Jan Richards

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What do you do about a goal you forgot…or have been resisting?

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Are you finding, as you build momentum in this new year, that there is a goal you “forgot”?

It can happen.

It may be a goal that:

– You hoped you could, and others would, forget about.

– Was something you never wanted to do, but knew you needed to.

– Was buried, day by day, as more immediate issues got in the way.

If there’s a goal like this for you as we move farther into 2022:

1. Decide if this forgotten goal is something you still want to achieve.

Sometimes there’s a goal we hope to get to, but it’s big enough that we just don’t grasp quite how to begin to tackle it, much less know how to completely meet it.

At other times, the forgotten goal may be one you once had, but have now outgrown or, for other reasons, no longer hold.

2. If this is a goal you still want, get excited about it again.

Maybe there are great benefits to getting this work done which you haven’t focused on fully yet.

Take some time to imagine you’ve achieved the goal. Experience that feeling of victory in its full glory…all the sights, sounds, and elation.

Also imagine the process of getting there. See yourself rising above each challenge that may crop up along the path.

3. Accept it if this is something you have to achieve, whether you want to or not.

This may be a “should” or “must” that you still have to carry forward.

If so, accept it (easy to say, but hard to do…I know that from experience). And get moving.

There is a lot of power in acceptance. The energy you’ve spent running away can be used in far better ways. You may, and probably will, find that you’ve met your goal far more quickly than you expected, once you’ve buckled down and gotten the work done.

Suddenly, the goal will be met, and the burden will have been lifted, as well.

4. Increase your dissatisfaction with the status quo.

This is the opposite of getting excited about a goal you still want to achieve.

To get to the point of action, sometimes we have to wait until we’re really ready to let go of the past. And, well, sometimes that takes a lot of unhappiness with the status quo. We have to be far more ready to go than to stay in the situation we currently find ourselves in.

How can you increase your dissatisfaction with your current situation, making you less willing to tolerate the status quo?

5. Take your big goal and turn it into a series of smaller, more accessible and achievable goals.

Put those smaller goals on your calendar and work to achieve each of those, one by one.

You’ll create a steady stream of achievements, which has far more benefits than you might realize now.

Are you really change-ready?

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You may think you’re ready for change — until you get up to the starting line and the action is about to start.

And when you do – much like standing at the starting line of an important race – that’s no time to find out you’re unprepared, or that you really don’t want to make the change, at all.

Change isn’t easy, no matter what type of change you’re making (or being asked to make), and no matter who else is involved.

But change works out far better if you’re ready for it – and all the twists and turns it can bring.

It works better, too, if you seek change, rather than to be caught reluctantly by it.

Better still is change you yearn for.

And best of all is if you’re driven enough to accomplish the change you seek to make and are so driven that you can unquestionably move over, around, or through any barriers you find that could stand in the way of the success you’re trying to create with that change.

Change, of course, comes in many forms.

We all know from experience that not all change is change we welcome.

Here are just a few of the types of major change that you may face at some time, and ways that you can adapt to them:

1. Change can be thrust upon us by life circumstances.

A lot of the process of change requires acceptance (which is, by the way, far from a passive state and sometimes a state that not easily arrived at). Adaptability is also essential. And sometimes figuring out ways to “make do” for a while is required, too.

These are not experiences that dreams are made of. They are, however, sometimes the stuff that heroic stories are made of.

And like it or not, these experiences can be some of the ones that toughen us up most and make us strong, ready for even greater challenges of other types, later in life.

2. Great change may happen serendipitously.

For example, let’s say you have an interesting opportunity, and decide to take it. An interesting experience occurs, as a result.

You notice that you liked the experience, and decide to repeat the experience or experiment.

An interesting path starts to unfold.

Through these types of gradual change experiences, career interests or passions are sometimes discovered, new skills are developed, opportunities emerge, and rewarding relationships often emerge, too.

3. Change that you yearn for is the change that dreams are often made of.

If these changes are really big ones, they often take hard work and careful planning, skill development, and coordination with other people.

These changes are often driven by a very powerful and compelling vision you hold of the outcome you seek.

Whatever the change you face, to the degree you can be, it’s best if you’re ready for the race and challenge of change.

But that’s not possible in every case.

And no matter what happens, or why change occurs, you can’t anticipate and plan for all twists and turns, opportunities, challenges, and differences ahead that will emerge, no matter what type of change has arrived.

Change doesn’t have to buckle you to your knees, nor does it have to overwhelm you, even if it is the type you didn’t seek.

Change is a fact of life. Being change-ready and change-responsive — if it’s not yet one of your strengths — is a skill you’ll be glad to have when you have achieved it.

What’s the first step to success? (It’s probably not what you think it is…)

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Imagine you’re starting the work to meet a big, compelling goal.

You’re eager to move RIGHT NOW beyond the way things are to the much better circumstance you wish you had.

You strategize, plan and get ready to dive right in.

But have you already skipped the very first step?

That’s the step of understanding your starting point, as it really is.

All too often I see companies and teams who want to get to work, assuming away challenges they don’t want to think about fully.

They jump into action, ready to move forward from a point far beyond where they really are.

Ultimately, they have to go back and lay the foundation they didn’t really have in place yet.

The cautionary advice from their experience is that if you don’t:

– Diagnose your situation correctly

– Make sure you and your team are pointed in the same direction

– Know how you’ll work together as a group to reach your mutual goal

Then, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll:

– Waste precious resources (money, time, attention, energy and goodwill, to name just a few)

– Find that those precious resources, once gone, may be impossible to get again

Try these four key steps to understand your real starting point:

1. Be clear about what you really want.

Sometimes people (and companies and teams) know full well what they don’t want.

They already have some version of that.

But they’re not so sure what they DO want, instead.

Get the picture of your destination as clear as you can.

Describe it in detail, in a way that everyone will recognize it as you work toward it, and will also recognize it when you get there.

Otherwise?

Well, you’d be surprised how different the destination may be that each person…despite everyone’s best intentions…may be driving to reach.

Do you doubt that that’s possible?

Just think, then, how many variations there are of the concept of “The Perfect Vacation,” even in one family or group of friends.

One person could envision a lazy, sunny beach vacation with plenty of umbrella drinks, while another may be thinking that the perfect way to spend time off is to scale Mt. Everest.

Big disagreements can occur on the basis of important assumptions that have not been aired, and then verified or clarified.

Get clear on your shared destination.

2. If it’s a problem you’re solving, be clear about what the problem is.

Describe the situation.

Then gather the facts.

This may confirm your impression about what’s going on. Or, it may adjust it…making the problem bigger, or smaller, than you initially expected.

In some circumstances, it may show you that there’s really no problem to solve, at all, if you’ve been operating under false impressions.

In other words, facts matter. Gather and assess them.

3. Be clear about where you really are, before the work begins.

As mentioned, sometimes a leader assumes that the people on his or her team have more — or less — knowledge, skill, or confidence than it turns out that they really do.

Other circumstances may be far different from what you expect, as well, as work begins.

Know what your starting point really is to understand the gap you have to close between aspirations (yours, and/or your customers’ aspirations) and reality.

Fully understand the resources you have or can get, and the contraints within which you must try to achieve success.

Know, for example, what other high-priority projects are underway, and are competing for the same resources that you hope to steer your team’s way.

4. Make and communicate your action plan to close the gap.

Create an action plan that makes best use of the resources you have, and can get for this team or project.

Plan the most logical, strategic, and realistic series of actions likely to take you from where you are to the situation you desire.

Plan, also, how you will monitor and measure progress.

Follow up regularly to ensure that you’re moving ahead.

Whatever your starting point is, whatever gap you have to fill, know that fully understanding and accepting the current situation is an essential first step to success.

Welcome!

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sixteen-nine

I’m glad you’re here

This is a quick “Hello, and welcome!” message for now.

I’m very glad you’re here, and look forward to getting to know you, and helping you and your team succeed.

The path to the top of a project, a change, or an improvement for your team, your business, or yourself can sometimes feel a bit like a mountain climb.

And for that climb, sometimes it’s best, and leads most readily to success, if you have a mentor/guide, training, or periodically, an experienced sounding board to help you cover new and challenging ground.

Let me know what you most need and want to help you be successful

I’ll be listening and observing closely to understand what will help you the most.

I’ll also be creating a free content library. I’ll let you know when you can sign up for free membership to access the free ebooks and other resources there. Sign up on my email list now to be among the first to know when the free content library is ready.

I’m also creating online training for you, starting with the Strategic Visioning class. I’ll be adding many more classes over the next few years, as I see and hear what would be most helpful.

In the meantime, I can help you now as an implementation advisor. I’ll have a page ready for you to learn more about that service, and to sign up for it, if that sounds like what you need now.

Thanks and, again, welcome.