Back to Basics

Lance Armstrong on his recent New York City marathon debut said, “that was my goal, I wanted to break three hours.”

When Lance Armstrong began training for that marathon, he had a goal in mind—to complete a marathon in less than three hours. Considering Lance Armstrong is one of the most accomplished athletes worldwide, we should follow his lead by learning to set goals.

In our society, we are bombarded by the pace of our daily lifestyles. Days, weeks and sometimes even months can pass us by without our ever noticing. Are you accomplishing the things that you desire? Have you ever even thought about what they are?

With 2007 quickly approaching, this is an excellent time to take charge of your life and set some goals. No matter what you read or what you study, you are going to find agreement on this one simple point—you must decide what you want if you are going to get it. This may seem obvious and intimidating but you must have your goals clearly in mind to reach them.

The 6 P’s:
Purpose: Ask yourself two questions: Who or what do you want to be? What do you want to do? When you answer those questions, just brainstorm your thoughts and form them into phrases which become your purpose statement. Try not to overanalyze this task, because it is a guide for setting your goals.

Personal Goals: About you!

This can include outcomes like reaching a target weight, starting an exercise program, reading a certain amount each day, changing a habit or any other personal desire or objective.

Professional Goals: About your career!
This can include anything you want to accomplish professionally. Systems you would like to learn, seminars you would like to attend, promotions you would like to earn or even a networking group you would like to join.

People Goals: About the people in your life!
Who would you like to meet? Who would you like to help? Who would you like to learn from? Who would you like to teach? Who would you like to spend more time with? Think of which people belong on this list and what you want to do with these people to will help form your People Goals.

Prosperity Goals: About your financial desires!
How much money do you want to save each week? Do you want to purchase a new home? Do you want to reduce your debt? Do you want to take your family on a vacation? Figure out what it costs to live your life (bills, debts, necessities)— basically the overhead of your family. Whatever is left over is yours to allocate as you please.

Play Goals: About the fun stuff!
Vacations, new cars, a new computer, Java Jolt coffees, a new purse! There is nothing wrong with wanting lots of nice stuff! What you will find is that the stronger your purpose, the more you develop personally, the more you will accomplish professionally, the more prosperous you will become and the more fun you will have!

Remember: write your goals in the first person, present tense and state the goals in the affirmative, as if it were already true. “I do send birthday cards to everyone in my family.” Also, make sure to put a time frame on your goals—it is okay not to reach a goal and have to reset it, but it is not okay to just keep putting it off. If you train yourself to focus on moving in a particular direction, this will cause your behaviors to subconsciously begin gravitating to your destination.

Take time to write your goals—it will feel awesome to accomplish even your smallest desires in 2007. tpw