Quantum Happiness Series- The Goal Garden
“Goals
are dreams with deadlines.”
—Diana Scharf Hunt.
That is for you to determine. The
possibilities are endless, bright, and colorful. But the grip of ennui makes it
difficult to set and prioritize goals since our energy is depleted and we have
trouble getting excited about anything. That inability to get excited is both a
symptom and cause of ennui, both of which can be treated by setting clear
goals.
A lack of goals, means there is no measurement for progress, nothing to strive for, nothing to accomplish. But clear goals give us a sense of usefulness, pride, and satisfaction, which strangles the tentacles of ennui from our lives.
Like any good garden project, we must begin by
examining the soil of our goal garden: morals, values, and ethics.
The broadest category, morals, are things that
we know, without question, to be right or wrong, nonnegotiable. Values are how we
translate those morals to everyday life, and ethics are how we apply them to
business.
For instance, let’s say that you are morally
opposed to animal cruelty. How do you represent that?
·
Do pets play an important role in your life?
·
Do you adopt, rescue, or foster animals?
·
Do you take part in animal rights activist groups?
Questioning allows you to define your values.
Now, consider how that affects your work:
·
Do you refuse to work for a company that mistreats animals?
·
Do you write or blog about animal rights?
·
How does it affect the business that you do with others?
·
Do you wear vegan leather?
·
Or buy only responsibly sourced meat?
These things that motivate you are what you
must plant in your goal garden.
So, in order to define your goals, take some
time and question what you feel strongly about.
·
What causes are important to you?
·
What impact do you want to leave on the world?
·
What have you always wanted to do?
By looking at it in a long view, you can see a clearer picture of your
destination. Then, work backwards to determine which steps come first and what
benchmarks you must pass along the way. See
sample goal statements at the end of this segment.
Be aware, goals are like marigolds (we’ll call
them mari-goals) when we tend to them with love, they multiply into bright
blooms of possibilities and great achievements.
Once you get started, you may realize that you
have many mari-goals:
·
family goals
·
household goals
·
business goals
·
fitness goals
all just waiting to be discovered.
How to prioritize and accomplish goals
Engagement Exercise
1:
Use this worksheet to explore your morals, values, and ethics to determine what
is important to you and how that affects your daily choices.
My morals – Things I know to be
right or wrong.
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
My values – How my morals are
represented in my daily choices.
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
My ethics – How my morals and
values affect my business decisions.
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Engagement exercise
2:
Create a goal statement using the following examples. Keep it close and add to
it whenever you discover a new mari-goal.
Remember goals must:
·
Represent your (not someone else’s) morals, values, and ethics.
·
Be specific
·
Include details
·
Contain multiple, measurable benchmarks
o
Benchmarks should be anticipated and celebrated.
·
Include a reasonable timeline
· Be flexible and resilient.
My Mari-Goals
(textual example):
Goal: Become a professional landscape photographer.
Short-term benchmarks: 6 months or less
·
Research and buy camera best suited to landscape photography.
·
Take weekend photography class, landscape specific if possible.
·
Practice taking landscape photos on weekends.
·
Practice editing photos during the evening after dinner.
·
Create social media accounts and begin sharing photos online.
Mid-term benchmarks: 6 months –
2years
·
Create website.
·
Reach 5,000
social media followers.
·
Begin marketing
photos.
·
Enter online
landscape photography competitions.
·
Begin
submitting photos to newspapers and magazines.
Long-term
benchmarks: 2 years – 5+ years
·
Sell art-quality photos via the website.
·
Provide high-quality landscape
photography to media outlets.
·
Win competitions to position me as an
expert landscape photographer.
· Teach workshops to help others reach their photography goals.
This has been an excerpt from the Everyday Vacay e-series. Stay tuned next month for Healthy Habits -- Seeds of Success.
Check out the entire video series here.
Come join the conversation in Tammy Talk's Social Circle:
If you are generally tired and frustrated, click here to receive a free e-seminar that details the causes and the cure.
Or explore the entire Everyday Vacay Series :)
Featured photo (top of page) by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash
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