There's a lot of information out there about how to set effective goals. However, the strategies themselves are boring and make you want to cry. Who would want to achieve goals after that?
Instead, imagine if the process of setting and achieving goals was an exciting adventure in itself? What if they were an Indiana Jones movie, instead of a workplace professional development video?
How does my little analogy work? Follow me!
(To follow this it is useful to have watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, but if you haven't, just go to YouTube and search for 'Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark Famous Scene'.)
Your goal is like the golden idol in the cave. The scene starts with you first beholding the idol on its pedestal and trying to work out how to bring it back home. Can you see it? Gleaming on its little pedestal asking to be reached? Awesome.
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?
Holding your breath you ease the goal off in exchange for the sand. It comes free and the cave has not come crashing down. Congratulations! You have just found a goal you can commit to.
But wait! That's not the end. You still need to escape from the cave together with your goal to achieve it. You're not safe and sound until you get it back home. And once you have decided on a goal, that's when life makes it hard to achieve it.
You begin running. For Indiana, the first obstacle was a pit with stakes. For you it might be difficulty meeting your mortgage payment, or a sudden change in circumstances.
Some helpful person says you should throw them the idol and they will give you the mundane life item to get you across this barrier.
You can throw them the idol, and struggle to the end of the cave, but then you have gone through almost as much effort, and have nothing to show for it at the end. Trying to win back the idol afterwards is a whole lot harder.
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.
Of course, when you final come out of the cave victorious with your idol, you usually find a large crowd of people waiting with bows and arrows to take you down. Just when it looks like you have made it, people will try to stop you with criticism or backstabbing. So follow Indiana's advice, and always have an exit plan so you can fly off into the sunset and enjoy your achievement.
That's the way I think goals must be handled. A lot more exciting and adventurous than being SMART about goal setting.
Also, in case you create a goal that isn't worth the sand you are trading for it, or risking your life to cross the pit for, or perhaps dealing with all the tribesmen attempting to kill you, then you definitely haven't really got a good enough goal. Stick with your sand and your day job.
Instead, imagine if the process of setting and achieving goals was an exciting adventure in itself? What if they were an Indiana Jones movie, instead of a workplace professional development video?
How does my little analogy work? Follow me!
(To follow this it is useful to have watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, but if you haven't, just go to YouTube and search for 'Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark Famous Scene'.)
Your goal is like the golden idol in the cave. The scene starts with you first beholding the idol on its pedestal and trying to work out how to bring it back home. Can you see it? Gleaming on its little pedestal asking to be reached? Awesome.
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?
Holding your breath you ease the goal off in exchange for the sand. It comes free and the cave has not come crashing down. Congratulations! You have just found a goal you can commit to.
But wait! That's not the end. You still need to escape from the cave together with your goal to achieve it. You're not safe and sound until you get it back home. And once you have decided on a goal, that's when life makes it hard to achieve it.
You begin running. For Indiana, the first obstacle was a pit with stakes. For you it might be difficulty meeting your mortgage payment, or a sudden change in circumstances.
Some helpful person says you should throw them the idol and they will give you the mundane life item to get you across this barrier.
You can throw them the idol, and struggle to the end of the cave, but then you have gone through almost as much effort, and have nothing to show for it at the end. Trying to win back the idol afterwards is a whole lot harder.
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.
Of course, when you final come out of the cave victorious with your idol, you usually find a large crowd of people waiting with bows and arrows to take you down. Just when it looks like you have made it, people will try to stop you with criticism or backstabbing. So follow Indiana's advice, and always have an exit plan so you can fly off into the sunset and enjoy your achievement.
That's the way I think goals must be handled. A lot more exciting and adventurous than being SMART about goal setting.
Also, in case you create a goal that isn't worth the sand you are trading for it, or risking your life to cross the pit for, or perhaps dealing with all the tribesmen attempting to kill you, then you definitely haven't really got a good enough goal. Stick with your sand and your day job.
About the Author:
Looking for more tips on how to become a prolific writer? See Buffy Greentree's new book The Five Day Writer's Retreat now on Amazon.
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