Hopefully
you have a list of goals that you are committed to achieving. If
so, then at this stage of the planning process it is time to
dig a little deeper into each of these goals.
Thinking about one goal
at a time, consider this question: what result are you trying
to achieve? What specific, measurable result will be the outcome
of you completing this goal? The important distinction at this
stage is the difference between outcomes from actions. You want to
focus on the outcome! For instance while your outcome might
be to become a professional investor, so focus on the outcome which
might be:
'To turn my career into something that I love
and something that allows me to spend more time with my family
and friends within the next 12-months'
Whereas the danger might be to focus on adding
an action to your to-do list straight away, which might be:
'To invest my spare income in stocks and shares'
Is the desired outcome to invest your spare
money? No. Is
your outcome to play the stock-market? No. The desired outcome
is to spend your time doing something you love whist being able to
spend more time with your family and friends. What you really
want the outcome to be is for you to become a skilled, professional
investor.
An even more pertinent result (often used
by Tony Robbins) is that of losing weight. He suggests that someone, who decides that
they need to shed the excess weight they have and so adds a ten-mile
run to their to-do list. After two miles they are tired and
in pain and so give up, thinking that exercise is not their thing. But
was the outcome to run ten miles? No! The outcome was
to lose weight.
By focusing on an action at this stage instead
of an outcome you run the risk of cutting off all of the other
opportunities and ways in which the desired outcome could be achieved. There
are a million ways to becoming a professional investor or to lose
weight - so for now, simply focus on the result you want rather
than the specific action.
Exercise: take
your goal and write out your desired outcome. Make
it descriptive, positive and measurable i.e. I want to lose two stone
whilst having fun and learning about health and nutrition.
Next step > understanding: what is
the purpose of this outcome? >
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