Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Goal Setting
Goal Setting Tips by experts
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Goal Setting Goal Setting Tips by experts |
|
|
|
|
Manage Your Expectations ... And Raise The Bar On Your Quality Of Life!
When I was a newbie in 'the game of life,' I wanted to succeed beyond my wildest dreams. I wanted to make it big and take on the world, all at once. My expectations were so high that not even Jack could reach them on his beanstalk. However, over time, after much frustration and burn out, I shifted to the other extreme by dropping my expectations, and dreams. The idea of lowering our expectations is a contradiction to the 'parental voices' that tells us that we should 'reach for the stars,' 'raise our expectations,' and 'shoot for the moon.' In theory, these are excellent ideals when chasing a dream. But, without some control, such ideals can burn you out, create frustration, and literally destroy your drive to attain any goals, lofty or otherwise. We've all either been there, or are there. If you feel like you've run into a wall, or bumped your head on the ceiling, your expectations of what should be are probably forcing you to take 'too big of a bite.' But, don't necessarily lower your expectations. Try managing your expectations to keep your dreams alive and continue your pursuit at a reasonable pace. Again, it seems like a contradiction to what we've all heard at one time or another. But, actually, there is a way to keep your ultimate goal in sight, while managing your expectations, so that you can keep your sanity and still achieve success in life. --- Look at it! ---- Evel Knievel jumps canyons on various wonder-bikes, for fun! But, don't think he just hopped on his bike one day and jumped over the Grand Canyon. Consider that he developed his skills over time to execute his lifetime of phenomenal jumps. But, if he had taken the jumps without building up to them, fear and inexperience would have destroyed the stunts. He had to start with small jumps to gain confidence until, eventually, he was able to make his jumps without hesitation. High expectations can place you in a position of trying to jump your own canyons right out of the gate. Too many failed attempts can lead you to frustration and eventually, complete surrender of your goals. However, if such an attempt should succeed, it could land you in a situation that, while it looked good from a distance, might not be the place where you wanted to land. --- Break it down! --- Before you go too far on that jump across that canyon, make sure that you know exactly where you want to land. It is imperative that you define exactly what it is that you ultimately want in your life. Once you know what you want, break the process to reach this 'vision' down into reasonable steps. Instead of trying to jump the canyon immediately, try jumping a puddle to see if you can do it with confidence. Once you manage the puddle, take what you've learned, put it behind you, and go for something just outside of your comfort zone ... perhaps a ditch. Such steps allow you to take on smaller pieces of the whole so that you can set reachable goals on the way to your vision. --- Changing directions! --- Not only is this 'stepping stone' approach to attaining lofty goals and managing high expectations effective in moving you in the right direction, but you might also find that, the destination is something that you didn't 'expect.' Here is the key---'did not expect.' High expectations set on a vision that is 'unknown' can lead you sometimes place you further away from your vision then when you started. We see where we want to go, want so badly to get there, but have no idea what it takes or what it is that we're pursuing. Even though the vision might be reasonable, it is the perception that we have of the vision that adds unnecessary stress to our daily lives in our pursuit of that vision. If we take small steps to reach our vision, we can adjust our path along the way. As we move toward and learn more of our ultimate destination, we might find that we don't want the original vision. We learn that we might instead want the objective about 30 degrees off of our original. By moving along, one goal at a time, we are able to adjust to ensure that we land were we want to on the other side of our canyon. --- Reapplying the expectations! --- We all develop a certain perspective of things based on the way that we've been raised, the experiences that we've encountered, and the successes or failures that we've had in our lives. Based on our perspective, we develop extraordinarily high expectations of things when we're not sure of the results of our plight or goals in life. These expectations are built up to cover the doubts that we might have about the goal. Realize that things are what they are, regardless of our perception. But, by accepting things as they are, and not what you would wish them to be, it makes it much easier to maneuver yourself in the direction you want to go. We must sometimes readjust our perspectives, our values and belief systems, to gain some control in our lives and obtain a clearer view of our paths. --- What's next? --- By taking on small pieces of the whole, we can easily adjust our path along the way. In this way, we must research our goals so that we can understand where we're going. In breaking up the path into the smaller goals required to reach our vision, our expectations for our vision become clearer and less imperative. By managing our goals in this way, we automatically manage our expectations because we only have expectations of the immediate goal leading us in the direction of our ultimate vision. Establish a new plan based on the individual components of your overall vision. Try moving forward with this new plan and see what happens. See how the newly managed goals and expectations work in your life and how you feel as you accomplish the smaller goals on the way to your vision. Not only will managing your expectations provide you with a more solid path to reach your vision, but it will also enhance your quality of life. Instead of being stressed, frustrated, and disappointed, you can now feel good about your forward momentum in your own life because you will know where you're going and be able to handle the journey. About The Author Edward B. Toupin is a published author, technical writer, web developer, coach, and producer living in "The Entertainment Capital of the World," Las Vegas, NV. One of his primary objectives in his work is to provide information to help others achieve fulfilling lives. Visit his site at http://encouragement.netfirms.com and http://www.toupin.com or contact him at etoupin@toupin.com or lifecoach@toupin.com for more information.
MORE RESOURCES: See the complete list of Articles on Goal Setting here Have a look at Best Selling Books on Goal Setting
See also : Other articles on
Depression,
Grief-loss,
Elder Care
Relationships Latest info on : Goal Settings
Goal-Setting - Google News
Why not be an expert yourself ? If you can write on
any of the above topic, you are welcome to submit your Submit
your article here |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Forming Effective Habits Leads To Success You had your new years resolution all set. You knew exactly what you needed to do, maybe you even got off to a fantastic start. The 12 Commandments of Goal Setting Many professionals have a basic idea of what they want to achieve in their careers. They may want to close more sales, earn a higher income, or move into a different job. Organizing Your Goals We all have goals and dreams that we want to accomplish-some big, some small. But until we can organize a plan on how to pursue these goals and dreams, we may never reach our final destination or possibly even start. Cheerleaders This week's article assumes that you have chosen a goal, dream, or task for yourself. You may or may not have started implementing your step by step plans yet. Mission Statements Improve Goal Setting and Decision Making A Mission Statement consists of a short phrase or a few sentences that form an overview of your core priorities and guiding principles. It describes what you are trying to accomplish and what you value. Losing Site of Your Goals: Determining Your Vision From Your Actions! In the fury of trying to accomplish our goals, we tend to lose site of our Vision. We get so caught up in "doing things" that we forget why we're doing them. The Promise: The Key to the Successful Achievement of Your Goals Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work. If Wishes Were Horses Then Beggars Would Ride! And if Bull frogs had wings they wouldn't bump their little rear-end when they landed. Don't make the mistake of thinking that rushing all over the place you are being your most productive self. Achieving Your Goals You may or may not have a set of written goals. If you do not, then I strongly urge you to make a written set of goals and clarify what you want to achieve. Keep Your Attention On What You Want Have you ever wondered: "How does this 'Law of Attraction' really work? Can I really attract only what I want?"You Can! It requires you to make many conscious choices. Most of the time it seems much easier to notice what we don't like or want and to focus by complaining about that. The Importance Of Having A Goal In Life At the age of twenty two, I read a book that described the importance of having a goal in life. In the books example, a survey had been carried out at a school. 5 Steps to Make the Rest of 2005 Extraordinary So here we are in July. Where did the first half of the year go? It only seems a couple of weeks ago that I was drinking festive egg-nog, wearing my Christmas sweater and humming 'Sleigh Ride' too loudly in line at the supermarket. In Pursuance of Your Dream Career What do u wanna be when you grow up?" " I don't wanna grow up"!! How lovely it would be if we don't grow up and be a child forever?The teacher asked her class what each wanted to become when they grew up. The teacher noticed one boy sitting silent. Rebuilding Oneself: The Universes Basic Training I remember Air Force Basic Training. My Training Instructor not only wanted to teach me the military way, but he also wanted to break me down so that he could rebuild me according to the needs of the military. Business Goal Setting and Then Following Through Your business can't go according to plan if you have no plan.What do you want to achieve this year? More new customers per week? Higher average order amounts? Better customer service ratings? No matter what it is you are shooting for, goal setting is one of the most important things that you will do in the New Year. Reach Your Goals - Goal-Pooling Goal-pool with friends or acquaintances Get together with a group of friends or co-workers and host a logistical brainstorming party where all the invitees lay out the goals they'd like help with and make plans to meet them, with the help of the rest of the group. The result might look something like this: Every Monday the whole crew gets together for a half-hour after work to help Barbara make fund-raising calls for her charity (and in exchange, everyone gets invited to the hoity-toity, networking-heaven Christmas party held to thank the donors and volunteers). Cultivating Belief in Your Goals The Belief That You Can Do It and more importantly, That You Will!First, You must choose one goal and commit to it's achievement. It seems that this is always the starting point isn't it? It must be something that you feel you can not live without, or you must develop that feeling for it to work. Make This Your Most Productive Year Ever - 26 Tips Each year we start the year thinking about our goals, our job, our health, all the 'new' routines and commitments we make to ourself to make this our best year yet? but two weeks into January all our planning and resolution goes out the window! You can make this your best year ever by applying some of these simple ideas (and re-reading this article each year to keep you on track.Make a date. The Top 10 Steps to Set and Achieve Your Goals - Every Time! It's been said that everyone has goals, whether we know it or not. We have goals to keep our current job, or to get a different one. How to Triple Your Productivity in 28 days - Part II If you've been diligent in doing the past 2 concentration builders you will notice you have a considerable increase in your productivity and your power to stay focused. In fact, you have probably also noticed that you are more organized, and feel more at ease.
|
|
You are here |
|
| Goal Settings Tips Home | Goal Settings Tips - Complete list | |
|
| Main Home | | Meditation Corner | |
|
|
| Recommend us | |
|
[About
us] [Contact] [Privacy
Policy]
Copyright 2006, Meditation
is Easy.com, All
rights reserved
