Step 3

Step Three: Write goals that bring action and progress

The lovely thing about goals are that they are created by you, for you, and are uniquely your own. When they are not characteristic of those elements, they will lack the underlying motivation and key elements to create successful progression. The other lovely thing about goals – they are an act of declaration and the skill to create, state, or write goals can be taught and learned.

Writing goals is a skill that surprisingly, many people avoid. It’s as if you forced your hand to declare something you want and feel shaken by its visibility on the page. I encourage and teach people to write goals. As we are aware, most businesses have stated goals and yet when it gets personal there’s something awkward about it.  I’ve come to believe it’s the resistance to change that the process of writing or stating goals holds evidence to. When we write or state a goal, choice and action are implied.

Some of the goals that I have supported people with are broad: To find my path, to create balance in my life, to find a new career, to manage stress and time, to get focused, to complete my degree, to get healthy; yet we don’t have to necessarily distill down to specifics to see there is a choice and action starting to form.

Any talk or discussion of goals is often associated with performance as many goals are based in the achievement of something (that can be seen in the external world). We know that great leaders and athletes establish clear goals and often achieve great things. Possibly, this reflects a fear on our part about living up to this mirrored success. We may deeply fear success or envy it and by somehow participating in writing goals we feel like a fraud – who am to think I can achieve this?

To re-frame, I suggest considering goals as the barometers of progress and totems of possibility and commemoration. Goals may weave a story of someone’s journey marked by time and duration. Some goals take longer to nurture, build and manifest; while others simply roll out relative to each change we intend to make. Many goals are for our personal learning and development.

The intent of this chapter, is not meant to ‘teach’ about how to write goals or what your goal can be, but rather to suggest that the intent behind a goal or the outcome of your goals ought to be inspiring enough to override your fear. For example, what if you declared a goal of becoming the top person in your field, creating a energizing and prosperous business partnership, creating a new way to live, or sharing your message with the world? How powerful are these goals? In other words, does the possibility of the outcome you see calm and discredit your fear? The possibility that arises in achieving or experiencing a positive change or outcome will naturally infuse your passion, energy and commitment.

Goals that are created by a desire to create, grow and develop have the energy or intent behind them, and therefore, give life to your chosen or desired action or change. It’s worthwhile to reflect on some of the most notable people in history or those currently in your life; by doing so you’ll notice a purpose behind their actions and the level of impact or change they brought forth. Many of these people had (have) dreams and clearly expressed goals to make them reality.