https://www.coachinglife.com.au/article/refresh-your-goals/
Refresh your Goals
Discover the Secrets to Refreshing Goal Setting Success for Intrepreneurs
What is an Intrepreneur for heaven’s sake? Intrepreneurs are entrepreneurs working inside an organisation. We all work inside our own organisation or the organisation of another. For over 30 years, I have been an intrepreneur. For the last 15 years, I have work inside my own business as a coach for coaches.
What I have found with of my clients is that most of the great coaches tend to be introverts by nature. Let me just say, I was a born an introvert, but when I ask people what they think I am, they all pick me as an extravert. Being an introvert you a great coach, but is not what makes you a great intrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs know how to make successful businesses. They have the entrepreneurial spirit to be a success. They can get their expertise out into the world. Introverts like to write and coach and don’t like to speak and train. That is why, they are the world’s best kept secret.
To be successful in business, you need to respect the art of goal setting. Coaches are great one on one coaching people but often terrible at strategic planning, strategic thinking, project planning, project management. All those fancy words, are just another way of saying goal setting.
So now ask yourself why are you interested in goal setting? Why did you start reading this article? Now ask yourself, what have been your good, bad and ugly experiences with setting goals?
Back to the basics, for a second, just to remind ourselves that goal setting is simply a means of turning our dreams into reality. It directs our energies so that we move forward to achieve the things we decide we want. It is a technique that can be used in all areas of our lives – family, academic, business and career. Although goal setting is recognised, very few people actually do it. Statistics report that only 3% of people actually commit their goals to paper.
You know this stuff. The practice of goal setting enables us to gain greater control over our lives as Intrepreneurs. It ensures our aspirations don’t fall by the wayside as we get distracted by the day to day.
So why don’t we?
Effective goal setting includes two practices. One, goals are clearly stated in writing with a target completion date. Two, an action plan is prepared for each goal that breaks the goal up into small achievable steps, each with a completion date. Easy, right?
Goals give us something to look forward to, something to live for. People with goals are generally enthusiastic and look forward purposefully, happy in themselves and their achievements but sadly, most people don’t know what they want. The reason for this, is simple. Most people haven’t spent anytime time thinking about it. So let’s spend our time together, doing some thinking.
Just for a moment, play along, have fun with me. Visualise yourself when you were a child. That child represents your inner child and your unconscious mind.
The unconscious mind wants to serve you. It can only serve you, if it is given instructions on what you want. Goals are about giving the unconscious mind instructions, which it goes and gets done. It gets the goal done, by showing you things you wouldn’t have noticed before if you hadn’t set the goal.
Now visualise a picture of a spider’s web for me with a sticky centre. Put a goal on the web to indicate something that is of interest. Now that goal is on the web, the mind will filter IN stuff that relates to that defined goal. The mind knows you don’t want everything filtered in or out. It selects what to show you based on your needs, wants, goals, habits and interests.
Here is another one of my quirky exercises, that I give my coaches.
Write your own Eulogy
You know, the speech that someone would read at your funeral. It should talk about what kind of person you were, what kind of life you lead and your major accomplishments. To help you, here are the many roles you will play in life. Parent, Child, Sibling, Partner, Business Partner, Work Colleague, Friend, Leader, Advisor, Confidant. This exercise is designed to have you realise that it is the simple things in life that are important. Nobody ever states at a funeral how hard someone worked and how many hours they weren’t there for their kids.
It can be very emotional and a great way to get a feel for what is really important in life. Once that is done, you can start to set goals that have heart, meaning and add excitement and enjoyment to your life and business.
Journals
Next, I would recommend everyone get a new journal, so you have a one stop shop for all your ideas. Just so you know, I am a collector of journals. I have hundreds from all over the world. I can’t stop, I’m addicted. So if you want to buy me a present, feel free to do so, send me a notebook, journal anything with blank pages and I will love you forever.
With your new found addiction of journals, I suggest that every year, decide on new goals. Leonardo da Vinci carried a journal with him at all times, so that he could jot down ideas, impressions, observations, thoughts, plans and things of interest. Often coaches have a wide range of interests and many things excite them. That is good, nothing wrong with it, except at some point you must “pick a pen”. Many coaches fail to specialise or become an expert in their field of excellence. They are generalists and appeal to nobody. Goal setting, will help you establish your niche and develop your ideal client.
The average human has about 65,000 thoughts per day. 95% of those thoughts are the same as yesterday. If you pursue these suggestions with passion, you’ll change your percentage in favour of greater creativity, awareness, and quality of life, just through setting goals.
An important area to consider and one that I explore with my coaching clients is, how has your past life experience determined your attitudes and behaviours towards your goals? How do our Values, Beliefs and Attitudes affect how we behave? How do the Values, Beliefs and Attitudes of your parents still affect your behaviour today around setting goals?
Our Values, Beliefs and Attitudes determine our experience, how we see the world and what we expect of the world.
For example, if your dad taught you that “he has to work hard to put food on the table”, then it is likely that you work very hard for every dollar. If you were able to change that belief to “my work is effortless and fun and the more I love my work the more I earn”, you would find that the world would look different and you would be attracted to different roles or business opportunities.
In your journal, start to explore your values and see what is driving your behaviour. Highlight your top ten values. List them in order of importance. The aim here, is to make sure that each goal is important to your values. If it isn’t important, then you won’t do the goal. Understand that values drive behaviour. No value, no behaviour.
So, you’ve defined your goals and vision for “What do I want?” You clarified your values and know “Why you want it?” You crafted your strategy “How will I get it?”
The Plan
Now, translate your goals into a plan. Decide on the steps you will take toward realising your goals. Each week spend 10 minutes making a mind map of your weekly goals, priorities and plans. Each day spend 5 minutes to make a mind map of your daily plan.
What are some things you’d like to do differently, now that you know what you know? What help and support do you feel you will need? What limiting beliefs would you like to work on eliminating to ensure you achieve your goals?
All goals need a time frame. Even if you miss your initial deadline, not having one at all, prevents you from locking it into place. Time frames can be divided into, Short term – next week, Medium term – 3-6 months, Long term – 12 months or more.
Once you have your goals, the next step is to visualise having actually achieved the goal. Our top sports people are using visualisation because they know, we need to win in our own mind first.
In your mind, see yourself as having already achieved the goal. Talk as if you already have it. See yourself with it, feel the way you will feel when you have achieved it. Keep your mind positively directed on the end result. Remember that what your mind can conceive, you can achieve. The strength and clarity of your visualisation can overcome many obstacles. See yourself surmounting all obstacles and see yourself achieving your goal.
Achieving a goal is not just about seeing it in your mind – it needs action! As I like to say, “Ideas are cheap, ACTION IS KING!
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Katrena Friel – Refresh Your Thinking
Katrena’s life purpose is to cultivate solutions for individuals that develop creativity, personal power, self-leadership and advanced knowledge and skills for a leap frog effect in people’s lives. She has contributed to the success of many and guided thousands of people – inspiring them to their next level of development. Known for her practical, pragmatic approach, she has been described as highly dynamic, spirited and empathic. Refresh your Thinking and look out for her signature program for coaches called “Becoming the Expert Program” at www.katrena.com.au.
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