If you've never accomplished something a little bigger than you...
'Tis the season...Triathlon season that is! This year, I plan to complete 6 triathlons, another half dozen running races, and one bike ride from Marin County back to Ojai, CA (let me know if you're in...We always get a group together for the 4 day journey!).
There are at least three "-tions" you will experience when you set a goal a little bit bigger than yourself...Innovation, Inspiration, Information...
Innovation: Setting a goal, by very nature of you thinking about something you don't yet have, or have not yet experienced, gives you the opportunity to "think outside the box." For years now, I have practiced goal setting in all sorts of places other than my office desk. You see, if I am in a bookstore, on a train, sitting in a conference room of a hotel, or in a movie just 10-15 minutes after it just ended...I'll have different thoughts about what I want to be, do and have.
Try it out...Grab a pen and a notebook and go sit on a bench, go to lunch at a "fancy" restaurant, or simply sit on the floor. Then, on the top of the paper write down, "In the next 6 months I would like to be, do and have..."
Inspiration: Now, be careful, because if you really do this activity with full intention, you're going to write down more than you can actually do in the next 180 days. So, the real trick is to turn potential into action...To turn opportunity into focus...To turn overwhelm into intention.
Inspiration is a special effect...Just think about the first time you saw the movie Star Wars (ok, I was only 5 when it came out, and I remember the lasers and light sabers were simply out of this world!). Inspiration is something that resides inside that needs some outlet, needs some action to match so that what we think about...We do.
Information: And, what pulls (and holds!) it all together is gathering, processing, and sort the information we will use to continue our momentum. Whether digital (audio/video presentations, e-mail, PDFs, etc) or physical (books, magazine articles, mentors, etc) the information you have around you will play a significant role in getting you from here...To there.
Here's a hint: Write down a 7-9 month goal on a 3X5 note card and tape it to your bathroom mirror. Each morning, wake up and write down AT LEAST one resource (person, building, book, author, website, etc) you could look into that would move you toward completion.
- Want a quick start? Go to the bookstore, and subscribe to at least 2 magazines about the topic you are inspired to take on. Just think, if each magazine only had 2 articles that were relevant, in the next 12 months you would be 48 times smarter in your area of interest!
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