I have posted my sales related goals fairly consistently. When I did not, I felt my efforts “lacked focus or direction”. In a recent inspiring conversation with Scott Weiss, Life Strategist and Personal Productivity Facilitator, he helped me remember how making your goals visible (and sharing them in some way with others) sharpens your focus on whatever you want to achieve. Why this is important, what sometimes causes us to hesitate and how to get started…
1st step – be honest with yourself
If you want to be goal oriented, do you have them written? Shared? If you do one or both of these do you get concerned about not achieving the goals? When I write a goal down and share it, I certainly have this feeling that…ok, it’s out there…I just made myself accountable. Whether you get a little nervous even thinking about this topic (or not), does not mean it cannot be beneficial for you.
Why making your goals visible is important
All of us spend some amount of time thinking about what we wish for ourselves. Scott does a great job summarizing why making your goals visible is valuable…
”…For those that write them down, what do you do with them and how often do you look what you wrote. We all have fears or insecurities that hold us back, writing down your goals and keeping them in front of you allows you to stay focused on the future while working each day to bring them into reality.
Keeping your goals visible allows to minimize distractions that would otherwise keep you from reaching these goals. Each day you should be looking at your top three goals for the year, envisioning yourself already there and working your ass off each day to get there.”
If this was easy, more people would do it
If you are achieving your goals without visual reminders, fantastic…you are better at it than me for sure. I have a short attention span and way too many distractions. “Recentering” myself is necessary, at least for me, if I want to have any chance of achieving goals.
Some perspective from Scott…
”This is easier said than done, on paper it seems simple, but writing down your goals allows you to start holding yourself accountable to what you want for yourself. When things get difficult or busy it gets extremely easy to start blaming other things…Don’t shortchange yourself, you deserve to be the best version of yourself but you can’t get there if you don’t set your intention each week and day”.
Next step – try it!
Making your goals visible might be a new idea for you or one that you have not embraced in a while. Start with a goal that is achievable but requires some effort. Connect with a friend or colleague as a partner in your effort. It will allow you to readily share your challenges and certainly make the process more fun. You might surprise yourself with what you can achieve!
Feel free to contact me directly for ideas and/or help on this or other topics!
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