This is a guest post written
by Jim Burtoft.
We always read about how to be productive and stay focused on our goals. But sometimes, we have a problem finding something to be excited about. We need to find goals that will inspire and motivate. If you find that you are having problems setting goals, or the goals that you have set seem to leave you wanting more, read on for some of our suggestions.
1. Don’t be afraid to set the goals you really want
Setting a goal of paying off debt or losing weight is easy. But maybe, deep down inside, you really want to reach level 60 on World of Warcraft. Or rebuild the My Little Pony collection you had as a child. Or finish a particular book or video game, perhaps from your childhood. Or reread one.
When we are focused on productivity, we often avoid certain activities because they are considered a “waste of time”. Don’t be afraid to waste time if it is something you enjoy. Just be honest with yourself and make sure you are wasting it on what you will enjoy the most. Also, examine your motivation. Maybe what you like most about an activity is spending time with a certain group, or alone, or maybe you just enjoy relaxing for a certain period of time. You may be better off with setting a goal to read or game for a certain number of hours a week.
2. Do something different
It is possible that you have never done the thing you like the most. Maybe you can’t imagine your “magnificent obsession” because you have never done it. You can try imaging different activities, but your best bet is to get out and try them. Go rock climbing. Work on a house with Habitat for Humanity. Help out at a soup kitchen. Maybe you won’t find what you love, but you’ll be better for the experience.
Set aside a week to NOT think about goals. Don’t try to accomplish anything outside of the minimum. Keep yourself away from TV, Internet, or whatever your default activity is. See what you spend your time doing or thinking.
3. Think about what you enjoy
We often get bogged down thinking about the means to an end. Our goals may say “I want to have 5 million dollars” when we really want the freedom the money can give us. But what would we do with that freedom?
Go out and buy a lottery ticket for the big jackpot and dream about what you would do if you won. Don’t worry about where you would invest the money, just think about how you would spend your time. What would you do every day? If you would give money away, who would you give it to? Is there a better way to help them than to give them money? You might think you would like to buy someone a home or pay for college. While they would appreciate that, they would also appreciate an email or a phone call regularly. What activities would you pursue? Maybe you can do some of them without the full $200 million. Try to figure out what you really want to do by removing the resource requirement.
4. Steal someone else’s goals
Talk to your friends about their goals, or look up someone else’s goals online. Google “list of goals”. A lot of them will be something you already thought of, but you may just find that one thing that you think would be incredible.
{ 8 comments }
If I may add to this….
I think too, and I’m practicing it, that we don’t need to set big goals (make a million dollars, loose weight) without having smaller goals that lead to the “big” goal. This is something that I have just recently began. I never was a goal oriented person because I wanted to make the million, or loose the weight, but I never had a smaller goal of make a thousand, or loose a pound. So my goals failed.
I hope i’m not out of line throwing that out, but it has really helped me.
Great information!
-Scott
FYI, here is a cool site to check out other peoples projects/goals, or perhaps post your own!
http://www.52projects.com
(Note: I’m not affiliated with the site in any way, just came across it one day on my Internet travels and thought I’d share! Cheers!)
Steal someone else’s goals :-0) now that’s something I need to try!
i want to pay off my debts AND reach level 70 (note that this will change to 80 in 3 weeks with the newest expansion pack) on world of warcraft! =)
thanks for a good laugh, keep up the good work.
I want to learn CSS and get my next medal in Call of Duty 4
I want to be physically and financially independant within five years. I have never been into computer games, but I want to make a “T-shirt memory quilt” (a quilt where all the squares are pieces of old T-shirts which have meaning for me) that’s big enough for my bed!
I can really relate to this – I am at present “stuck” in a highly paid finance position, but am unhappy deep inside.
I asked myself what I would do if I had all the time and money in the world and I thought all I wanted to do was drive.
So should I be a cabbie??
There are two schools of thoughts on goals:
1. Where you set very high goals and if you fail to reach them at least you obtain more than what you had.
(Reach for the sky and if you fall, you fall amongst the stars)
2. You set very small step like goals and achieve them and go to the next step.
(You must learn to crawl before you walk)
It really depends on the individual, but the main thing is to set them.
{ 4 trackbacks }