Word Of the Week #23: Goal
April 20, 2009 by Susan Clarke
Goal: the end toward which effort and ambition is directed.
Our last WOW was commitment. Did you identify any strong desires that you wanted to accomplish? Did you establish strong desires in order to continue to accomplish long term goals?
Mary & Laurent at Finish
First, you have to identify what your goal is. Secondly, is it achievable? Goals are most effective when they are specific, time sensitive, and written in first person, present tense.
For example, my niece Mary decided that she wanted to run in the Suzuki Rock and Roll Marathon. Since she had never run more than 4 miles, yet committing to run 26.2 miles at one time, took determination and dedication.
Her goal read, “I, Mary Hayward, run in the Suzuki Rock and Roll Marathon and finish within five hours. I am sponsoring Kyle Bloksam and I raise $3000.00 in donations for Leukemia research.”
I have the utmost respect for people who get “out of their comfort zone” and stretch their limits. As it turned out, Mary ran the marathon in 4 hours and 56 minutes. She raised more than $4000.00. (the minimum requirement is $1600.00)
She reached a goal in which she believed was realistic and surpassed it. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Some people might say she didn’t aim high enough to start with. Others might question if she will be able to do as well the next time.
You will always reach your goals when you have the passion and commitment coupled with realistic expectations. Mary knew that she would have to train, and train, and train! She made the commitment to set aside the time (4 months to be exact) and to buy several pairs of running shoes!
Commitment is focusing on a particular goal and doing whatever it takes to reach it! What are you willing to do to get what you want?
Reader Responses
“One of the big goals that I had set for the 1st quarter of this year was to achieve certification as a Master Virtual Assistant. And yee haa . . . I did it! Now, my commitment (WOW Word #22) is to meet my next “big” goal (Wow Word #23) of growing my business and bringing in enough income that I can tell my husband to quit his job so that he can go back to school or do whatever it is that he wants to do. I know it’s a big goal, and it will take commitment and drive, but I know it’s attainable. I hope to achieve this goal by the end of the year or sooner.” — Terry L. Green