INTRODUCTION
As the year 2020 is rolling away and we are about to begin the brand-new 2021, our Management Discussion Series (MDS) for the next few weeks will be on Goal Setting and Prioritisation. I will discuss it through the following sub-topics: Introduction (Do Not Give Up; You Are Responsible), The 4 Ps test, What is a goal?, Purpose of goals, Types of Goals, How to set goals, Qualities of effective goals, Steps towards setting effective goals, Benefits of setting goals and why goals fail, Take-Home code and Conclusion.
DO NOT GIVE UP!
Everyone has a dream, but not everyone is willing to fulfill it by identifying opportunities and taking advantage of them. Breakthroughs only happen when preparations meet opportunities, and the best way to predict the future is to create it.
What announces you is not the number of failures, errors or trials but just one success. Several things in the external environment may want to limit you and your expectations. DO NOT ALLOW THEM. You are a human being with the breath of God ; do not allow ordinary things to limit you. Refire! Try Again! Keep Pushing!
Don’t give up on your drive or goal in life. Some people sat for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination; the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination or the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria examination more than once before they could achieve their goal.
No one wants to know how many times you tried, people only celebrate the result. What is important is that, despite the challenges along the way, today, you are a graduate or a successful business person.
Therefore, do not generate frustration, for example, to the level of contemplating suicide or abandoning a worthwhile goal.
What’s suicide?
A permanent solution to a temporary problem,or an insane solution to a rational problem.
Many people are currently in their present positions because of this phrase “I HAVE TRIED” or the longer version– ‘People can testify that I have tried’. Do not believe the lie; no one celebrates or gives a thumbs up to a person with the “I have tried” syndrome and no tangible results to show. In your drive to achieving your goal, remember that there are several ways to skin a cat. Regularly tweak your strategy till you hit the goal. What announces you is the goal scored and not the number of dribbles or the number of times the ball hit the goal post. That is why the most celebrated players are those that score goals.
Treat your goal like a vehicle; you do not abandon your vehicle that develops a fault on the highway, you will look for how to fix it. If the first person you got could not fix it, you will look for another person, get the problem solved and restart the journey to your destination. Do not abandon your vision in life; regularly adjust your strategies to meet agreed goals more than the other way out .
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE
Many of us must have heard of the wise saying, ‘you are the architect of your destiny’, or “as you lay your bed, you lie on it’.
How far you can go in life depends on how far you handle these 3 Cs; Chances, Choices, and Consequences.
The first 2 Cs will produce the last one. You are responsible for your present state.
The first deliverance/liberation you need to change your life and cancel out any negative emotions is the acceptance that YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. The day you accept complete responsibility for your life is the day you move from CHILDHOOD to ADULTHOOD. If you still blame external people, events, or circumstances for your current state, you are still an emotional child that should grow up.
You are responsible for;
• Setting goals
• Making plans
• Establishing measures and
• Performing to get results
Therefore, don’t shift the consequences of your actions, inactions, and behaviours on any external party.
(To be continued next week)
Sunday Ade Bello(SAB) is a multi-talented and an analytically inspired management trainer, writer and examiner. He is the CEO of WorkLife Training Professionals, Lagos.
