A Goal Setting Template-Part 3

Goal Setting. Wanting something isn't enough. Wanting something so much you can taste it, feel it , touch it, or smell it, still isn't enough. Really wanting it is a great motivator, but getting from here to there requires a series of actions. Wanting something isn't enough. What goes with the wanting? Action, and the next few steps on the template I use for goal setting are essential to get to the action. On Organizing Monday I let you in on a little tweak I use to set goals, defining them operationally, or in terms of behaviors and actions. On Tuesday, step two required solid measurable, quantifiable and observable expression of that goal. Today we get to some mechanics and the next few steps I use to change wishes into achievements.

Goals are only dreams unless you put some teeth into your goal setting. One week from now. This month. By September. One of those phrases makes my insides go all butterflies and roller coaster. Why? Because one of them is the timeline I set for a certain goal.

3) Set a timeline.

Unless I tell myself what I am going to do by when, that goal remains a dream. Think about that for a sec. Is there something chasing around in your head, that stands up and pokes you in the eye when you attach a time frame to it? Is there something that becomes scary real when you say, by the end of the week? Or is there something in your life that when you say this will end by September a little bit of relief or a bit of blue sky opens up? Yep, me too. Look at your newly defined goal in step 1 and 2. What is an aggressive, but reasonable time frame for it? Write that down.

It's a god awful bugaboo, deadline. If you didn't have a little bit of a gulp, a tightening in your neck, or some little elves with icepicks dance across your eyeballs just then...so sorry, you must be dead, or totally on target with your life which is rare, but I have heard it happens. Careful that's when Karma WILL bite you in the butt

What if your goal is not up to you alone? I used having new gallery representation, getting a book published, or launching a new site, as examples yesterday. Not totally up to me there. Most goals aren't happening in a vacuum. That's why it is so important to...

4) Choose a goal you can control.

Stop. Reread that. MY part of any goal is what goes on my template. Gallery representation? Publisher? Those aren't totally up to me. Those have gatekeepers involved. My part of finding the right rep or reaching the right publisher or even launching a new site is the only part I can control.

Working through the list my art business consultant compiled for me, upgrading and updating my artist's statement, writing a kick ass cover letter, building relationships with key individuals, contacting x number of galleries over the next 4 months, these kind of things are up to me. These I can control. I can set up a rejection file and a nice letter file too. The parts I can control are many. Do not even begin if your goal is stated in something beyond your control. Rethink that right now and rephrase it. Trust me on this one.

So wanting is not enough. Feeling is not enough. Visualizing, great, I do it, but it is not enough. Goals have to be real, actionable, and in real time frames. Otherwise they are always someday wishes. What do you want to make real for yourself? Is it simple? Or complex? Start with the wanting. Put the the wanting in terms of behaviors. Make the behaviors measurable and observable. Give them a time line and make sure they are things that you control.

What comes next? Ways to get it done. The last 3 steps are all about the doing.

(If you are interested in reading more in depth, here's the book that made a difference. )