I have researched, read and used a lot of different strategies over the years to help folks and organizations get to where they want to go. New findings and techniques bring up two key points that make a huge impact when folks approach visioning and goal setting: 1) Keeping the end in mind DOESN’T always work. 2) Creating a plan can be ridiculously hard, so why not make it simple? This week, I’ll give you a few unique tips for how to create a do-able vision for a lofty, yet reasonable, goal you want to achieve. And next week, we will tackle the whole planning thing (i.e. rubber hits the road and make this puppy come to fruition.) Here are a few tips to get you started.
Visualizing with the end in mind doesn’t always work
I know, I know, everything you have ever read or been exposed to has always had you focus on your ideal self and visualize yourself being there. Such imagery may include seeing yourself crossing that finish line, slipping into that size 8 for that big office party, or wearing that tassle as you receive a degree from a prestigious school. You imagine an ideal future that is full of wonderfully detailed imagery as if that event were actually taking place. You type it up, read it aloud and feel great…and then about three weeks later you get overwhelmed; you start to back-slide, your self confidence gets rattled or you just say “what the heck?! This is hard, so I’m just going to throw in the towel.” Sound familiar? Imagery, by the way, isn’t entirely a bad thing. In fact, it has been proven to make you feel good by triggering your brain to release dopamine when you think about your ideal self. Also, focusing on the end goal really helps you define what it is that you want to achieve. However, just focusing on the end game does not help you create the steps necessary to make that vision come true.
To train for a race, focus on the mile markers, not on the finish line
When you have chosen a lofty goal and you are thinking of creating a vision of how to get there, start by creating something more than a “vision.” How about creating “a vision plan?!” This is a fundamentally different approach. It requires you to focus on the PROCESS of getting to your desired goal instead of focusing on the futuristic moment you ARRIVE at your goal. Let’s use getting a college degree as an example. Say you want to earn a college degree, but it’s been 15 years since you last set foot in a classroom. Do the following four things:
- List all of the benefits and rewards of getting that degree (we will expand even more on this next week.)
- Visualize the process of getting a degree, the journey of what it will take to get there. “What does that look like for you?” Do this with a slight spin; write down the process as if you were telling someone else what to do. (i.e. in third person using use words like he or she.)
- Actually write this stuff down. There is a lot of research on how your brain tends to organize information when you write things down. You can do this in bullet form or you can write it as if it were a story. It doesn’t matter, as long as you can get your thoughts out of your head and onto the paper.
- Write down your 3-5 major mile markers or milestones, as we say in the biz. These should be teased out of the major parts of the process necessary for you to get to your goal (again, write them in the third person.) In our example of getting a degree, the milestones could be things like getting accepted to a college, getting a loan, making the time to take the classes, etc.
Next week
Once you have teased out your major milestones, you are ready for part two. I’ll give you some simple tips that will give your process traction by creating an Action Plan System. I’ll also include three books that heavily influenced these articles and are a must-read if you want to dig deeper.
