For many people, it is necessary to set goals in personal life and professional career. But goal is not something you focus on.
Visualizing the Future
One of the things that set humans apart from animals is their ability to mentally see far ahead into the future, to visualize the finished product, whether a house, a tool, or their future selves. Together with the ability to communicate in complex language, humans developed over time in such amazing rapidity and sophistication.
The WHY of Goal-Setting
But as humans develop sophistication in every area of life, they become removed farther away from why they do them, that is, the very essence of growth – to make life better for themselves and others in beautiful, joyful, and meaningful manner. They measure success in terms of human accomplishments.
Goal-setters become so fixated on the finished product and not on why they need to do what they need to do. They set fixed goals such that they become stressed in trying to meet the deadline and achieve the expectations. When they get so stressed with the seemingly insurmountable challenges, they drop out easily. And when they do finish the final product but failed to achieve the expected goals, they become disappointed and felt they were failures. They become so attached and focused on the WHATs (goal) and the HOWs (system and process), that they missed the big picture – the WHYs (purpose and growth).
While goal-setting and achievement process is necessary, it should not be forgotten that things might not happen as expected. The goal-setter must be adaptable and resilient in face of challenges, risks, and uncertainties.
Preparing For Growth
Life is created primarily on growth, not on goals. Growth causes you to achieve your goals.
Growth is measurable, experienciable, and incredible path to goals. Growth does not happen overnight, it unfolds slowly. Sometimes you don’t see progress in a week, or in a month, or even in a year, because timing is not logical as we think it is.
Growth is better nurtured with quality time not solely on the quantity of time spent. What someone may achieve in one year, another one may achieve the same in 5 years. It is fine if it will take you longer to achieve your goal as compared to other people (though you ought not compare yourself to others), as long as you enjoy the journey. You may have other pressing goals that you prioritize with and achieve in less time. We’re all different and unique in our own ways.
Work Out Your Plan, But Open Up For Possibilities
Oftentimes, life teaches us a lesson in a way we didn’t anticipate. When you pray for more strength, you got pain in order for you to become stronger. That’s because pain makes you stronger. You pray to become smarter, and you got opportunity to learn, because you don’t automatically become smarter. Think about what the popular quote really means, “Life is not about destination, it’s about journey.”
Growth-Setting
When you focus on annual growth rather than annual goals, you will achieve something important in your life, because growth is far more important than achieving success, unless your specific goal is personal growth and development. So, how does growth-setting works?
Pick 5 areas of your life to assess. One suggestion is to pick these areas: Career, Relationships, Home, Health, and Spirituality. Rate each area for “Where You’re At” and “Where You Want To Be.” The area with the biggest gap will be your priority for growth-setting.
Learning and Trying
For the prioritized life area, set your growth and goal, by coming up with 3 things to learn and 3 things to try/experiment. What this activity tries to do is for you to switch from plan to action. For example, your goal is to become physically fit. Most people who make a new year’s resolution to lose weight and become physically fit would set a goal of perhaps going to gym and eat less. Guess what, Many will drop off the regimen by the second month, why?
So, to be effective in reaching your goals, you have to be detailed, you may use S.M.A.R.T. goals. So, going back the exercise, let’s use the example of becoming physically fit.
As you go through life, be intentional with what really matters, your growth as a human being, not as a human doing.
