How Emotionally Attached are you to your goals?

I ask this question after watching Lauren Price winning her gold medal in the boxing over the past weekend.

 

She set her goals at the age of eight and here she was nearly twenty years later achieving the third and final element of the goal she set then.

The fact that her “back story” was set out and championed by both the broadcasters and people such as Prince William is a clear indication that her emotional attachment was really strong.

So, how can I make this connection you may ask? Well there are six clear steps to take to heighten your emotional attachment to your goals and thereby increase the likelihood of the goals being fulfilled or reached –

1 –  Idealise – Spend some time thinking about what really matters to you and think without constraints. This is where the initial emotional attachment is made. Choose things you would love to achieve as your goals. If you are thinking about business goals, think what the achievement of them will mean to you as a person

2 – Visualise – Once you have the goal set in your head think about it in a bit more detail. Visualise what achieving the goal will mean to you and how you will feel when you do achieve it. This is a key filtration step. If you do not get a strong connection to the feeling question then there is not enough emotional attachment. Either it is not the right goal or it is a to do item and NOT a goal!

3 – Verbalise – Put the goal into words. This is the step where commitment begins to be achieved. You should ideally write it down and have it somewhere you can refer back to as often as required to ensure it is the basis of future learning, planning and acting.

4 – Share with someone you want to hold you accountable. This should be a person you trust and whose opinion of you matters to you. As part of this step agree the process for them to review with you and give them permission to be open and honest and to be able to hold you to account.

5 – Share publicly – This step is to reinforce your commitment to the goal and by sharing publicly you create the potential for a negative emotion – embarrassment or shame to occur if you do NOT achieve.

6 – Materialise – Carry out the goal through a process of learning, planning and actions. A significant goal that you are fully emotionally attached to will avoid any risk of you falling into a comfort zone and keep motivation strong if things get tough along the way.

The fact that Lauren could be interviewed at the time she achieved the last element of her goal shows she fulfilled step 5 and her “Nana” was also interviewed saying that she shared these goals in school at the age of 8, showing that she carried out steps 1 to 4 at this time.

How can you use this story to help you ensure your goals have sufficient emotional attachment to them that you do not consider them as optional?

I believe that the six step process as outlined above provides the basis for success. There is one key thing I would like you to sue as a filter. This is the “so what? “ test. When you go through the idealisation and visualisation and as you verbalise the goal just take time to ask yourself this question. How much does it matter if you achieve it. All great goals are formed through desperation or inspiration. The “so what?” test allows you to confirm to yourself that this is a significant goal and again, give you a reason to become attached to it.

If you would like to discuss how you can use this process to achieve greater business success please e-mail me on rogerpemberton@actioncoach.com or call me on 07511 969690.