Goal checkup: How are you progressing?

In my last blog we covered the basics of goal setting: 1) set the goal, 2) develop a plan, 3) keep the goal and plan in front of you, 4) focus on the reward for accomplishing it.

By now, you have either done nothing toward achieving your goal, have started but lost confidence in achieving your goal, or are making progress toward reaching the goal. Regardless of which stage you are in, it is most important to know where you currently are in your progress toward reaching your goal.

Goal checkup questions
Ask yourself:
1) Are you serious about your goal? If not, you’re wasting time reading this blog.
2) Where exactly are you?
3) How do you feel about what you’ve accomplished so far?
4) Do you have any external support encouraging you in this quest?
5) What adjustments, if any, do you need to make to be successful?
6) Are you using any of your five senses to make the reward real?

Dealing with competing priorities
One of the biggest challenges to hitting a goal can be friends and family who unintentionally ask you to do things that distract you from your primary target. Let me give you an example: I stated in my last blog that I have a personal goal of running 56 miles on my 56th birthday later this year. I am a member of the Glass Professional Forum. We are an informal group of glass shop owners from throughout the country that meet several times to discuss “best practices.” These meetings are very important to me and the success of my company. Our next meeting will be in NYC in May. We are deciding the specific dates now. I let the group know that I will not be attending because I have some long-distance runs scheduled for those dates. Nicole Harris, publisher of Glass Magazine and a member of this group, said she could run part of the way with me in Central Park. She said she could get others of the group to also run different distance legs with me in Central Park. As an aside, I may be the only person in the country that has not been to NYC, and it is a dream of mine to run in Central Park. I am confident that we are going to work out the details that will allow me meet with my peers, complete my long run and realize a lifetime dream simultaneously.

At first, it appeared that this meeting with my peers could be a distraction toward reaching my goal of running 56 miles. However, it could also keep me on track to reaching my company’s growth goals. How do I resolve the apparent conflict between these two critical goals? Every time competing priorities appear, it is a good thing. It tests your commitment, sharpens your thinking, and hones your priorities. The questions to ask are:
1) How do I resolve the apparent conflict between these competing goals?
2) How will this situation help me accomplish my goals?
3) How can I turn a potential distraction into a positive tool to help me succeed?

A quote to apply: “Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion” -- Michael Jordon.

—Bill Evans, president, Evans Glass Co., Nashville