Tempted to Back Off Your Big Goal?

We Interrupt This Program

It was late afternoon and Norah, a client and Human Resources Manager, stated that she only had about ten minutes to talk, as an urgent issue needed to be addressed before leaving the office. Rather than rescheduling, Norah had gone ahead with our call, so I was confident that something important would transpire even in the short amount of time we had. I asked the familiar question: “What would you like to get from our conversation today that would be of value to you?” Norah’s response without hesitation: “Help me to not back off my goal.”

The deadline Norah had set for her goal was still a full four months away, yet in the wake of recent projects requiring her attention at work, she was worried about her ability to reach her target deadline of April 30. Still, something told her to be watchful about her tendency to procrastinate and postpone, even if it could be justified by how busy she was.

When interruptions and other demands crop up, what do you do? It’s easy to be tempted to postpone your plans, yet, just as Norah did, you might find that it’s not necessarily the goal that needs to be changed, just how you might get there.

The How May change

How you get to your goal is often quite different from what you initially envision. If you are a planner by nature, this is something you’ll have to remind yourself often. Is all the planning and imagining for naught? No, because it gets you moving in the right direction.

In the last two months, I’ve personally witnessed the accomplishment of some goals that, had every step of the way been planned, it would have only burned precious energy that was better directed toward present events as they evolved. That’s why I love the guideline of “planning as far as you can see”. The rest may just unfold in miraculous ways if you are open to the unpredictable confluence of events, people, ideas, and resources coming together to transform the landscape of what is possible.

As Far as You Can See

After planning as far as you can see, your job is to act as boldly and patiently as you can and to believe that things will unfold to your greatest benefit.

This Week:
On the way to your goal, is the how that you envisioned now changing? What will you do to become more comfortable with that and to use it to your advantage? Here are some things Norah is practicing that you may also find helpful:

• Taking the next few actions without having to know all the how’s.  And then the next actions.
• Trusting yourself to adjust the pace as you go along.
• Staying in the present and making the best decisions you can every day, at work, and for your well-being.
• Asking: What can I let go of? vs. What can I fit in?
• Considering the possibility that the process may be easier than you think!

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached,
don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”
― Confucius