Goals That Stretch You

News
Upcoming Events:
Saturday, January 8th: Health Workshop
Thursday, January 13th: Six Week Professional Speaking Course
We may also have a Saturday speaking course or mastermind course.


Quote
“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”
-Jim Rohn

My Thoughts
Last week I ended with a few questions: "If I am grateful for what I have, why do you suggest that I set goals?". "Why try to attain something I don't have?" "Won't that make me depressed because I don't have it?"

The answer to those questions is that a goal is not really about getting something, it is about who you become. This is why it is incredibly important to set goals that stretch you and force you to grow. When you set a goal you shouldn't know every detail on how you will attain it.

I'll give you a financial example. Let's suppose you currently earn $3,000 a month. You would like to earn more than that, and you find out that if you get a certain certification that you will receive a guaranteed 15% pay raise. So you will get an extra $450 a month. You set a goal to finish that certification within six months. However, no matter how hard you try you just can't bring yourself to finish it. Why? You've stated that you want to earn more money and here is an opportunity to do it and you can't finish it.
Why?
Many people will point to laziness. However that is usually not the correct answer. It has to do more with emotion. Now what if you found out that if you finished that certification within the next two weeks your pay would triple? Most people would probably stay up all night studying and make major sacrifices to finish that certification. The reason is $9,000 a month gets people a lot more excited than $3,450 a month.
The point here is instead of setting a small goal that you immediately know how to achieve, set a goal that inspires you. How much money would you love to earn.......and don't think about how you will do it? How much? Maybe the answer is $25,000 a month, you now have yourself a financial goal. You most likely have no idea of how you are going to get from your current monthly earnings to $25,000 a month. This will cause you to grow and really develop yourself in ways that you couldn't possibly imagine.

Perhaps money doesn't excite you. Maybe it's health related. Let me give you another example. Most people in January set some sort of health goal. 95% of people give up on that goal by February. Why? Once again it would appear laziness is the obvious answer. However it's the same answer as above. It's emotion.
Most people set a goal to lose a few pounds, or cut back on eating fast food, or give up smoking....there are two problems with these:
1. Negative words in the goal: Lose, give up, etc...Your goal should be positively stated. Ex: instead of lose weight put what weight you want to be at.
2. Emotion.
So let's suppose we have someone that weighs 220lbs (100kgs) and is 25% bodyfat. He decides he wants to lose a few pounds. He starts off well, but give up less than a month in. Maybe he starts again before summer but fails again.
Now let's suppose someone else with the same stats decides he wants to look like someone from some movie, or maybe an athlete. He doesn't know how he's going to do this. He has no clue about nutrition, workouts, rest, etc.. After some research he finds out he will have to get his bodyfat down to 10% which means he will have to lose about 40lbs(18kgs). Not just 40lbs of total weight, he will have to focus on maintaining as much muscle mass as possible. Not an easy feat. This person is sure to grow from this experience and he will have a better chance of success. Why? Because it is much more emotionally exciting than simply losing a few pounds.

I will cover all of this in detail at the January 8th workshop.

So, when you set a goal do not think about what you can attain. Ask yourself: "What do I really want?". As Bob Proctor said your goal should scare and excite you at the same time.

Have an incredible week and a great Christmas.