With Gareth Southgate and the England football team winning their goals, business consultant Phil Jackson from Build Your Salon, offers these tips for getting the most from your goals.
As much as I welcome seeing owners taking their business goals seriously, it can bring a huge amount of overwhelm. The danger is that we still don’t make the progress we need to for our businesses to thrive – not for want of planning, but for want of a meaningful way to implement those plans.
Kick off with 3 questions
Occasionally when we’re setting a goal which is outside our comfort zone (and after all, that’s where the magic is, right?) it can be hard to get started. We get past the initial excitement of stretching ourselves and succeeding in a way we haven’t before, then hit a wall because it’s not immediately clear what we need to do next – how we can break that big, exciting goal into tangible action.
Asking these three simple questions in relation to your goal have helped me and my coaching clients immensely over the years:
First, what do I need to START in order to hit this goal?
Are there new habits I need to start? Research I need to do? People I need to reach out to? Skills I need to master?
What do I need to STOP in order to hit this goal?
Are there patterns I keep repeating that aren’t helping me here? Relationships I need to end or contain? Spending I need to curtail or projects or work I need to let go of?
What do I need to CONTINUE in order to hit this goal?
What am I currently doing that is helpful? What has worked for me so far that can help me achieve even more? What methods and strategies are still working for me? So any time you’re feeling like you don’t know what to do next, think, Stop, Start and Continue to clarify your next move.
A mid-goal sanity check
With goals you are trying to turn into habits, or where bigger shifts in your routines and behaviours are needed, it can be handy to stop and take stock of what you’re doing in the moment. Try to get into the habit of bringing your attention to what you’re doing in the moment at regular intervals throughout the day. You can even set a reminder or alarm on your watch or phone to make checking in a part of your daily routine. For example, let’s imagine you have a goal to lose a little excess weight. When your alarm tells you it’s time to check in, ask the following question:
Is what I’m doing right now bringing me closer to or further from my goal.
If you check in and you’re sat binge-watching Netflix or opening a second bottle of wine, stop and replace the behaviour with something that is more helpful. Take the dog for a quick walk, fix yourself something healthy to eat or switch off the TV and take 10- minutes to meditate instead. If, of course, you catch yourself in the moment doing something that will help you towards your goals, congratulate yourself and wear a cheeky, smug grin. You’re doing great!
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