Everyone has a story about this popular quote. Mine is about my mom. I came from a poor family. My dad didn’t have a permanent job. No fixed monthly income. My mom is the ‘home finance minister’. Since young, I learned how she plans and manages the family expenses. On those difficult conversations, she rehearsed and role-played the conversation and prepare herself well before the start of the actual conversation.
Self-talk, mental visualization, role-playing, whatever you name it. That’s how she managed the conversations the way she envisioned. No one taught her about beginning with the end in mind. She just knew the importance of having a clear goal, staying focused and navigating through to accomplish it. Pandemic or not, she has taught me focus and adaptation are the two crucial success factors aside from beginning with the end goal in mind.
She didn't make it obvious that I should model her. But I grew up understanding the goal is just a vision in mind. Focus on my action is the key to turning the goal into reality. It’s the mind that holds us back rather than the strategic plan itself.
Traditionally, we’re taught to set a specific and finite measurable goal in our business. Not that straightforward anymore. In today’s rapidly changing business world, setting a business goal is complex because of unknown obstacles and ambiguity. The pandemic makes it even tougher for us to plan and set a clear goal.
We learn as we go. It's okay if we don't have all the answers to start with the end goal in mind. We live in a world where we learn to navigate through by observing what the world unfolds to us and how it responds to our reactions. We rely on constant feedback to refine our actions and accomplish our goals.
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Starting with the end in mind is still an essential habit of getting anything accomplished. However, the redefined version is, start with a why. Start with a visionary goal in mind. The vision is infinite and purposeful. It becomes our compelling reason for taking risks to explore the unknown and experiment with different new possibilities and solutions. It's a rewarding journey when we start with a why.
So, the next time you set a goal, ask yourself these questions:
- 1How will the ideal end goal look like for you?
- 2What makes you want it so badly?
- 3What measurable feedback will help you know the goal progress?
- 4On a scale of 1 to 10, ten means that you have reached your goal, where are you on the scale?
- 5How will you notice that you are one step higher on the scale?
- 6What do you need to do differently to move one step higher on the scale?
- 7What is holding you back from doing it differently?
- 8What and who will help you find out the unknown obstacles?
- 9What can fail your plan?
- 10What will make your plan flexible and easy to adjust?
- 11How will you know you need to take corrective actions to your plan?
- 12How will you celebrate success at the finishing line?
What could be other questions that will help you accomplish your goal of success? Let me know your questions and how they help you reach the goal. And please share this post to help and inspire others.
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