Some people may think that goal setting is only an exercise in theory and that it doesn’t really play in real life. This thinking is totally wrong. I’ve set goals or objectives all my life to achieve what I want and wouldn’t trade these practical and life altering techniques for whimsical dreaming or the proverbial wishing it would come true thoughts manifested by millions.
These goal techniques were recently put to the test again when our glass workshop collapsed from the weight of over 3 tons of snow and ice. You can imagine the devastation that accosts the senses when your heart and soul comes crashing down in a heartbeat. As we found out, this building was not properly built by the former owner, was not structurally attached properly to the barn to which it was attached, and couldn’t withstand our severe winter with a constant build up of snow.
When we looked at the resulting mess, it was similar to viewing a small mountain and being asked to dismantle this mountain with your bare hands. The questions foremost in our mind was what to do now and how do we do it? Some of the greatest challenges to accomplishing a goal are to be able to picture what your accomplished goal would look and feel like but also how to begin. When we found ourselves at this stage, we were reminded of a motivational quote by Hannah More which states "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals."
We set our goal to not only develop our barn as a new glass studio but as the best glass studio we ever designed. In setting this goal, we immediately reduced the pile of rubble that was our glass studio to a faded memory and also eliminated any emotional disability that dismantling it would cause. We were able to move beyond the current obstacle of not only a collapsed building but the current loss of production. After our goal was set, it was very easy to develop a our next steps that would lead us steadily toward our goal.
For example, step one was to contact our neighborhood contractor to remove the debris because there were no plans to rebuild it in our goals or objectives. The next thing was to completely remove everything from the barn so we could see what we needed to do to redesign a studio. Step three was to draw a new studio design based on available space. Step four was to finish the inside of the barn by erecting necessary walls, insulation, and wiring. And so on.
Since we had written our goal, and our action steps, it was not only easy to proceed following our action steps, but it was also great to see progress as we ticked off completed steps. Goals and success skills once mastered will see you through countless tasks and issues throughout your life. And, you can also leave a great legacy to your children when you take the time to teach them Goal Setting techniques early in their life.