Setting
Personal Goals L-5
Those
who deceive themselves shouldn't complain about others' deceptions.
Leaders need to
know where they are going. Before a leader can influence others,
that leader needs to get personal goals in order. It is hard to
lead if one has personal problems which get in the way.
Going in too many directions
can be a personal problem which dilutes effective leadership.
Goal setting can help lessen the directions and increase productivity
in the most important activities.
Over a long period
of time, an effective leader must be a disciplined person. Setting
personal goals is a first step toward self- discipline.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
After finishing this
module you should have a list of lifetime goals and your top three
priorities for these goals.
EXERCISE -- YOUR
LIFETIME GOALS (15 minutes):
Get several pieces
of paper, a pencil or pen, and a watch or clock with a second
hand. Set aside about fifteen minutes. Write, "What are my
lifetime goals?" at the top of the first sheet of paper.
Now, take exactly two
minutes to list answers to the question on your paper. Of necessity,
you will have to stay very general and abstract, but you should
still have time to take account of personal, family, social, career,
financial, community, and spiritual goals. Try to make your list
as all-inclusive as you can. Try to get as many goals down in
the two minutes as possible. During this listing stage you are
not committed to any of the goals that you write down, so record
whatever comes into your head.
After the first two
minutes are up, give yourself an additional two minutes to make
any changes necessary for you to feel satisfied with your statement
of goals at this early, general level.
The Second Lifetime
Question: When you list lifetime goals quickly and without
much reflection, you probably include a number of generalities
such as "happiness," "success," "achievement,"
"love," "making a contribution to society,"
and the like. You can pin point your goals better by now asking
a second question, "How would I like to spend the next three
years?" Write that question at the top of the second sheet
of paper. Again list your answers as quickly as you can for two
minutes, then take another two minutes to include whatever you
may have missed the first time around on this question.
The Third Lifetime
Question: Now, for a different perspective, write down this
third question on a third sheet of paper: "If I knew now
I would be struck dead by lightning six months from today, how
would I live until then?" (This means that you'd have only
six months to live and would have to squeeze whatever you consider
important into your dramatically reduced time on earth. Before
you start listing, assume that everything relating to your death
has been attended to. You have completed your will, bought a cemetery
plot, and the like. Your answer to the question should concentrate
on how you would live these last six months.
Working Further
On All Three Questions. Now spend an additional two minutes
(minimum) reviewing and improving your goals statements in answering
all three questions. You may spend longer if you wish.
In looking over all
three sets of answers you may have found that the answers to question
2 were an extension of question 1, and this is desirable. Some
people also find question 3 (the six- months question) a continuation
of the previous two, but others are jarred into sharp departures
from their previous plans because of the sudden realization that
their time is limited.
Now you have a list
of goals. But you have probably thought of more to do than there
is time to do it in. This lack of time creates goal conflicts.
How to Resolve Goal
Conflicts: Goal conflicts are resolved by setting priorities.
You must decide which goals are most important to you at this
time.
How to Set Lifetime
Priorities: Take your Lifetime Goals list (the first list
you wrote) in hand and spend one minute selecting your top three
goals from this list. Label the most important of these A-l. The
second most important is A-2. The third is A-3. Do the same for
your three-years list (label them B-1, B-2, and B-3), and your
six-months list (label them C-1, C-2, and C-3).
At this point, you
have nine goals culled from the three lists. To pick out the three
most important long-term goals of the nine, write on a fresh piece
of paper, "My three most important long term goals are. .
." Then write them in order: 1st, 2nd, 3rd. You have now
finished a preliminary Lifetime Goals Statement. You have zeroed
in on just what it is you want to do with your life as you see
it at this time.
This exercise only
establishes your goals as you see them today. These goals will
change. Some people like to update their goals annually (in place
of new year resolutions). Others like to do the exercise whenever
they have a major job change, lifestyle change (i.e. the youngest
family member just left for college) or whenever they are faced
with a major decision involving their lives.
After you complete
the exercise you need to put your goals in a place where you will
find them frequently. Your appointment book, bulletin board, or
billfold are likely places.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Were you surprised
at the lifetime priorities that you set?
2. Do you spend a lot
of time on activities that do not help you meet your lifetime
goals?
3. Should you cut out
some of your present activities?
4. Should you spend
more time on certain lifetime goals in the near future?
RESOURCE FOR FURTHER
STUDY
How to Get Control
of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein, Signet, 1973. |
