A lot of information on how to set good goals is readily accessible out there. For some reason, a lot of that information is really irritating. Yes, I know they should be 'Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Realistic - Timely' (aka SMART), but who wishes to be smart when setting goals? That just makes it sound boring, when in fact it should be fun.
For your major life goals, your method of selecting and setting them should be exciting and depict the life and death nature of it all. So I suggest leaving behind the business strategy, and follow the Indiana Jones method.
Not sure how this would work? Read on!
(Helps if you have seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, or at least a take off of it. If you haven't, just YouTube 'Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark Famous Scene'.)
You should first see the goal in front of you like an idol (this is just for illustration purposes, as a Christian I never recommend idolatry, unless you like plagues). Can you see it? Gleaming on its little pedestal asking to be reached? Good. This is your goal, what you want to achieve and take back home.
Now look at the bag of sand you have been carrying and work out if you have enough sand for the weight of your idol. Sand is the every day material that you will need to give up: time, resources, money, etc. How heavy is your idol? How much will you have to hand over in order to achieve it? Do you have enough?
You hold your breath as you test out your theory - is there really enough sand there to take the weight of the idol? When you schedule in all the time you will need to spend on your goal, is there enough there? You celebrate when you pull it free - you have just agreed to a goal you believe you can reach.
But wait, that's only the beginning! You still need to escape from the cave together with your goal to realize it. You can only claim the idol if you get it back home, or else you become another skeleton in the cave. And everyone knows it's once you have decided on a goal that everything in your life tries to prevent you from reaching it.
So, you start well but you soon run into trouble. For Indiana it was a pit full of stakes that he needed to swing across. For you, it could be a gap in your finances that you need some help getting through to the next month, or a sudden time suck that leaves you with not enough hours in the day.
Some kindly person yells to you that you should throw them your goal and they will give you the mundane life item to get you across this barrier. Maybe they say to give up the goal for a sensible job, just for a bit so you can pay the bills.
Do you throw them the idol? Well, if you do, you still have to get out of the cave alive, and you no longer achieve anything at the end!
Maybe you are brave and you keep hold of it, working out some way through yourself. But then life might throw a giant, rolling boulder at you. Just remember, as long as you are running towards the entrance, it is all good.
Obviously, when you break free of the cave with your goal, there will always be people who want to cut you down and criticize you. Therefore, think like Indie, have an escape plan set up to enjoy the results of having fully achieved your goal.
That is the way I think goals should be dealt with. A lot more exciting and adventurous than being SMART.
The final thing this model teaches us is that if your goal is not worth the sand you are trading it for, or you are not prepared to jump across pits of stakes for it, then it's not a very good goal. Stick with your sand and your day job.
For your major life goals, your method of selecting and setting them should be exciting and depict the life and death nature of it all. So I suggest leaving behind the business strategy, and follow the Indiana Jones method.
Not sure how this would work? Read on!
(Helps if you have seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, or at least a take off of it. If you haven't, just YouTube 'Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark Famous Scene'.)
You should first see the goal in front of you like an idol (this is just for illustration purposes, as a Christian I never recommend idolatry, unless you like plagues). Can you see it? Gleaming on its little pedestal asking to be reached? Good. This is your goal, what you want to achieve and take back home.
Now look at the bag of sand you have been carrying and work out if you have enough sand for the weight of your idol. Sand is the every day material that you will need to give up: time, resources, money, etc. How heavy is your idol? How much will you have to hand over in order to achieve it? Do you have enough?
You hold your breath as you test out your theory - is there really enough sand there to take the weight of the idol? When you schedule in all the time you will need to spend on your goal, is there enough there? You celebrate when you pull it free - you have just agreed to a goal you believe you can reach.
But wait, that's only the beginning! You still need to escape from the cave together with your goal to realize it. You can only claim the idol if you get it back home, or else you become another skeleton in the cave. And everyone knows it's once you have decided on a goal that everything in your life tries to prevent you from reaching it.
So, you start well but you soon run into trouble. For Indiana it was a pit full of stakes that he needed to swing across. For you, it could be a gap in your finances that you need some help getting through to the next month, or a sudden time suck that leaves you with not enough hours in the day.
Some kindly person yells to you that you should throw them your goal and they will give you the mundane life item to get you across this barrier. Maybe they say to give up the goal for a sensible job, just for a bit so you can pay the bills.
Do you throw them the idol? Well, if you do, you still have to get out of the cave alive, and you no longer achieve anything at the end!
Maybe you are brave and you keep hold of it, working out some way through yourself. But then life might throw a giant, rolling boulder at you. Just remember, as long as you are running towards the entrance, it is all good.
Obviously, when you break free of the cave with your goal, there will always be people who want to cut you down and criticize you. Therefore, think like Indie, have an escape plan set up to enjoy the results of having fully achieved your goal.
That is the way I think goals should be dealt with. A lot more exciting and adventurous than being SMART.
The final thing this model teaches us is that if your goal is not worth the sand you are trading it for, or you are not prepared to jump across pits of stakes for it, then it's not a very good goal. Stick with your sand and your day job.
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