Mindset
Have a Vision, Not a Goal!
If you want to accomplish as much as you possibly can, the most important thing to get right is the vision or goal you have to begin with. This is essentially the same as setting your trajectory and without a trajectory, you don’t stand much chance of getting to your destination. Unfortunately, many people don’t know how to correctly write goals and this can end up preventing them from achieving the success they so desire.
And actually, if you’re starting off with writing a goal then you’re starting out with the wrong intent to begin with. And this is because ‘goals’ aren’t really as useful as visions or visualizations – and that is what we’re going to explore here.
The Difference Between a Goal and a Vision
So what’s the difference between a goal and a vision? Basically, a goal is something that you write down and that is very concrete and simple with a pre-determined endpoint. A goal may for example be to ‘lose 10lbs in two months’. That’s a goal but it’s also not as effective as a vision designed to the same end.
This same ambition posed as a vision rather than a goal would instead be more the idea of being in shape. You might visualize yourself looking ripped and feeling healthy. You might imagine yourself going for jogs on the beach with your top off in summer and feeling great about yourself. That’s your vision.
A vision can also be an image of yourself standing in an office block and looking out over the world, knowing that you’re in a position of great importance and power.
This is a much more abstract concept that nevertheless helps you to get a picture of what you want and what the emotion behind that goal is. It is the motivation behind the goal
Why Visions Are More Effective Than Goals Alone
Why are visions more successful than goals? For one, goals are not nearly flexible enough. If you have a goal, then this gives you one thing you’re trying accomplish and only one idea of how to get there. If it doesn’t go to plan then you have the freedom to change the steps you’re going to take to get there, or to bend them to fit your current lifestyle, plans and free time.
Another reason visions work better is because they have more emotional content. When you visualize something, the same regions fire in your brain as though it was actually happening. This in turn means that you can actually trigger the emotion as though it were happening. And it’s this emotion we can use to motivate ourselves to go through with plans!
Michael Jordan The Hustler
Michael Jordan is definitely one of the most successful men in the world. Apart from being a successful businessman, he is regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time and has won so many awards and titles than any other basketball player. With all these achievements under his belt, one might assume that Michael was born with natural talent and that he has always been good at the game. Contrary to this, Michael Jordan is a hustler who worked his way to become a legend in basketball.
He is Not Afraid to Fail
Although Michael always had a passion to play basketball, his coaches didn’t think he was good enough. His height did not reach the minimum height that was required and he failed to make the team. Instead of giving up, Michael refused to stop playing basketball. To cut the story short, he made the team and began his great basketball career always seeing failure as just another reason to succeed. Now this is the spirit of a true hustler. If you are told you can’t make it, you push yourself harder and harder still until you make it just to prove to that you can do it.
He Was Highly Determined and Very Competitive
Michael attributes his competitive nature to the way he was brought up and partially to sibling rivalry. His parents demanded discipline and had great expectations from him and his brothers. Michael hated being defeated by his younger brother, Larry and became more and more determined to be the best. He used this determination and competitive streak to become the best basketball player in his team in college and throughout his career.
Consistent Practice
When you do something repeatedly, it gets easier to do. When Michael tried out for his basketball team, he was not picked to play the varsity team and had to stay on in the junior team. Embarrassed and disappointed, Michael decided to practice every single day and he only became the best when he had learnt to practice better than all his team mates.
Eventually, he got so good that he became everybody’s favorite player in the team and the varsity team would come early just to watch him play. Soon enough, he had impressed the coaches and was selected to join the varsity team. His resilience and hustling spirit enabled him to become better than anyone else and until the end of his career; Michael was always the first to arrive at the gym and usually the last to leave.
Being Unique vs. Being Original: Is There a Difference?
People like to think of themselves as unique, and they will even interchange the word unique with being original. But are they the same thing? Can you be unique without being original?
Someone who decides they want to stand out may dress in a style that is outside the norm. If you look at people who adopt the Goth look, they often look similar from one Goth dressing person to the next. They may still stand out in a group that is not necessarily into that style. If they went to a Goth convention (if such a thing exists), no one would stand out. You would see variations, but it would be a common theme.
Perhaps you could be considered unique if you decided to wear all your clothes inside out. You may even be considered original by doing this. What is certain is you will get many people giving you a strange look. These looks could be exactly what you are going for.
There are also people who reinvent styles that have existed well into the past. Look at the Steampunk movement that has become popular in the last decade or so. This is a style that encapsulates a period where steam technology dominated the planet. However, it incorporates modern day technology and fashion. It’s a hybrid of old world meets new. But among the Steampunkers, for lack of a better term, don’t they all look alike, for the most part?
Why not combine Steampunk with Goth? It gives a dark twist to the genre and at least initially, will let you stand out. But what happens when it catches on and everyone starts adopting it? Is it still considered unique or original?
There are those that try to set trends, either in fashion, technology, or both. The ones that do it often enough are called innovators while those who follow are copycats. It would be difficult to find people who would deny Steve Jobs was an innovator. Many believe that Apple will never be the same without him. Others believe he set the stage for Apple to continue as an innovative company for many years to come.
No one knows for sure what the future holds. However, people will continue to try what they feel is new when in fact is often just a variation on an existing theme. It’s like the old saying, the more things change, the more they remain the same!
The Advantages of Behavior-Based Goals
When you think about the advantages of behavior-based goals, a few things come to mind immediately. You may be excited to get more done, or get promoted, or increase your leadership skills, or just lead a happier life in general. All of these things are possible with a little hard work and dedication, but setting the right goals makes it much easier.
Increased Productivity
Being a goal-oriented person means making the most of your time. When you start to act on behavior-based goals, you’ll naturally find yourself getting more done. In fact, one of the biggest reasons that people seek change in the first place is to increase their productivity. With a few simple changes, you can stop procrastinating and accomplish a lot more with a lot less stress.
Behavior-based goals like cutting down on procrastination, managing your time more effectively, and concentrating on the task at hand can all help to increase your productivity. Instead of making explicit goals like finishing a report in record time, focus more on staying positive and motivated. You’ll get more done and find yourself experiencing less stress while you do it. You may even end up enjoying the process.
Win Friends and Influence People
Other people are drawn to motivated, goal-oriented individuals; they just appear to be more naturally charismatic. Use behavior-based goals to make the people around you feel valued, and you’ll find yourself making friends and effortlessly leading others. Set out to be the sort of person you want to have around, and friends and coworkers will give you their respect and seek you out for advice.
Making Yourself Marketable
Employers love people who set goals and, more importantly, act on them. They routinely promote people who have a clear idea of what they want to accomplish. Behavior-based goals can make you more marketable and help you rise to the top of your profession. When you think about the sort of people who are leaders rather than followers, you’ll start to see that behavior-based goals are key.
In order to make yourself more marketable, set behavior-based goals that encourage positive interactions and improve your ability to manage stress. Tell yourself that every time you talk to a client or coworker, you’re being given an opportunity to prove yourself competent, valuable, and trustworthy. Before you know it, you’ll see yourself grow into the leader you’re capable of being.
Living Your Best Possible Life
One of the biggest advantages of behavior-based goals is increased personal satisfaction and self-worth. When you’re killing it at work or interacting in a positive way with friends and family, you’ll find yourself becoming happier and more self-assured without even trying. Use behavior-based goals to become a better listener, set aside time to relax, and connect with the ones you love. Your quality of life will improve practically overnight.
Everyone Has Their Strengths
Saying that everyone has some kind of unique strength might sound like the sort of soppy nonsense you’d get on a motivational poster but it also just so happens to be true.
While we can all feel a little useless at times, no one is in fact completely without unique talents or abilities that set them apart from the pack and it’s important to realize this so that you can go about maximizing your own abilities and using them to your advantage.
Strength as a Strength
A good way to demonstrate this reality is with an analogy. In this case that analogy is going to be particularly apt – we’re going to look at strength as being a strength.
So imagine the biggest and strongest person you can think of – perhaps Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday, or maybe Ronnie Coleman if you know your bodybuilders. Now imagine how big and powerful that person would look standing next to Woody Allen… No contest right?
Except it may in fact be that in some ways Woody Allen is stronger than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Let’s say for instance that Woody can wiggle his ears whereas Arnold can’t. Or perhaps another example might be that Woody is a faster talker… and as such has a stronger tongue.
These are muscles – and even though it might not seem it this means that in at least one area someone smaller can be physically stronger than someone massive.
What This Means
So what does all this mean from the perspective of strengths as abilities and skills? Well put simply, it means that even when you don’t feel like you have any clear strengths above your colleagues, friends or the average Joe, you probably in fact do.
Even if that strength is something that you’re good at simply because you have such a unique blend of other skills and abilities. Maybe you’re a little bit good at a random selection of things, or perhaps you have some very unique experience when you combine your school career with what you did in your second job.
All of us are a unique melting pot of different skills, experiences, interests and hobbies… and as a result we all have completely unique sets of abilities and strengths that we bring to the table. Even if you don’t think your skill or strength is something ‘conventional’, that’s still something that just you have and that you shouldn’t underestimate the value of!