2020 is literally instructing us to see clearly. Why? Because if you have 20/20 vision, you see perfectly. So this year is telling us to make sure our vision is clear! What a fun way to introduce goal setting! To quote Tony Robbins, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
John Norcross is a researcher who has been studying goals many years. He defines a goal as “a mental representation of the desired outcome to which a person is committed.” In regular language, a goal is a) identifying something that you want, and b) are willing to stick with a course of action to achieve.
This is different from a “value,” because a value is something we find important, but does not have a specific course to which we’re committed. For example, you can value being successful in your life and make some choices that are in line with that, but a goal related to that would be to “own a franchise within six months.”
People like Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, Brad Sugars, and Stephen Covey include goal setting in much of their material. Research shows that setting a specific goal makes us more likely to achieve the things we want. The best news is that setting and striving for a goal, even if you don’t make it, will make you happier because you will – by the very nature of striving for your goal – feel more in control of your own destiny.
While I applaud positive thinking, I don’t believe that “hope” is a strategy. Knowing where you want to be as your destination, and then working backward to identify the steps you need to take to get there is a much better strategy to ensuring your business moves forward. We’ll examine three actionable steps to take in designing your road map to success.
GOAL SETTING
What do you want your future to look like? Writing down goals and mapping it out sounds basic, and yet, there is something magical that happens when you write down your goals – and in your own handwriting, not typed on a tablet or dictated into the phone. There is something with your brain seeing your own handwriting, outlining the goals that you are going to accomplish, that pushes people to do so. I have done that all my life, and I teach that to people who want to be successful in business. I talk about it all the time: understanding goals, making them, and revisiting them. Depending on how large they are, revisit them weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Then you work back-ward to make the goals become tangible, to break them down into achievable tasks.
PRIORITIZATION
Learning to prioritize is key. Think of it this way: you own a big box. How will you fill it? This is critical for achieving your goals as you’re about to fill it with the goals and items on your ‘to-do’ list. Put your big rocks (goals, tasks) in it first. Then your smaller rocks, then pebbles, and then add your sand, and finally, water. Going about it like this allows you to fill the box productively. Don’t take your box and fill it up with tiny little things, because then there’s no room for your big rock. Some people like to do the little things first, so they can cross off items on their “to-do” list. But done out of order, and you find yourself short on time. Time is the most precious thing for entrepreneurs.
SELF-TALK
Fear holds us back the most. Fear of what others will think, being wrong, being judged. All that “noise” in our own head gets in our way. If you can, detach to allow yourself to change your perspective and overcome the fear hurdle. We all just need to get outside of ourselves to think and act objectively. Remember: F-E-A-R has two meanings: “Forget Everything And Run” or “Face Everything And Rise.” Tell yourself to rise.
Whenever a decision is made ask yourself this question: “Does it take me closer to, or further from my goal?” If the answer is “closer to,” then you’ve made the right decision, if the answer is “further from,” you know what to do.
If you follow this overview, you will truly see a difference in your business and your attitude. And that vision is something to celebrate. Here’s to a clearly happy 2020!
– Alesia Visconti, CFC