Make An Impression On You Life – Get Smart And Well Informed

Sounds like an invitation to visit a tailor or your favourite clothes shop, doesn’t it? And as you read this article you can start to think about the way you feel as you walk into the world in smart and well-formed clothes, and as you do you will find how easy it is to imagine how even more positive you’ll feel when your own inner mental clothing is expertly cut and stitched. The quality of your inner clothing, the way it feels, has a direct relationship to the purpose and the goals in your life. One could almost say that your goals are the buttons, zips and fasteners of your inner clothing.nnEvery scenario - paradigm – every situation – should have a goal or a collection of goals, outcomes that are worked towards. Without goals everything is apropos of nothing (look at Dirk and Deke …..or maybe listen to All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow). nnIn life coaching they talk about two main types of goal – Outcome and Process. nYou have a dream (outcome) and how you achieve that dream is the process. The dream just doesn’t happen though – there has to be a plan, a strategy of how to get there. This is the nuts and bolts of how the various Goals will be achieved. In sports also there is a third type of goal – Performance – which relates to measurable aspects of your own (or team’s) performance irrespective of the outcome.nThe outcomes should be well-formed outcomes – the goals, whether arrived at by discussions about strategy or mutual consensus or personal desire, should be tested to see whether they are S.M.A.R.T. Remember of course that big goals sometimes need to be broken down to a lot of smaller goals - and that these too should be well-formed and SMART!! nnSo what is the acronym – S.M.A.R.T? nYour goals need to be …..nnS Specific (Not vague like “become a better person”)nM Measurable (How will you know when you have achieved your goal?)nA Achievable (Don’t make it too difficult OR too easy)nR Realistic (Flyweights don’t fight Heavyweights)nT Timely (Set a timescale for achieving your goal)nnJoe has a couple of big goals this year – he wants to lose weight and wants to cycle to work. These two goals might be mutually exclusive or interlinked. So how can he cut his inner cloth and make these goals more SMART? nnHe needs to be clear in his mind how much weight he wants to lose – just being vague builds escape clauses when culinary temptations leap out at him. Being specific will also tell him exactly when he achieves his goal as he gets off those scales with a hugely satisfying feeling of success. His target weight loss needs to be challenging but not impossible, and he needs to give himself a sensible period of time in which to achieve it. In this way he’ll build momentum on almost a daily basis that keeps him on course to success – and as we know momentum is easy to keep going, while inertia is hard to shift.nnFor Joe, cycling to work needs to be “smartened up” too. If he’s unspecific he might easily buy a bike, mount up every morning and just pedal along until he gets there, arriving late on a regular basis. Work might be 10 miles away which doesn’t sound realistic either. He might not be fit enough to do the ride – in which case he might need to achieve some other goals before going for this one – lose weight, get fitter, quit smoking perhaps. Only when he can say “I want to be able to cycle the 2 miles to work in fifteen minutes (so I’m on time) and achieve this within the next couple of weeks” will his goals will be SMART enough to really get him what he wants.nnNow lets look at smoothing out the creases in our inner clothing with that metaphorical steam-iron called Well Formed Outcomes. These tests run parallel to making sure your goals are SMART and clarify the Beliefs behind your desires and spot the potential downsides and obstacles in achieving your goals.nnWell Formed OutcomesnnWhat do you want? State what you want only in positive terms. If the outcome or goal you want to achieve is going AWAY FROM something then it will be harder to achieve than one where you are going TOWARDS. The key to this is not at the initial outset but the maintenance of that MOMENTUM I talked about - the further along the road away from what you want to avoid, the easier it will be to give up the quest. Also, if your motivation is away from, then you have no eye upon where you want to go – you could end up jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. nnIs it achievable? Is it a realistic possibility? This is also the A of smart.nnWhat will you accept as evidence that you have achieved your Outcome? Let yourself know what will tell you that you have arrived at the desired destination. This corresponds to the M of smart. Here again, if your goal is a negative (away from) goal then even one step away from the thing you want to avoid is a result by definition. nIs achieving this Outcome within your control? Or is it dependent upon the actions of someone or something else? There is no easy cycle route Joe can take to work at the moment, just a very busy and dangerous road, but the council are building a special path that will be ready in 2 months time. nDo you have all the resources you need to achieve your Outcome? These resources could be a variety of things – from money (for Joe to buy the bike), logistical support (for Joe to park the bike safely at work), emotional support to physical or mental resources……. nnWhat will happen when you have achieved the Outcome? Are all the costs and consequences of this Outcome acceptable? nnTHIS IS THE ECOLOGY CHECK. nnThe Ecology Check is vital – especially as working towards big goals can often throw up a number of unseen consequences which you perhaps hadn’t considered and which might eventually stand in your way. nnEg. An amateur sports player wants to make the 1st Team as a goal. It will give him a higher level of playing competence, perhaps some (or more) monetary reward, a sense of achievement, increased self-esteem and standing amongst his peers etc etc. It is achievable – he has the given ability to make it at the higher level. It is within his control – it involves further training, motivation and dedication, which on a personal level he is able and wants to give. Does he have all the resources he needs? Yes – all the costs and support is readily on hand. He has the physical and mental resources. nEcology check – consequences….this ambitious step involves playing matches further away, which means leaving Fridays after work and returning very late Saturdays or on Sundays. His girlfriend is unhappy as she will not see him on away match weekends, and will see him less during the week as well. She considers the situation and gives him the choice…..his ambition in sport, or his personal relationship. So here the Outcome is not totally well formed because he will suffer emotional and personal consequences by pursuing this Goal. He needs to take further choices and considerations before proceeding.nNow this is quite a common scenario facing a lot of young dedicated amateur sportspersons – but how many take a look at their Goals in such an analytical way? Looking at Well Formed Outcomes actually clarifies your Beliefs and Philosophies in a practical way. It is a really useful method of ensuring you have a clear pathway to every possible success. Sports and activities that regularly take you near the edge, need this kind of analysis and organization or lives will be at risk. (Mountaineering, Caving, Bungee Jumping, Rallying, Off-piste skiing, Deep sea or Sky-diving for instance).nnFinal Question - Are you ready to begin the Process? And is your unconscious mind prepared to assist in this process?nnThis question often raises an eyebrow with people who are not aware of the conscious-unconscious association and how important it is to leading a more successful, fulfilling and personally integrated life. nnJoe might want to quit smoking; he knows the damage it can cause and all the health dangers…and yet he cannot shake off the habit. Because of this he might start to read a whole load of unnecessary and negative things into these inabilities – but essentially the only real question to ask here is “Are you ready to begin the Process? And is your unconscious mind prepared to assist in this process?” And clearly Joe’s unconscious mind is NOT prepared at this stage to assist. He will lose out on some things that are real positives for him – things which are known as secondary gains. For as long as these secondary gains are there in his unconscious mind, unaddressed, he will never be fully committed to the goal of quitting smoking. I chuckle at adverts associated with smoking cessation that display the phrase “requires will power”. nnConceptually - Will Power is in the domain of the conscious. I can do it – I will do it! If only this were true…..however, in terms of conflicts between the conscious and unconscious mind, the unconscious will always come out on top. It is dominant, but thankfully it is also re-programmable. nnFor you to succeed at your goals, however many and however big or small, you need to have addressed AND involved your unconscious mind as a partner in the process.nnWrite down Your GoalsnnA pre-requisite to being able to apply these tests to your GOALS is to write the goals down. It not only simplifies the testing mechanism but, and more importantly, it puts down a clear dividing line between your dreams and your goals. nALWAYS WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS because by putting them into something tangible like a journal or diary, you get away from them being just a mere collection of thoughts. They become external – in the public domain if you like – and you can view them much more objectively. Otherwise they are just hazy, lazy figments of wishful thinking, ephemeral and transitory concepts of vague achievements that you hope might enrich your life - as do those of William, Billy, Mac, Buddy as they wait for the Fun to come up over Santa Monica Boulevard.n