Firstly, is it that simple?
Ok, let’s say you set yourself a goal. So you know you need to make a plan and be ready to face possible obstacles.
Most likely you are taking steps towards success and you realise it is possible to achieve that goal.
But there are also other things that happen in that process.
I would like to share two of my own goals that made me reflect on this process.
A few weeks into the lockdown I decided I wanted to start running at least 3 times a week to improve physical and emotional wellbeing.
Some questions arose: What is my reason to start doing this? How can I maintain motivation? What is my purpose?
Week by week I carried on and I didn’t seem to slow down or stop. In fact, that goal became part of my routine. If I don’t do it, I miss it!
So what may have started off as ‘Maybe to get fit’, now is ‘It’s my fun time, listening to music and being outdoors, as well as contributing to my physical wellbeing and feeling proud of myself from having ran in the beginning 4,5Km/40minutes to 8Km/1hour so far.
Another example of a goal that I decided to accomplish, that has benefited from changes and adjustments along the goal achievement process, was doing the Transformational Coaching Course to add value to myself personally and professionally.
Yes, I did achieve that in one year. But what I have gained along the journey was much more than what I had envisioned. Firstly, I gained the knowledge and experience for myself but mainly what I thought I was doing just for myself, now I feel it’s so rewarding because I am helping others too.
The key aspect to retain is that while reflecting on my journey and assessing its process, I also redirected my initial goal into a new purpose of creating my Coaching business.
The previous goal was the planted seed where my new goal blossomed from.
So, as I finished the course I started focusing on that subsequent step of creating my website as part of my business plan.
What I am curious about is the goal trajectory and which unexpected direction it is going to take.
Effectively you can and should make a plan, gather resources, organise your time, get the energy needed and focus on the purpose, maintain the motivation and be confident that you can do it.
During the goal achievement you can see further ahead, just like the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa using one of his Alter ego Alberto Caeiro wrote ‘I am the size of what I see, and not the same size of my height.’
What you visualised in the beginning has given place to a reformulation in your mindset that will impact in your actions and results. This is where the stories you used to tell transform as you retell them to become the stories you want to act upon.
As a conclusion, you look forward to what you want in the future and you also look back to observe how far you have come.
What have been your successes?
How does that make you feel?
When you look back to where you have started, would you ever imagined it would take you this far?
So just be proud of where you are right now because no goal is simply just a goal. You develop as you try to reach what you think is a finishing line. But then you realise one goal is not just a race, a goal is a lap and each step you take is helping you to move forward. There is a constant feeling of success if you really think how much you have achieved.
So enjoy your goal trajectory filled with unique moments (Ichigo Ichie) and be present with your purpose and motivation (Ikigai) in mind.
Mafalda Novo 13.08.2020
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