So you’ve grasped the concept of saying your goals out loud and committing to yourself and others. Congratulations! This is exactly what my husband and I do each New Year’s Eve over dinner. Yet verbalizing is not enough. Remember how adults learn (hyperlink “Saying Power”)? We learn and grasp information in three primary ways: visual, kinesthetic (by doing) and auditory (hearing).
You have likely heard the Chinese proverb “The palest ink is better than the sharpest memory”. What were those goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year? Where are you in your progress to meet them?
Many of us are snapped back to the reality of not reaching our goals by various occasions. One is New Year’s Eve. Others can be performance reviews at work or the passing of a significant anniversary, such as the launch of your company. These surprise check-ins are usually not monitors of our progress but the lack thereof.
Writing down our goals and keeping them in our “line of sight” is key to our success. This “line of sight” includes not only a visual posting but a process for regular review of your progress. Think of a new object you place in your office. For the first few days, it captures your attention each time you enter the room. As time goes by, your eye becomes accustomed to the object and it no longer warrants a second glance.
The same thing happens with our goals, yet there are far more assaults on our ability to focus on goals than something we ignore in our office. With all of the information and opportunity that we are bombarded with on a daily basis, our goals fade into the recesses of our mind unless we have a process to revisit them.
We are all busy and pulled in many different directions. Our goals are a touchstone for us; a way to revisit and reground ourselves to our priorities. Write down your goals. Post your goals. Make an appointment to review your goals. You will find yourself on a road to a reality that previously you had only dreamed!