Mar 10
4
5 Ways to Set Goals that Really Matter
Today I’m pleased to have Ken Siew write a guest post. Ken is a blogger from Think Big Think Money; he’s written some great articles about Personal Finance and Self Improvement for smart people. I’ll now leave you in Ken’s capable hands.
Are you sick of the G word yet? I know I am. And I did not have any specific New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 either, because I already had many goals even before 2009 ended. Can’t do no more…
I realize many goals I set for myself could very well be a bunch of bad goals. Why? Because they mean nothing to me! (And that’s why I don’t care to achieve them.)
What do your goals mean to you? It should be a step toward a bigger purpose or cause. However, you and I often set goals that sometimes do not really get us to where we want to be, yet we think we have done the right thing. Certainly, setting goals the right way is a key to success, you already know that by now. So, let’s talk about how you can set goals that really matter, I have 5 good ways for you:
1) What if you were laid off today?
Wouldn’t you set your goals differently?
I bet you would.
When you have a job that provides you with a steady paycheck, you tend to set goals that are much more conservative and limiting. In fact, you might be giving up your dream for security and comfort.
Ask yourself this question: If you didn’t have a job today, either you were laid off, or you had to quit the job somehow and start afresh, what would you want to achieve in your life? Those often are the things that really matter to you.
2) Do not set goals that sound sexy
How many times have you set goals that sounded awesome and sexy, like “I will earn $10,000 a month working 10 hours a week”. As much as Tim Ferriss from the 4-hour Workweek wants you to achieve that, it’s not possible without putting enough hard work upfront. It just gives you a fantasy and misleads you into a false sense of success.
On the other hand, you can be so busy that you’re thinking you’re achieving your goal. Beware of this, you could be busy but not productive. You could be checking emails all day long but not do real work at all. It’s addictive I know, and it’s fun and entertaining. But it’s not productive. If you want more tips on how to cut down on your email addiction, go to AwayFind, an email service that will keep you sane.
3) Make sure some of your goals are vague
Don’t set goals that are too complicated and too specific. It’s great to know exactly what constitutes a success, but always leave room for flexibility. Goals that really matter to you are vague and are not always clear cut. For example, one of my goals is to build a reputable blog that would help others be a better person. There are a million things I could do to achieve that! In fact, you could call it a mission.
Your mission could be to change the world by making people more healthy. But your goal should not be as specific as “teach people how to eat vegetables the correct way”. You can teach them what kind of food to eat (think organic), but don’t go too far on that. Bottom line is, be a little creative and relaxed. You’d be much happier that way!
4) You won’t love all your goals
Not all goals will be the things you like to do. Keep the big picture in mind when setting your goals. But even though you don’t like the goals you set, they still matter because they will get you to where you want to be. And of course nobody should do what they hate to do, that’s why you should outsource those tasks. You get 2 benefits from doing this:
i) You save time from procrastinating on the stuffs you dislike and instead use the time to do something else that you like
ii) You increase your overall mental wellbeing and happiness
Here are several resources you could use when looking to outsource:
AskSunday – popular virtual concierge service which also allows for real person work such as picking up laundry
TaskUs – virtual assistant service that has American coordinators to ensure no communication problem
YouManInIndia – remote assistants from India who will you with your business needs
If these companies do not serve the purpose, you should find a joint venture partner to supplement the work that you really don’t want to do. For instance, if you love to blog about marketing, but are totally clueless about any type of technological sides of it (and the huge potential it brings), you should get someone who’s tech-savvy on board.
5) Imagine that there were no limitations in this world – no gravity, no lack of money, no idea is crazy. what would you want to do?
This is crucial. It basically opens up all the possibilities in the world to your imagination. Once you remove all the constraints in the world, you start to see things in a much bigger way than you could right now. Unleash your creativity and dream as big as possible. Take a few minutes.
Done?
Now, get back to reality. Bring back all the gravity and money, but keep that big dream. Now, set your goals based on that dream. Your goals will be much daring and much closer to what you really want to do for the rest of your life.
6) Don’t change your goal, change your plan instead
This is a bonus (I lied, but it doesn’t matter): If your goal is to be a superhero, change that.
But if your goal is realistically achievable, like earning one thousand dollars on the side while working full-time, don’t change it even if you think you are stuck. You gotta have a plan. If you think you can’t move forward, that’s because your plan doesn’t work. So, change the plan, but don’t change the goal. Again, when you run out of plan, don’t change the goal, but create a new plan. Thomas Carlyle said it well, “Go as far as you can see, and when you get there you can see it further.”
Personally this is very true to me. My goal for my blog has been to earn the first thousand subscribers by providing great content, I did not change the goal at all. The only thing I’ve been changing is the marketing plan, because the old plan could only get me so far.
The next time you set your goal, make it something that really matters to you. Throw away the non-essential goals. Life is too short to be wasted on goals that do not bring you closer to your dream.
Ken Siew is a blogger and food lover.You can find thought provoking ideas and handpicked tips at his personal finance and self improvement blog. Quick link: download his Free Report that contains 10 tactical tips on how to be rich by conquering your money problems.
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View Comments "5 Ways to Set Goals that Really Matter"
Hey Paul,
I enjoyed reading your post, but I can only partially agree with you. I don't believe in realistic goals, heck, I don't even believe in setting goals at all. Thinking realistic is the fastest road to mediocrity. Just go wild with your dreams, and don't worry about the feasibility. If it feels good to you, and I mean really good, then it's feasible. That's why I adore George B. Shaw's famous quote:
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
Mars,
Thanks for dropping in and adding your contribution. This is a guest post from Ken Siew, I'll leave him to discuss any discrepancies you may have.
However, I believe you have a valid arguement; about being realistic and mediocrity. There's an interesting discussion that could develop around the tensions between the two words.
I guess it hinges a lot on Ken's interpretation of the words!
I've added you on Twitter, Facebook page and your blogs in my reader. thanks for calling in.
Regards
Paul
Hey Mars, thanks for the great comment. And Paul you're right, I'm going to share my own interpretation of the words!
What I really meant by setting goals that are realistically achievable is that you should set goals that you know you will take the effort and time to pursue. If you have the passion for doing something, you should do whatever it takes to get there (yes, even when others think you're crazy and unreasonable).
However, if you set goals like being the best basketball player, but you know you don't love shooting hoops and you haven't played for 20 years, I don't think that's a good goal because it's not realistic for YOU. You might still achieve it if you work really really hard, but it'll take a really long time and might not be worth it. To me, life is too short to achieve something you don't care about.
Seth Godin talked about being remarkable in the things you love to do, and I truly believe that. Having a goal helps to direct your focus toward the things that will help you realize your dreams (think 80/20 rule), and I think that's what matters in the end.
Hi Paul,
You have many practical ideas about goals in today's economy. Your first point…is someone knew they were to be laid off they or I would kick it into high gear.
I also agree with the Tim Ferris thing. His book may be called the 4 hr. work week but how many hours did he have to put in to take him to that point. I do feel there are excellent ideas in the book however I would like all the successful people who are working only 4 hrs a week to please stand up. The fact of the matter is even when they can work 4 hrs a week they usually work more. It never fails no matter what level of wealth or happiness we achieve once we get there our ego raises the bar or moves the line. Just my opinion!
Tess,
Thank you for commenting on Ken's guest post; it's great to see you here. I'll leave Ken to respond more.
Your point about Tim Ferris and his 4 hour work week is valid; I haven't read his book but it does beg the question, “how much ground work did he put in?” James at The Infopreneur, emphasis this point in his philosophy.
Regards
Paul
Hi Paul.
I like #2 there. When I've set any flashy goals before, they weren't as likely to occur. The goals that occurred after writing them were the ones that were the most basic or simple. They almost look stupid to write on paper, but accomplishing them is worth loads, so it is okay.
I will write a couple down right now.
The same thing comes up in my mind anytime someone mentions something like #5 there, so I might have to start doing that thing that comes up in my mind. I'll see about it.
Armen,
Thanks for adding your contribution.
Yes, Ken's post has certainly reminded me about a few basic understandings of goal setting and stirred up a few new thoughts in my head. The idea of trendy or sexy goals! hmmm.
I find #5 very powerful and thought provoking.
Regards
Paul
I need to make an outrageous goal that has enough juice to keep me going. Then some workmanlike incremental steps that I need to accomplish to get closer. I guess it is like two levels. Inspirational and practical and I need both levels for it to work.
Ralph,
Thanks for your comment. That's what I find I need to do, set goals that are outrageous, broken down into easier steps. I very easily become bored and find myself out if the goals are too simple.
Your two level theory sound like interesting reading
Regards
Paul
I'm not sure that I agree with #4 “Not all goals will be the things you like to do.” Then why do them? If my goal is to lose 20 pounds, I had better love the journey as well as the result, otherwise I will have no motivation or inspiration to keep going. I can't outsource my life. Going to the gym, eating nutrionally and exercising are not tasks that someone else can do for me.
I agree that we should think of worst-case scenarios, such as the one you mentioned about being laid off, to see if this strengthens or weakens our resolve for the goal.
Interesting post, Ken.
Karen, thanks for dropping in to add your comment, it's great to see you here.
#4 is an interesting one, so I'll leave Ken to give you his angle on it.
Regards
Paul
I got laid offf some 2 months ago, I found another job since from which I resigned because it didn't pay the bills and was a lot of work, and now I'm eying a job with a very good company that I'm sure I will get. But the wait is lenghty…..
I know exactly what I want to achieve, and some of the goals the company I'm eyeing converge in the same direction as what I want to achieve…
And this is far from conventional for a company of that size.
Your advice on goal setting is priceless. And I'm going to use it every day to squeeze every little chance I have to achieve what I've promised to myself.
Thank you for sharing
Mario,
Thank you for your comment.
I'm please to hear you've found the post useful and hopefully you'll achieve some success with your goals. I've leave the post writer Ken to respond with a more detailed comment.
Regards
Paul
Hey Tess, great comment there! It's very easy to get sucked into the idea of working 4 hours a week for the rest of your life, after all who doesn't want to right? But if you see Tim's work, he's actually putting in more like 40 hours a week to say the least.
The key is that he loves doing his work. He doesn't mind working 40 hours or even 60 hours a week because that's where his passion lies. It's like blogging and commenting, we bloggers work hard, but we also enjoy the process.
Armen, I agree some goals are very basic. If I want to write an ebook, I might set my goal as “write down whatever related to the topic every day for 20 minutes”. If you multiply that by 365 days, that's 122 hours of real productive work. May not be impressive or sexy (like finish a book in ONE month!), but it's better than not doing anything.
My mind kinda went crazy when I did the #5 technique, and a while after that I actually felt that my dream was rather shaky because of influences from others (naysayers for example).
Yet, Will Smith said it well in “The Pursuit of Happyness”, “Don't ever let somebody tell you, 'you can't do something'. You've got a dream. You gotta protect it.” Here's the link to the short clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3nQGiW9VIM
Thanks for sharing this quote “Go as far as you can see, and when you
get there you can see it further.” Really makes a lot of sense. I also realize that I've been setting goals that are too specific and in turn become complicated. I believe it's time to make some of my goals vague and flexible.
Hey Ralph, keep your inspiration going and focus on the next action. In David Allen's book “Getting Things Done”, he said the next step is very important for you to move forward and achieve something big.
So let's all keep the big picture and work on the next small step that will eventually get us to the dream! All the best!
In this case here I'm talking about smaller goals, the next steps that you need to get to your ultimate dream. For example, you want to earn $10k a month working only 10 hours a week and spend the rest of time traveling, that's the dream. But there are lotsa smaller goals you have to set before that, such as learning about business, networking, admin stuffs, marketing, creating products.
You might not be good at some of them and you don't want to learn them, yet you need all of them to succeed in most cases. This is where the power of outsourcing or partnership comes in.
I do agree with you that we can't outsource everything, such as hitting the gym (that'd be very awesome). For things like this, we gotta be real, you might even hate doing it.
However, if you keep doing it and make it a good habit, you will eventually enjoy it. I haven't personally reached that level for exercising yet, but I truly believe it will happen!
P.S. Listen to Zig Ziglar's free audio, “Biscuits, Fleas, and Pumphandles!”. He talks about his own exercising journey in a very inspiring way. Download it from his site.
Hi Mario your story is very inspirational! I'm happy that you've found a good company to work for, which also aligns with your own goals. It's so important that a company's goals are in the same direction as your personal goals.
In fact, getting laid off was probably the best thing that happened to you. Your old company made the decision to get you out of the place where you didn't really wanna be (assuming you prefer the company you're eyeing on). It's definitely a blessing in disguise man.
Good luck and keep us updated!
Yeah Julius I also had the same problems of having goals that are ultra specific, which totally overwhelmed myself. I then decided to make them more flexible, although still going in the same direction.
The takeaway I wanna share is that as long as you are working towards your goal, you'll be way ahead than 99% of the people around you.
Good luck in your progress!
Great article, you may also want to check out GoalsOnTrack, amazing software to really reach goals
Harry,
Thanks for your comment. I'll take a look at the software you've suggested.
Regards
Paul
Julius,
Thanks for your comment.
You're right it is a great quote and something to consider when setting goals.
It's always a conumdrum when setting goals; whether to set them in general terms and risk achieving nothing or set them specifically and spend to long on the fine detail.
Regards
Paul
Hey Paul,
Really nice article. Keep it up.
Nick,
Thanks for your comment, it's great to see you here.
Regards
Paul
Very interesting Harry I just checked it out. Useful way to set your goals, and it helps you to focus on what you need to get done next to get there. It all boils down to taking actions. Thanks!
Hey Nishant, I'm glad you like the article!
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