Am I doing what I really want to do?

Another entry inspired by the 75 questions to ask yourself.

Am I really doing what I want to do? Of course not. Like anyone else, I’d like to have tons of money, bills paid, sipping fruity drinks with umbrellas in them on a hot sandy beach somewhere tropical. But also like most other people, I’m stuck in middle class america working 40 hours a week and going to school at the same time. All while trying to make something of myself. It’s hard. But life has its tests and trials; I just assume this is another one.

Everyone can make a million different excuses for this one. I’m not doing what I want because I have to…. finish school first, save money to make an investment, have all my ducks lined in a row. Truth be told, most people aren’t really doing what they want. But they settle. Why settle? Make the most out of your life. You only live once, so I believe. Live it to the fullest. Refer back to my “Jar” post and you’ll see what I mean about getting the best out of life.

You can really do what you want to do if you set realistic goals. SMART goals are the best way to manage your goal setting career. I read about this a couple years ago. Here’s how it works.

Specific - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:
*Who: Who is involved?
*What: What do I want to accomplish?
*Where: Identify a location.
*When: Establish a time frame.
*Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
*Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”

Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

Realistic – To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love. Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.

T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.

Practice making some SMART goals and see if you can reach them. Start with an easy goal that you can manage every night. Say you’ve got a book you’re reading. If you want to make a goal to read until page 155, you can do that, but if you don’t it’s not going to be detrimental to you. Then bump your goals up gradually. You will then start setting your own pace for your life, instead of someone else.