E-Motivate

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Many of us have goals something we want to achieve. Unfortunately, we tend to spend for more time trying to figure out how to get there than on actually working towards that goal. We read books on goal setting, on achieving success. We look into personal development and growth for answers on how to get where we want to go. It is a very common problem, and one that is totally unnecessary.

The reality is that you already know how to figure out how to get there. If you have ever gone someplace new that you weren’t sure how to get there, you learned the process.

Step One: Figure out Where You Are Now

This is the easiest thing to overlook. If we want to go someplace else, it seems so very obvious that we should focus our attention on where it is we want to go. But think back to the last time you asked for directions…what was the first question they asked?

Where are you coming from?

The best plan, the best map, the best directions are rendered totally useless if you do not have a clear understanding of where exactly you are now. You cannot possibly know what to work on, what turns to take if you haven’t thought about that FIRST.

Step Two: Decide Where You Want to Go

This is more an issue of making sure we do things in the correct order. Once we are honest and clear regarding where we are now, we can decide if we want to be someplace else. We should get as clear an “address” as we can for that new location.

If we are going to a friend’s house, we want the actual address. Want to try that restaurant your friend has been talking about? You want to know the crossroads (“It’s at the corner of 5^th and Maine”). If you want to get a better job, you need to know what that job would be. If you want more money, how much money do you want? You get the idea you must be clear on your destination.

Step Three: Ask Someone Who Has Been There Before

You could try to find your way on your own. I am not going to telling you that you could never find your way. But if you are trying to go someplace you haven’t been before and you just hop in the car, odds are you will make some wrong turns along the way. You may very well get there, eventually, but you’ll lose a lot of time and waste resources.

It is better to ask someone who has gone where you hope to go before. The single fastest way to achieve a goal is to mimic the behaviors and actions of someone who did it before. That way you avoid the mistakes. Obviously, you’ll ask for at least rough directions…but take the time to pick their brain a little more. Is there anything you should look out for? What about potholes, speed bumps, constructions sites, etc?

You’ll find that successful people generally like talking about how they achieved that success. It doesn’t matter if the success was large are small. Frankly, humans like to talk about themselves and what they have done.

Step Four: Plan Your Route

Get out the map, write out directions. Be specific. You can’t say drive 25 miles in a generally eastern direction on hope to get where you want to go. You have to know what roads to take, what turns to make, and how far you should go.

For your goal, you need to know the steps you need to take. If you are trying to land your dream job, what skills do you need to learn, what degrees/certifications do you need, who do you need to talk t, etc. Lay out a specific, step by step plan.

No matter how far away or difficult your goal seems, you can get there if you break it down into smaller steps. One of my favorite parts of The Secret was when one of their experts pointed out that you can only see a few yards ahead of you when you are driving in the dark with your headlights on. Though you have no idea what may lay beyond that, you can drive from New York to LA by just driving those few yards and then being able to see the next few, then the next few…etc. You achieve your goals the same way.

Step Five: Get Going!

You can sit there and plan, figure, and map out forever…but you will never actually get there unless you get up and start taking action. Though nobody would ever think they can get to the restaurant across town by sitting on their couch and thinking about it…that is exactly what happens when it comes to setting goals.

Take the first step. If you are not 100% clear about all of your steps, take the first one anyway. Things clear up as you get moving…just like the car headlights on the NY to LA road trip.

Step Six: Be Ready (and Willing) to Make Changes

No matter how great our plan, sometimes we get off track. Maybe we are not paying close enough attention and make a wrong turn. Be willing to accept that such things happen, they are not a disaster, and that all you need to do is ask for directions back to the road.

Also, we may find out that the destination isn’t as great as we thought. We may find out the great restaurant our friends brag about might actually end up being a dump. It’s not your fault, sometimes you have to realize that there is something better out there and you can just start over and get to that place.

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