Posts Tagged ‘goals’

I  saw this on morning television today and I just had to share.  It warms a coach’s heart to hear mainstream media praising goal setting.

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When I first meet with a new client I often ask about their level of satisfaction with their business income and their current quality of life.  It is rare that a creative professional cannot imagine greater success; however they define it, than they are currently experiencing.

So I was surprised when a potential client insisted her quality of life was completely satisfactory. 

When pressed, she did acknowledge that she would perhaps like to make a bit more income but really, she insisted, if she did make more money she couldn’t really say how her life would improve.

I didn’t believe her.  Do you?

Low Goals

Maybe she is one of those rare individuals who are without desire but I suspect her vague and undemanding way of mapping out her future was chosen mostly because it felt safe and easy. When we wish for easy outcomes, we don’t have to work very hard and, perhaps more importantly, we never have to judge ourselves for failing. Of course, it is also true that when we pursue only easy goals we never have any reason to experience authentic pride in our accomplishments.



Difficult but Possible

When it come to your life and your business, don’t short change yourself by setting low goals.  Go ahead and stretch. Go ahead and reach. Challenge yourself. If your goal seems impossible, don’t abandon it, instead choose a milestone along the way and make that your next specific and challenging goal.  What is your goal for the last half of 2011?  Is it specific?  How will you know when you have succeeded?  More importantly, how will you feel when you’ve succeeded?

Image by Flickr user avlxyz, licensed under CC 2.0

To entrepreneurs there is not much that needs to be said about autonomy.   Entrepreneurs get it.

Autonomy is the desire to make your own decisions, pursue your own goals; to follow your own desires. 

When you build a business that freely engages your innate skills, talents and abilities, you will be intrinsically motivated. Intrinsic motivation – motivation that honors your values – is by far the best motivation.  When you wake every morning to pursue goals that connect you to your customers, demonstrate and advance your skills and honor your freedom to follow your heart, you will be happy.

Take a look at your weekly to do list.  Are your tasks freely chosen to engage your skills and satisfy your deeply held values? If not, it is time to revisit your business plan and reengage the vision that first motivated you to strike out on your own entrepreneurial journey.

As always, if you have deeper questions about the connection between your business and your happiness, I am here to help.  Contact me for a free coaching session.