It’s one thing to be a goal setter. It’s easy to decide on a goal and write it down on a piece of paper that will eventually find its way to the bottom of the pile. It’s quite another thing to have the persistence to nurture and care for your goal until you reach it.
All goal tenders start out as goal setters. You have to be able to set a realistic and achievable goal for yourself to start the process. It’s okay to stretch your boundaries and move out of your comfort zone a little, but creating unrealistic expectations for yourself is only setting yourself up for a stressful time ahead.
Goal setters also need to be good planners. Along with the end result, you have to have some ideas of the steps you will take to get there. You don’t have to know all the details when you start, but you should have enough to get you on the path. If you’re waiting for divine inspiration to tell you what to do, don’t. It usually strikes when you’re in the middle of doing something already. A good goal setting plan should also account for pitfalls, distractions, and detours. And always have a plan “B” to fall back on.
Once the goal setting job is over and you have an end result to achieve and a plan to get there, what happens next?
This is where many people will stop. They get lulled into thinking that the planning process is the whole process and that once the plans are laid, that’s all there is to it. Somewhere in there they forget that the planning is only the beginning and that achievement required action. The goal setter who stops here is like the gardener who plants his seeds but doesn’t water them or clear away the weeds and then wonders why nothing is growing.
The goal tender, on the other hand, is just getting warmed up. Armed with a goal, a plan and the positive attitude that nothing is going to stand in the way of success, the goal tender is ready to care for the dream until it becomes a reality.
Being a goal tender means that no matter what happens, you won’t give up on your goals. Think of a goal tender on a sports team. Their goal is to keep the negative energy (ie. the other team) from penetrating their scoring area so that their team has the best chance at success. In that same way you, as the keeper or tender of your goals, must keep the obstacles out of the way to give yourself the best chance of achieving your goals.
Part of being a goal tender requires being flexible. Sometimes you may have to change direction and revamp your plans along the way. And sometimes, no matter what you do, your best laid plans will fail. At that point you may need to reassess the end result and see if your goal is achievable in its original form.
The nice thing about goals is that they are living things and are not set in stone. Nurturing them and allowing them to grow organically will give you the best results. As a goal tender your job is to care for them and give them the love and room they need to grow.
So which are you — a goal setter or a goal tender?
