People that achieve their goals on a consistent basis are master re-framers. Reframing is the act of adjusting the perspective from which you see something. In essence, it is about creating a new, different, or more empowering meaning for a given situation.
Imagine a picture in an old, rickety, gaudy frame. Most of the viewing attention goes to the frame rather than the picture. It detracts from the beauty of the picture. However, the right, complementary, frame can bring out the beauty of the picture and bring to life much of what was once not seen.
One of the ways top achievers reframe their goals is to frame the definition of what a goal is. People that don’t set goals or set but don’t achieve their goals tend to not have a solid, meaningful, definition of what a goal really is. Goals have become synonymous with objectives, targets, key performance indicators, declarations, even affirmations and intentions. Regardless of the name, they are easily missed because enforcement, accountability and support are just buzz words without substance in many work cultures.
We know three things to be true about people that set and achieve their goals.
- They stay focused on them. i.e., they have their goals written out and with them at all times and review, strategize, and adjust them frequently.
- They are intentional throughout their day so that their actions line up with the progression for achieving their goals. They find their way to acting and taking action as if the goal is already achieved. They believe in their bones that achieving the goal is a done deal.
- They are not just interested in achieving their goal, they are committed and willing to do what it takes to achieve it. By definition, when someone commits, they are “all in.” No looking back and no Plan B. They discipline themselves to avoid the regret of not achieving what they want. By the way, the truth is that we are all 100% self-disciplined according to our existing set of habits. The bad news is ,you may have habits that are keeping you from achieving what you want. The good news is, anyone can change a habit.
By discarding the loosely-held-together frame of “goals” and re-framing what you really want as a focused intentional commitment, you dramatically increase the odds of its achievement.
Work through these three focused intentional commitment questions to help you see the achievement of what you want on the canvas of your viewing experience:
- What do you really want and how will you maintain focus on it up to, and through, its achievement?
- How will you lead yourself to do things in an intentionally certain way that leads to the achievement of what you want?
- Are you truly committed to do what it takes, saying yes to what must get done along the way and no to what feels good or easy in the moment?
Work these questions until you have the clarity you desire, then go for what you really want. You can do it.
Make it up, make it fun, and get it done!