How to Set Goals Like Goldilocks
Remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? It’s the inspiration for our discussion today about setting goals.
Click the player to listen to this episode of The BIGG Success Show Podcast. Below is a summary.
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Setting goals can be tricky. Like Goldilocks, looking for the right bowl of porridge, you want to create goals that are neither too high nor too low … you want goals that are just right.
Let’s go to The Professor’s whiteboard to see how to set goals like Goldilocks.
Don’t set goals that are too high
When you reach a goal, you build self-confidence. If you rarely obtain your goals, you don’t feel that sense of accomplishment. Soon, you’ll get discouraged. For many, that means not setting goals at all.
People who think like an entrepreneur tend to set BIGG goals. The problem is that your goal may require you to allocate your limited resources to too many places. As a result, you’re likely to fall short of your BIGG goal, and other things may start falling by the wayside too.
For example you wanted to grow your business nationwide, but you aren’t making enough revenue with local sales, so you aren’t bringing in the dollars you need for advertising. So now you aren’t going to achieve your BIGG goal and you are missing some basic benchmarks. It’s a dominoes effect.
If you tend to set goals that are too high …
Set a goal just like you’ve always done it. Now, cut it in half … or double the time you assume it will take to reach it! You get to pick!
See how it goes. If it’s too easy to accomplish, don’t cut it so much next time (or don’t extend the time as far). If it’s still too hard, cut it even more next time. Eventually, you’ll learn to set goals that are achievable.
Don’t set goals that are too low
When it’s too easy to reach a goal, there’s no excitement in it. Successful people often say the journey is more thrilling than the actual accomplishment. If your goals don’t require you to stretch, you quickly get bored with them. But there could be another consequence too.
Here’s a timely example. Let’s say you have a very successful business and you set a goal of growing 3% next year, which in year out, that’s about what we can expect the economy to grow. It’s a low goal, but if you grow at a rate less than the inflation rate, then you’re actually getting behind.
So if you set a goal of growing 3%, and the inflation rate is 5%, you’re actually decreasing sales by 2%. You don’t want that. Your sales will show a 3% increase, but the problem is that inflation is kind of a hidden tax on your revenue, and that’s going to eat away at your gains.
The whole point here is you’ve got to set goals that aren’t so low, that they are actually undercutting your efforts.
If you tend to set goals that are too low …
Once again, set goals just like you have in the past. Now, increase it by ten percent … or make the date for achieving it ten percent earlier. It’s your choice!
Then review when you reach your goal or the date passes. Did it still seem too easy? If so, adjust the goal or the time frame even more next time. If it’s too hard now, don’t increase it so much next time. You’ll find the right process for you through experimentation.
Set goals that are just right
Like Goldilocks, you want to find what’s just right for you. Set goals that are achievable, yet challenging – goals that require realistic personal growth, given your time frame and resources. It leads to BIGG success.
George “The Professor” & Mary-Lynn
Co-Founders, BIGG Success
Direct link to The BIGG Success Show audio file | podcast:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/biggsuccess/01083-120621.mp3
