The holidays are here and
another full year has flown by. This is a good time to review your progress.
You will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate your victories with others,
as well as ample time to revise and reset those goals you didn't quite reach.
Research has shown that
people who have written down and regularly review their goals earn more money
than those without goals. In addition, similar recent studies have shown that
people with written goals tend to describe themselves as having better health,
greater personal satisfaction and happier relationships than those without
goals. Which group do you want to be in? The 'happy' group sounds good to me!
Let's begin! How happy
are you? Did you reach your goals from last year? Are you where you thought
you'd be? Is this the life you dreamed about twelve months ago?
Many people have made New
Year's Resolutions with great expectations of success and instead found
frustration rather than satisfaction. While there are many things that can
cause this, one of the most common is setting your bar 'too high.' When you do
not see or feel any progress after trying something, it is easy to become
discouraged and give up.
Several years ago I wanted
to compete in the state handball championships. For the New Year, I had set a
very specific goal and was keeping accurate records. My goal was to practice
three times a week. In reviewing my records, I realized that I'd only been able
to practice two and a half times a week on average and it just frustrated me.
I happened to mention my
frustration to a friend of mine. He gave me a marvelous bit of advice that
totally transformed my dissatisfaction into joy. My friend asked if I had tried
to change it and my answer was yes. Then he said a surprising thing: 'Well, in
that case, I suggest you change your goal from three times a week to either two
or two and a half times a week.'
Since lowering my goal
would not get me any more practice, I asked him what good that would do. His
answer was 'You’re right, it won’t change your practice. However, since you’re
not hitting your target anyway, you might as well choose to be happy where you
are instead of being frustrated about where you are not. It will make your life
better.'
Wow! Choose to be happy
where you are. As a lifetime goal achiever, this was a marvelous new concept
for me. What a powerful course of action that is: You can adjust your goal and
be happy where you are!
Here is another similar
idea that many have found to be quite helpful in maintaining joy and
satisfaction while reaching goals. Raymond Aaron, a dear friend and
well-respected success and investment coach, teaches a method that he calls 'MTO
Goals'. M stands for the minimum you want to accomplish, T is for your target
goal and O is for Outrageous. It is a great way to be happy where you are as
you work toward your goals.
Here's how it works. When
you are setting your goals, first determine the very minimum you want to get
done. For example, if you feel overweight and out of shape and your goal is to
enjoy optimal health, you might choose to walk around the block today as your
minimum.
Next, your 'target' could
be that you participate in an exercise class, such as one at Curves or the YMCA
or your local fitness center. Finally, your 'outrageous' would be that you
walk, jog and run in the morning, hire a personal coach for your afternoon
aerobic, weightlifting and exercise classes, do a spinning class and go swimming
in the evening – all without eating a single donut.
You get a feeling of
accomplishment and joy each time you successfully complete something and that is
exactly what makes this MTO process so powerful. By setting a minimum goal that
you can easily reach, you set yourself up for success. This is like MAGIC – try
it! You will be much more likely to begin any project knowing that you can give
yourself a 'V' for Victory.
Another amazing thing
often happens. Once you begin something that you have been putting off, you
will start to develop energy for the project. For instance, if your goal is to
organize your office, your first MTO minimum step will be something simple that
you know you can accomplish easily and quickly, perhaps to locate your desk
top.
Once that pile of papers
is picked up and you can see the surface of your desk, you will feel a wonderful
and welcome sense of accomplishment. Then, as many others have, you just might
find that before you realize it, you have the mail opened, the papers filed, the
waste basket empty, the bookshelves straightened and the computer dusted off.
Remember Newton's first
Law of Motion? An object in motion tends to stay in motion. This principle
applies to people too. Once you begin a project and can give yourself credit for
an early success, you often get energized, get into the flow and just keep
going.
You will more easily enjoy
success each time you set an MTO goal. Let the outrageous goal be the really,
really big one. Let your target be something that you have done successfully in
the past. And choose your minimum to be something easy that you know you have
time and energy for today.
This MTO Goal process is a
great way to tackle larger goals. When you take your big objective and break it
down into bite size pieces, minimum, target and outrageous goals, you will find
it easier and more fun to keep going. You will get marvelous satisfaction from
many victories. Most important of all, with MTO goals, you can be happy where
you are!
About the Author:
John Carpenter Dealey is
dedicated to helping people solve problems, recognize (and take full advantage
of) marvelous opportunities available to them and helping people reach their
dreams and goals with "ease and grace." Visit his website at: http://dr-mastermind.com/home.php
To learn more about
Raymond Aaron, you can visit his website at:
http://raymondaaron.com/
John enthusiastically
started his first business at age nine, joined his first MasterMind group in
1972, and became a "self-made millionaire" by the age of 27. If you would like
to learn how to apply these powerful principles in your own life, sign up for a
free subscription to MasterMind Tips ezine at:
