Goal Setting

[Infinite Identity]

I've been trying to organize my goals, but often get exhausted and overwhelmed in the process of putting it all together. This is how it goes for me:

Phase one: I feel guilty because I become aware of the fact that I haven't been organized about my goals, and I have been sort of "floating" through life.

Phase two: I decide I should identify my goals and come up with an action plan for achieving them. I feel resistance towards starting the process of goal-setting because I know it's going to be a lot of work, but I also know that it is important, and that the feeling of resistance usually goes away after you dive in.

Phase three: Once I identify my goals, I'll feel motivated and excited. I'll then make a list of projects for each goal. A lot of times the goals are general, like "become physically healthy and in shape," so by making a project that falls under that category, I can aim towards achieving something more specific and definite.

Phase four: This is where I start to feel overwhelmed. I start diving into the process of organizing how I'll systematically complete each project. I break up each of my projects into chunks and try to schedule them around each other. Pretty soon my mind is screaming, "This is too much!" and I feel an urge to just stop what I'm doing because it's bringing me too much stress. Mind racing, I'll drop it and evade any thoughts about it.

Maybe I'm just thinking about it too much, and I should just jump back into it after taking a break. After looking at it in writing, it seems like a lot of the problem probably just took place in my head.

What kinds of goal-setting methods work best for you guys?

[taylor]

In the past it's taken me days to write my goals from scratch because it's a lot of work and I have to take breaks. It can be a little tiring for me to make big life decisions one after another like that.

Don't let the guilt make you push yourself too hard here. Go easy on yourself. You're taking steps on the right path. You're not going to turn your life around overnight. Goal achievement is something you do for the long haul, not in a month and certainly not in a day. Keep that in mind and taking your time is acceptable.

Just don't confuse a healthy pace and procrastination.

[Matt Maresca]

That's why it is important to rate your goals and break the bigger goals down into smaller ones. Don't commit to too much at once. It's OK to jot down a few goals that you know you can't attack right now.

I like to focus on one main goal at a time, breaking that one into smaller goals. This is usual the goal that I give highest priority, but it can also be a goal that will make achieving other goals easier.

While I have my focus on the main goal, I also try to pick off some of the low hanging fruit. These are the lower priority, easy goals that I set for myself. These are things that I know I need to do, but haven't yet gotten around to doing. Often, by knocking out some of these things, you'll feel your mind start to lose some clutter. Then it will be easier to attack the bigger goals and you'll start building some momentum. Ride the wave!