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Every week I focus on how to challenge my way of thinking. I strive to challenge myself by the ways I have learned to think and act. To a certain degree, we’ve all gotten used to our way of thinking, how others respond to us and, in turn, how we respond to them. The question that I have this week is, “Are my thoughts and activities driving me towards my goals and aspirations?” It’s occurred to me that this question is possibly one that other people rarely, if at all, ask of themselves. There’s a great, yet simple quote, which says, “Your direction determines your destination.” I love the simplicity of this, as I find it easy to translate into an everyday example. For instance, if you were on a plane in New York and you wanted to get to Los Angeles, you must head west. You’ve simply GOT to! If you were to head east from New York, you’d be heading in the completely wrong direction. In the end, no matter what happens, if you still want to get to Los Angeles then you’re going to have to change your course to arrive there. Since we’re going with the flying metaphor, it’s also important to note that with every flight the plane is constantly adjusting its path on the way to the destination. Most of the way it is slightly off course: a little to the left and then a little to the right. There’s often a little unexpected turbulence along the way, and while this is happening the pilot makes the necessary adjustments. He or she knows where the destination is, so no matter what comes their way they can recover and keep the direction towards the destination. Even when it comes to landing, the pilot is required to make some adjustments. Come in too hard or too fast and all that good work during the flight could cause major problems. Come in too slow or low and they’ll fall short of the target. The important thing, which starts it all is knowing where your destination is and then directing yourself there – with volition. There’ll be hurdles and turbulence along the way, but keeping focus on the destination will help you get back on course to get there. So let’s get away from planes and get back to us and how this relates. We all have things that we want to achieve – things that we want to experience. We all have the need to grow in some way. We all want something tomorrow that we don’t have today. So, how can you give yourself the opportunity to move towards what you want with clarity, purpose and volition? I believe that using the following steps you can achieve your goals more easily with less effort than ever before. You’ll be more prepared upfront for when the hurdles arrive and you’ll be even more determined to pass them because you’ve already answered for yourself why you want what you want. So, let’s have a look at the Keys to an Achievable Outcome. - State your goal, or what you desire, in the positive. You must know where you want to go, not where you don’t want to go. Being crystal clear on where you want to go, what you want in your life or what you want to experience is imperative to achieving it. Think of it like inputting your destination into a GPS device – it asks you where you want to go, not where you don’t want to go. Imagine how long you’d spend setting your destination on the device if you had to scroll through every single place that you didn’t want to go! An example of a positively stated goal might be: “I want to go on a family European holiday.” An example of a goal stated in the negative might be: “I don’t want to have to work all year without a break.” Just like the GPS, state your goal – what you want – clearly and in the positive. By doing this you will unconsciously gear yourself towards achieving it.
- State where you are at the present moment. It is important to acknowledge where you are at the present moment in time. With any journey there is a starting point. By acknowledging where you are at the start of the journey you are then able to figure out what trajectory you need to set for yourself. You're also able to figure out what strengths you have on your side. Let's use the GPS analogy again - when you set your destination, the course that is set needs the starting point to be able to formulate the journey. Understanding your current position can help give you the resolve to change where you are to get to where you want to be.
- State the outcome or goal that you desire. Our imagination plays a huge part in our lives – much bigger than what we think. Our goals and dreams are children to our imagination. We picture what we want – the end result – and then we make the decision to follow through. By immersing ourselves into really capturing what the end result will be like: what we will see, what we will hear, what we will feel and what we will be telling ourselves – we give ourselves an understanding of what could be. You could say something like: “I’m standing on the back decking of the beach-house and I can see the sun setting, I can feel the night summer air against my face. I can hear the waves lightly lapping up to the shore, and I’m telling myself, ‘This is the life!’”. Going to this extent of immersion and involving your senses like this is all part of helping you really pinpoint what you want.
- Specify your evidence procedure. Simply put – how will you know when you have what you desire? I like to think of this as driving to a destination – if you’re not paying attention to the landmarks, then you could drive straight past and end up somewhere that you didn’t plan on going. When you’re moving toward what you desire, there are often ‘landmarks’ along the way – clues that you’re approaching what you set out to achieve. Be clear on your evidence for knowing when you’ve achieved what you desire so that when you achieve it you can be present and enjoy the fruit of your labours.
- Is it congruently desirable? Your outcome or dream must be congruent with you. Congruency is an inner agreement or a harmony within yourself. A simple question to ask yourself is, “What will this outcome get for me, or allow me to do?” By answering this question you get the opportunity to assess whether it is something that you really want, or if it’s a flash in the pan. You have to want to push past any hurdles that cross your path. By knowing what you will get and seeing how it will move you forward will help strengthen your resolve when these challenges arrive.
- Is it self-initiated and self-maintained? Is the outcome, goal or dream totally reliant on you and your ‘steam’ to get started, or are you going to have to wait for someone else to be involved or to complete something before you can get started on what you want to do? There’s only one thing you can control in this world, and that’s you. You can control the level of your excitement and commitment to a project or dream, you can rely on yourself when the pace needs to be turned up a bit. I believe in conspiring for our own success. Although, while we may need others along the way, it is the self-starters and those that persist towards their desired outcome that succeed with what they set out to achieve – every time.
- Is it appropriately contextualised? Being very clear about the road to your dreams and goals helps you navigate that much more precisely. Be clear on where, when, how and with whom you want this. Clarity is a real key here. Be bold enough to really picture and immerse and involve into what you want. Who is there with you? How will you get from where you are to where you want to be? You can never have too much clarity when it comes to formulating your desired outcome – the clearer you are, the more achievable it becomes.
- What resources are needed? What do you have now, and what do you need to get your outcome? One of the gaps between you and your goal are your resources. It may be money, skills, time, people, knowledge, etc. If you want to make a chocolate cake, there are a bunch of different ingredients that you need to be able to make it. You need to go to the fridge and the pantry to take stock of what you have and what you need. Once you know what you need, then you can go shopping for them. Always check what you have now, otherwise you end up spending time and energy stocking up on something that you already had at your disposal. And remember that if you need sugar for that cake, you can ask your neighbour; other people can be a part of your resource list.
- Is it ecological? Ecology is a question of consequences. “Is it good for me, is it good for others and is it good for the greater good?” Ask yourself the question: “For what purpose do you want this?” You need to know your ‘why’? When you know why you desire something, then it can help shield you against doubt. Your purpose to take action will give you the drive to push past any perceived limitations that you think you may have. Ask yourself what you will gain or lose by achieving the outcome you desire. By knowing this you gain a greater ability to assess the pros and cons – is it something that you actually want or need? There are four great questions to ask: a. “What will happen if I achieve it?” b. “What won’t happen if I achieve it?” c. “What will happen if I don’t achieve it?” d. “What won’t happen if I don’t achieve it?” Answering these four questions will go to the heart of your pros and cons. You will be able to assess what’s in it for you and for those around you. You will be able to see your dream or outcome for what it is and what it means to you.
Using these 9 keys to an achievable outcome will improve your vision and drive to provide you with the beginnings of a roadmap to get where you want to go. You’ve already envisioned yourself at the destination, you know why you want it. You’ve assessed your strengths and started to create a strategy for overcoming your weaknesses. To a certain degree, you’ve made your outcome or dream a foregone conclusion, with the most important ingredient to be added – you. If you liked this, then click here for more
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