Throw out your goals and replace them with milestones
When you first entered school, you learned the formula for success that followed you throughout your formal education and into your career. It’s a simple formula. Set a goal, have a plan, take action on the plan and then achieve the goal.
In school your goals are getting an “A”. You are taught to always strive to get good grades. And it was encouraged to work really hard to get the “A”. In your career, you are told to work hard so you can get a raise or a promotion.
In your business, you use this model to get more clients and make more money. The focus is always on setting a goal and then working hard to achieve that goal.
While this is a simple formula that works assuming you have a solid plan and take consistent action, it doesn’t take into account that goal achievement isn’t what makes you grow, transform and learn. It’s the JOURNEY where the golden nuggets exist. What you find out about yourself as you move towards a goal. How you bounce back from making a mistake. How you move through an unexpected challenge.
Another challenge with this goal achievement success formula is that it assumes you either succeed or fail. If you reach the goal you have succeeded. If you don’t, you have failed. And our society does not reward you for failure. In fact, the concept of failure can take a massive toll on your self esteem and confidence.
I used to spend my early years in my career focused on goal achievement. And this formula worked well for me. So I thought. I advanced quickly in my career at a very early age and was Vice President of a four a half billion dollar financial institution by the time I was 29 years old. You would think that it was a significant goal for me.
In actuality, it was one of the lowest points in my life. I hated my job, I hated where I lived. I hated my daily commute. I hated the toxic environment where I worked. On paper, I had made the formula work in my favor. In reality, this formula did not bring me the happiness I really desired.
And it was a turning point in my life where I started to change how I view success and what success means to me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy accomplishing things and having financial success. But I have completely transformed my relationship with goal setting. I have thrown it out. I found it led me to overextending myself to chase a goal. It frequently led to burnout. And it didn’t always bring me the happiness and fulfillment I really wanted when I met a goal. In fact, there were many times the goal I chased, once reached was a nonevent
As my journey shifted from one of chasing success to one of creating purpose and fulfillment, I shifted my energy from goal achievement to celebrating milestones.
With milestones, you ALWAYS succeed. There is never failure. A milestone celebrates your growth. And that’s where my focus is today. It’s focused on growth, transformation, fulfillment, happiness, love AND prosperity. Prosperity is part of the entire equation but it’s not the end result. It part of the rich fabric of the journey as I step into new territory and find myself sometimes walking blindly led by my inner guidance. And there are times I have NO idea of what goal I’m headed towards. I just keep following that inner voice to the next step and the step after that. And the joy comes when I take a moment and realize that by taking these guided steps I have changed, grown, transformed and learned. And those are the moments when I celebrate a new milestone.
So perhaps, this will make you stop for a moment and consider throwing out your goals and instead celebrate your milestones of your journey.
Click here for a free copy of Debbie’s Audio for the highly sensitive person on “How To Tap Into The Goldmine Of Your Prosperity.”
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© 2017, Debbie Lynn Grace. All rights reserved.
