If you have set your goals for 2008, congratulations. How are you doing on your goals? This year, I set my goals differently from previous years. In previous times, usually, I set goals to include money, health, relationships and investments. I put down things I feel and think I want to accomplished as that becomes my goals.
The reason for setting goals differently this year is I wonder WHY there were some goals I never archived. Some goals I missed it by a little but others were way off. I was curious to find out why this happen. There were times, I thought it is my laziness, or the goal was not what I wanted in the first place or life happens that distracted me. Whatever it is, I felt I needed to know so that I don’t justify it.
There were goals and times in my life where results seem almost automatic. And there were times when everything in me seem to protest taking action. Last year, there were things that I totally hate having to do. No matter what I did to force myself to do that one thing. I knew I have to do it to reach my goal, I just can’t bring myself to do it any longer. That’s how strongly I felt. Perhaps the mis-alignment is there for so long that it finally exploded. Like a rubber band that finally snapped when pulled too hard.
Then, I came across this chart which talk about alignment which in an instant explained a lot to me.
Suddenly, I realized many goals I choose (the results that I wanted) are not really aligned with my values, thoughts and feelings about a subject. Therefore, the actions I took felt like 1 step forward 2 steps back.
When your values, thoughts, feelings and actions are aligned, results will happen. It should flow right. That is what got me interested to try this out. For example, in my area of Work values, I found myself totally mis-aligned. I found that the work that I’m doing does not fulfill my number 1 most important value, which is to build a business that can be sold eventually and that won’t grind to a halt if I don’t work. Plus, I found the industry too regulated to be able to be creative. There is one or two other things I won’t bore you with.
Off course, just because my thoughts and feelings don’t line up to my values, I didn’t want to just discard them. I compared my thoughts and feelings to my values just to make sure they are not too idealistic or whether adjustment is needed on my values and not on the thought part of it. Once I’m pretty sure of those values are the ones I’m totally for, only then I begin to draft out the results I’m after and the actions I need to take to get there.
Having done that, this then becomes the roadmap forward to make the necessary changes towards the results I wanted. Making such a change is not easy. Already I feel the pull to remain at status quo which, is a zone of familiarity and perceived safety.
Do this exercise for yourself. It could be in an area of money, saving, investing, work or business. Let say in the area of money. Take a piece of paper and make 5 columns. Write down beneath each column, what are your values when it comes to investing. Then your thoughts, feelings and actions. Just jot down what comes to mind without censoring yourself. And write down the results you have been getting. After you have done that, ask yourself where do you need to re-align to get the results that you wanted.
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