There's a difference between pursuing a goal and following a plan. One of the two must be the reason for the other. Being too committed to a specific action plan can actually keep you from focusing on your goal. What happens then could take you to the wrong destination!
Copyright (c) 2008 Dale Stuemke
How committed are you to the plan you are working to accomplish your goal? What if the plan is not really moving you to your goal? What will you do with your plan? Friedrich Nietzsche once observed "Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal." If he was right, you don't want to be part of the majority!
Periodically you should stop and examine what you're doing. Are you truly pursuing your goal or are you simply, stubbornly pursuing the plan you've set for yourself? There is a big difference. One will help you reach your dreams; the other might not.
When you choose a goal, you also establish a plan that will take you to it. That's a key part of the whole process. But part of the plan you establish should include careful examination of your progress. Things change!
Imagine that you set a goal ten years ago to retire after thirty years. (You must be much younger than I am!) You found a good financial advisor to help you set a solid course to achieve your goal. Your advisor knew tax law, markets, investing, and the other important things required for planning for your retirement.
You got started and you have been faithfully following that plan faithfully. Good for you! In fact, a couple of years ago your advisor moved to a different state, and referred you to a new one. That's good. In these trying financial times you have to ensure that you have good advice.
But, about six months after you started working with the new advisor, he wanted you to change your plan a bit. New laws have been passed making some of the investment markets chosen ten years ago much less attractive today. Your new advisor is intent on keeping you on track to your retirement date.
What do you do? If you choose to ignore the new advice because you were committed to following your plan you could be making a big mistake. You had a very knowledgeable advisor who built your plan and you're very disciplined...you always follow through!
What should you do? Are you pursuing your plan or your goal? You have new, updated information indicating that the plan needs to be changed if you want reach your goal. It's time for a good decision!
What was it Nietzsche said again? "Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal." This is a good reminder that you not only need to execute your plan, you need to keep your plan current and ensure that it takes you successfully to your goal. After all, that's why you set the plan in the first place!
Three Thoughts about CHANGE and Your Goal
Sometimes we seem to be doing all the right things and we still don't make the progress toward our goals that we want. There can be many different reasons for this, but ultimately we need to CHANGE something. Here are three possible reasons why the progress has slowed, and some suggestions for what to do about it.
Does Life Get in the Way of Goals? Here's the Answer!
Life has a way of getting in the way of our goal achievement, and it does it in different ways. How do you deal with life's distractions when you are trying to reach your goal? How can you keep yourself on track? Well, as you might expect, your reaction will have to depend on the distraction. Different distractions require different reactions.
Three Steps to Big Goals
How do you eat an elephant? And, you're asking me "Why would I want to eat an elephant?" Maybe if I ask it another way: How do you eat a 1,000 pound marshmallow? Is that a little more palatable? Either way, the answer is the same: One bite at a time! Do you have a big goal? Does it seem overwhelming but yet something you really want to accomplish?
