October twelfth marks Christopher Columbus’ birthday. He set out to discover new Trade Routes to Asia, but ended up in the Caribbean. Roadblocks and mistakes diverted his initial path and his journey took longer than expected. He kept going – always moving forward – closer to his target (even when his target changed). This concept of forward momentum is very important in life – so is setting goals. Goals provide motivation. Motivation keeps us taking steps.
If we use Columbus’ journey as our Goal Setting Road Map we learn to:
- allow ourselves to chart new territory
- be okay with changing directions
- have an end goal in mind
- re-evaluate and adapt along our journey
- surround ourselves with supporters and tune-out naysayers
- recognize when we’ve reached a successful stopping point
- celebrate our discoveries
Take organizational goals: Sometimes your goal is to reclaim space in a spare bedroom. You think the only way to achieve that is to empty the whole room and start from scratch. But, as you work, you realize it’s actually the corner where the bills get paid that mucks up the process. You notice that entering the room facing the ironing board is depressing; small shifts in orienting stuff can make a huge difference. Or let’s say you are overwhelmed with family photos and you want to ‘organize them.’ Your first goal might be to store them in photo safe boxes. Along the way you decide to scan a portion and preserve them electronically as a screen-saver montage. While sorting sentimental batches you get caught up reconnecting with family. That’s okay if you stick with the goal of getting the photos organized and continue to weed out the unnecessary shots. As long as you do something with the photos you want to save, you are still moving forward.
In setting goals, you will have to plan a route to achieve success.
You will want to find like-minded travelers along the road.
When you get stuck, don’t get discouraged… stay focused and keep your eyes on the horizon.
Amaze yourself with what you discover!
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