I didn't always
think this way. I learned it through reaching my goal!
I was an independent rep for a skin care and cosmetic company. The company and our group
leader preached goals. We were instructed to visualize our goals, to mentally see the
results we wanted, and to make an actual display of some sort that depicted our goals.
I made a rather elaborate bulletin board. It had pictures of the new car I would be given
to drive when I'd bought enough product and recruited enough other reps into the company.
It had charts of my sales goals, broken down into how much I needed to sell each week. It
had statistics of how much my average "per face" sale was to show that if I
could just get the skin care products on a certain number of faces, get that number of
women to try them, that I'd likely sell my quota and meet my goal. The poster had
motivational quotes. It had little reminders. It had a list of positive affirmations. My
goal, and what I needed to do to achieve it, was clear.
It worked. I quickly reached my goal and did receive that brand new car to drive.
Then what?
Nothing.
I'd reached my goal and was finished. I hadn't been teaching skin care because I loved
making women look beautiful. I wasn't showing women how to make themselves more attractive
with cosmetics because I loved making women feel better about themselves. No, I wasn't
doing it for those reasons at all. I was doing it, and doing it well, because I had a goal
to reach.
Sadly, it was an empty goal.
A few months later, the car went back, and I went forward to do something else.
What happens when you reach your goals? You are done! Finished. There's nothing more to go
after.
Goals are restrictive. They set an end to what you can achieve. They thwart freedom. They
prohibit you from doing all that you want to do for yourself and your family. Goals are
the brakes that stop you from accomplishing all that you could accomplish because goals
are the end.
Ten years ago, my husband and I decided it was time for us to stop setting goals for the
future and time to start living the present. We decided that we wanted to be happy now,
instead of wrapped up in doing something that might make us happy sometime. Instead of
planning what we wanted to do, we simply started doing it. Those were the best decisions
we have ever made.
I'm not advocating being irresponsible. I'm not suggesting living today with no thought of
what the consequences will be tomorrow.
What I am advocating is enjoying the trip of life. Find work that you like to do and that
you find satisfying today - not just work that may reward you in the future. Love your
kids for what they are today - not just for what they may become years from now. Celebrate
personal relationships today - not just at anniversaries.
Use goals only if they are a means to what you truly want - if meeting the goal is a step
in leading you where you want to go. Goals may be useful if they are part of the journey
but they are self-defeating if they are the destination.
Related Articles:
Setting Goals Keeps All Your Geese In A Row
Goals are not black and white. Resolutions, on the other hand, take on the
huge task of making a change in one bold move. An examination of the
difference between making resolutions and setting goals. Geese example
included!
Choosing, not changing how you live your life
Have you set any goals recently, and if so, how are they going? Are you still fired up and raring to go? Or has daily life got in the way?
In setting goals for your life, would it be easier to choose to create a new way of being, rather than forcing yourself to change?
The Simple Steps To Reaching Your Goals
The only difference between setting goals for your business or
career, and setting personal goals is the subject matter. With
commitment and persistence, and setting goals, your life can
be any way you want it.
Copyright 2001 Coleen Sykora
Coleen Sykora lives full-time in a recreational vehicle, a lifestyle that focuses on the journey. Visit
www.workersonwheels.com for free
info on earning an income while living your dream. Free e-zines -- mailto:subscribeezines@workersonwheels.com
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