Title Courtesy of Sarah Holis book – Girl, Stop Apologizing
Are you that person who has big dreams but never does anything with them? Sitting back watching those around you achieve another goal or moving forward in their careers? I am sure you have thought to yourself, I totally could’ve started that business, so why didn’t you? Goals without a plan are just pie in the sky type dreams and before you know it, those dreams start feeling like regret. Lost potential, procrastination, and self-doubt are the soldiers lining the front lines of you achieving great success. What was once excitement and enthusiasm as you envisioned your future quickly fades into a feeling of being overwhelmed where you start laying brick by brick building the fortress of the comfort zone.
How to Turn That Dream Into a Goal
I recently attended a fitness competition that my fierce female warrior competed in. Months of weight training, strict meal planning and dieting, supplements, and endless coaching transformed my friend’s body from average but beautiful into a chiseled work of art Leonardo DaVinci would be proud to put his name on. Her passion for fitness, her determination to get up on that stage and compete was what seemed to fuel the fire within. It’s hard enough for a single person to achieve such a goal but for my friend who is a mother of two adorable children, wife to a busy executive, and who has her own career aspirations, she was able to commit her mind, body, and soul to achieve her desire for competition. I am sure as you just read that, you are saying, HOLY SHIT! how did she find the time and what the heck am I doing with my life!?! Her success was dependent on her support system being just as committed to her achieving her fitness goal as she was. From her husband, family, friends, and coaches – everyone she held near and dear had a responsibility in doing their part to support her through her journey but ultimately it was up to her to take the first step toward taking center stage.
Procrastination is a De-throned King!
I will be the first to admit, I can procrastinate like a champ! My ability to de-prioritize, re-schedule, and re-arrange my to-do list is a spectacular talent I’ve honed over many years. Growing up, I would speak of one day writing a book, a best-seller that would then become a Hollywood blockbuster detailing my life’s many twists and turns chronicling my many setbacks and setups. This dream of becoming a writer as a side hustle really started to take shape much later in life, now having the real authentic leadership story that needs to be penned. I decided to sit my backside down and put together the framework for my book detailing my leadership journey and the topics no one was actually talking about when the timeline for completion moved in like a thunderstorm inhibiting my vision and washing out my dream from right underneath me. I wasn’t completely drowned out but I kept putting off the writing as if one day I would have this grand inspiration and the book would flow out of me as molten lava does from an angry volcano. I couldn’t wait a year to tell my story and build this community so that is when the light bulb went off to start a blog! I could kill several birds with one very well-crafted stone – I could practice becoming a great writer, hold myself accountable to creating content with regular cadence and connect with all of you. (Disclaimer: No birds were actually hurt with this realization, lol!)
Let’s Get You Started
Here are simple tips to help you get started turning your dream into a goal and build a winning mindset:
- Get intimate with your goal – understand WHY this goal is important to you.
- Visualize the end game – create the image and experience of what it will feel like when you achieve your goal. Make the image so real that you lose yourself in your mind every time you think about it.
- Break it down – detail out each step, sequence those steps and be realistic with your timeline. Set milestones along the way that you must celebrate and don’t be hard on yourself if you miss a milestone. Achieving a goal is not easy and you are doing yourself a dis-service if you beat up on the person who is responsible for achieving the success.
- Seek out the wizard – we live in a time where information is at our fingers tips – be resourceful and learn all you can to help you succeed. Seek out and surround yourself with people that can help you.
- Just do it – Nike had it right with their slogan. When you have the mindset of “do” you never accept failure as a possible outcome verse if you have the mindset “try” failure is an acceptable outcome.
It’s totally acceptable to get stuck, modify, iterate and alter the path of how you get to your achievement – just keep going!
I hope you found this blog post inspiring and has ignited your fire to make those big audacious dreams a reality.
References:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_96.htm
