve it - our sales goals are always there as measurement of our progress and our worthiness. It's no wonder we don't want to set a goal we have no idea how to reach.

But Lisa reminds us that absolutely anything is possible. If we've reached a goal quickly and without much effort, the goal probably wasn't big enough. If we're worried about how to achieve a goal and that's what stops us from even thinking about it, that may be where we're stopped.

I know over the course of my life I've heard the phrase "don't get your hopes up" more than once. Why not?? Disappointment is just part of the journey and it can be a wonderful teacher for many reasons.

What is the outcome you'd like to experience in your own life? How about for the next 3 months? I know I'd like to get back to the gym and get back in shape. I know I could see amazing results in 3 months if I were committed to that outcome. I don't want to think about getting up earlier every morning, putting on the shoes and the gear, making my way to the gym in the dark and actually getting on the machines and treadmills, etc. That's what usually stops me: the "How." If I concentrate on the "Why" and really keep my attention there, the "how" becomes much less of an obstacle. I've just got to make the "Why" big enough and the "How" will take care of itself.

So that's my goal - and Lisa reminds me that anything is possible. As I get back into shape and use the discipline I have to support my clients on myself, I'm excited to think about how much more effective I will be - for them and for myself.

What are you putting off in your own life - for you? Reading a novel? Going to a play? Cleaning the garage? Set that as a goal, and concentrate on how you'll feel when you get it done. Make the "WHY" the focus and forget about the "HOW." Let's compare notes!