Tell-All on Setting Goals
Photo: http://plantables.tumblr.com/
By Molly Weisner
To dream is to take a little bit of your heart and surround it with a warm embrace, but to believe is to let it go.
Part of what makes each and every one of us special are our aspirations and goals. They are the unique parts of ourselves that we launch into the world, hoping they’ll take flight—which takes a lot of courage! Frankly, goal setting is hard and going about it with too much or too little gusto can discourage the process. So here are three tips to help you make happy, healthy and attainable goals.
Take a Step Back: In the heat and sparkle of an idea-saturated moment, it’s all too easy to commit yourself to a goal that is too magnificent to be practical. Don’t take this the wrong way; there’s no dream you can’t achieve. However, take into consideration the amount of work and time a goal demands before setting your deadline. If you can, try to take a big goal and break into bitesize chunks, like mini-milestones. Otherwise, a long-term goal that is crammed into a short-term window is going to be more stressful than inspiring. Be ambitious, but also be patient with yourself.
Prioritize: Ordering and tackling objectives in order of importance is key in preserving your mental sanity and productivity. A giant laundry list of goals is much easier to sift through if you take care of the most important or time sensitive ones first. You’ll find that taking one step at a time gives you the freedom to breathe in between projects without worrying about whether or not you’ve missed something. After all, a little organization never hurt anybody!
Consider Your Resources: The nature of a dreamer doesn’t include relying on outside resources for help. In fact, it’s likely that a fellow goal-guru would scoff at the idea of even considering a helping hand. Before you nod your head in fervent agreement, know that there is no shame in asking for help. It’s not that you can’t do everything with perfect accuracy; it’s just that having your hand in fifty different pots prevents you from deeply sampling one. Specializing in a few things and contemplating the availability of experts in others will make you more productive and much happier.
Confidence is Key: The worst thing you can do while trying to achieve a goal is compare yourself to others. Goals are like snowflakes: no two are the same and no two can be compared against each other. The more you watch others run towards their dreams, the slower you’ll be in getting to your own. No one else is on the same path as you and so only you can judge how far you have or haven’t traveled. Keep your eyes forward and trust your feet to get your where you need to be.
