There is a lot of information out there about how to set good goals. And for unknown reasons a lot of that information sets my teeth completely on edge. Yes, I know they should be 'Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Realistic - Timely' (aka SMART), but who wants to be smart when setting goals? Where is the fun in that?
For your major life goals, your method of selecting and setting them should be exciting and depict the life and death nature of it all. So I suggest leaving behind the business strategy, and follow the Indiana Jones method.
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'.)
You should first see the goal in front of you like an idol (this is just for illustration purposes, as a Christian I never recommend idolatry, unless you like plagues). Can you see it? Gleaming on its little pedestal asking to be reached? Good. This is your goal, what you want to achieve and take back home.
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 is not the end. You still need to get out of the cave with your goal to realize it. It doesn't count until you are safely back home with the idol. It's usually once you have decided on a goal that everything in your life tries to stop you from achieving it.
So, you start well but you soon run into trouble. For Indiana it was a pit full of stakes that he needed to swing across. For you, it could be a gap in your finances that you need some help getting through to the next month, or a sudden time suck that leaves you with not enough hours in the day.
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.
If you are brave, you manage to get over the obstacle while still keeping your goal. However, next comes the giant rolling boulder. While things might push you to go faster than you feel comfortable doing, and you always seem to be one step ahead of disaster - as long as you are running towards the entrance, you're making it!
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 is the way I think goals should be dealt with. A lot more exciting and adventurous than being SMART.
The final thing this model teaches us is that if your goal is not worth the sand you are trading it for, or you are not prepared to jump across pits of stakes for it, then it's not a very good goal. Stick with your sand and your day job.
For your major life goals, your method of selecting and setting them should be exciting and depict the life and death nature of it all. So I suggest leaving behind the business strategy, and follow the Indiana Jones method.
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'.)
You should first see the goal in front of you like an idol (this is just for illustration purposes, as a Christian I never recommend idolatry, unless you like plagues). Can you see it? Gleaming on its little pedestal asking to be reached? Good. This is your goal, what you want to achieve and take back home.
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 is not the end. You still need to get out of the cave with your goal to realize it. It doesn't count until you are safely back home with the idol. It's usually once you have decided on a goal that everything in your life tries to stop you from achieving it.
So, you start well but you soon run into trouble. For Indiana it was a pit full of stakes that he needed to swing across. For you, it could be a gap in your finances that you need some help getting through to the next month, or a sudden time suck that leaves you with not enough hours in the day.
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.
If you are brave, you manage to get over the obstacle while still keeping your goal. However, next comes the giant rolling boulder. While things might push you to go faster than you feel comfortable doing, and you always seem to be one step ahead of disaster - as long as you are running towards the entrance, you're making it!
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 is the way I think goals should be dealt with. A lot more exciting and adventurous than being SMART.
The final thing this model teaches us is that if your goal is not worth the sand you are trading it for, or you are not prepared to jump across pits of stakes for it, then it's not a very good 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.. This article, A More Adventurous Way To Set Goals is available for free reprint.
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