“Even if you are on the right track you'll get run over if you just sit there." -Will Rogers
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It’s officially fall here in NYC, which is all sorts of exciting to me.
While the temperature is only just starting to turn (we've had a few 85 degree days recently!) we're starting to close in on the end of the year and the last quarter, or Q4 as the Brits call it.
I sat down earlier this week to dig into my goals. If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, you know I love a good goal-setting session.
We’ve spent some time talking about the importance of goal setting, the ‘how to’ of setting goals, unrealistic goals, and the optimal number of goals to set.
I heart goals. Goals give us direction and focus.
I set yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals. I have goals for my goals. It’s a freaking goal party over in my world.
Sometimes, though, there can be a be a not-so-helpful fringe feeling lurking in the shadows that holds us back from actually getting anywhere with our goals...it tells us that what we’re doing isn’t enough, that we’re so far behind, and that we “should” set a few more goals so we can “catch up”.
What starts as a good intention of creating a little structure suddenly turns into a feeding frenzy of ”and another thing!”.
Instead of spending half an hour outlining our goals, we spend all week coming up with the “perfect” goal.
Then, you know, we have to create action items under each goal…suddenly, we’ve got lists for our lists and programs to outline those lists, and a 5-step system to track the list….a week has gone by and we haven’t gotten much of anything done, aside from downloading a fancy app to schedule our new plan.
Then, there’s another idea we saw on Pinterest that would be so great. So, we scrap the original goals list to make a new one, and the cycle starts all over again.
Ever been there?
Sometimes, our planning and goal-setting is really just a way to delay taking action…a little procrastination in disguise.
It’s clever because it feels like we’re being super productive as we open up a new spreadsheet to outline our plan.
The problem is, unless you’re a professional spreadsheet-er, all those lists and tables aren’t actually getting anything done, but they are taking up a whole lot of time. Time you could spend on your goals instead of planning them.
Goals are meant to give us clarity and a roadmap for where we’re going. But a map doesn’t do us any good if we just look at it; we’ve got to get on the road and start moving.
And what about those brilliant new ideas that seem to pop up right as we’re about to sit down and start working?
They're so shiny and alluring, I hear you. And the closer to any tough work you need to get through, the louder they get.
The very nature of creatives, artists, and entrepreneurs is to be full of ideas and constantly dream up new possibilities, so it’s usually no problem to lean on a few “shiny objects” to fluff up that goals list and distract us from the task at hand.
But the quickest way to get nothing done is to try to do everything. And the fastest way to mediocrity is a bunch of half-baked projects that never get finished.
Goals are a tool. They can help you create what you want, but only if you take action on them…otherwise, goals are just words that let us down.
So, this week, as we start a new month and the last quarter of the year, yes, I’d love to encourage you to set some new goals and intentions. Goals still rock, in my book.
But, I’d also love for you to give yourself a limit…both in the number of goals you’re setting and the amount of time you spend outlining them!
One goal you focus on with intensity and take action on consistently will take you further than 347 watered down, luke-warm goals you think about starting.
Besides, the sooner you get your goals off of the paper and into action, the sooner you’ll achieve them and be able to start on that next shiny object!
This Q4, let’s set goals and take action so we can close the year out with a bang.
Wishing you a happy, productive fall and your version of success,
P.S. Been thinking about coaching, but not quite ready to put a ring on it? I hear you, and I've got you covered! I'm opening up 4, 90-minute Coaching Intensives for the month of October! Click here to learn more and grab one of these spots! {Once they're snagged, as Wyclef says they'll be, "Gone 'til November"}
P.P.S. Goals are still cool! I've got some free goal-setting PDFs for you. Click below to access them!
