Keeping an eye on the goal in 2011

No one wants to lose.  No one wants to get less than they believe they deserve.  Truth is, most of the time, you get back that which you put into your goals.   Not what you put into the project itself; but the amount of energy and time you put directly into activities that forward your goal.

I can do paperwork forever, organize my desk to an nth degree, and meet everyone in Smithville and Bastrop County, but none of that directly forwards my goals.  Those are tertiary activities only.  In business, the goal is the sale; the moment when an agreement is reached, followed by the exchange of services/products for currency, the most common transaction today.

Now, if you don’t have your paperwork complete and enough organization for the job to get done, then you won’t reach your goal either.  But there is a time when those activities can become a hindrance to the actual goal.   In some cases, a way to avoid work by doing “make-work”, which will be a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.  In others, a misappropriation of time.

For instance, you wouldn’t want to be doing your paperwork when you have customers who need you out on the floor, or for business-to-business, when your customers are open and available to talk to you.  If so, you are losing out on your goal of the moment of transaction.

If it’s a “make-work” issue, then it could be for several reasons.  A person who had extreme organizational capabilities may be more comfortable in that role, and they would need to find a way to step back from that aspect of their job.  A person who doesn’t know what to do beyond what’s in front of them, may also have a problem.  They would need more training to learn how to move ahead, or if they don’t have that capability, they would need to be in another position.

The most difficult situation is from the person who has a psychological reason for not moving beyond their paperwork; the one who has the ability and seems to know what to do.  Fear and anxiety are two of the biggest causes.  Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of people, fear of whatever.  The fear itself doesn’t matter.  What matters is that the person overcomes whatever is blocking them from reaching for the goal.

There are many calming techniques used throughout the ages.  Meditation, prayer, talking to another person -- anything that allows a person to mentally “step back” and start again in a new mental position. Regardless of the method used, ultimately, the goal is what matters.

Start the New Year focusing on your goal.  Quit “getting ready” to start.  Just start.  2011 is waiting for you.