People avoid making plans and setting goals for all sorts of reasons. There is, though, in my experience a recurring reason. Some take the view that once you’ve set the plan in motion or started working towards your goal, you have to see it through. And this will lead to one of two outcomes; success or failure. Success is great and people fear the failure. Fearing the failure stops the plans. Without plans and goals, we simply drift, which is hardly a sign of success. So, what if there’s another way? What changes now when you discover that there’s far more than just success and failure?
You can make a plan or set a goal in good faith. It’s what you want and you start to take action. Consequently, you get new information. Information gives you new options. And by having additional information and increased options, you may realise that want you wanted was OK, and now you’re aware of something better. Therefore, it is perfectly fine to change your mind, amend you plan, refocus your goal, and change direction. Indeed, it would almost be madness to pursue one option while at the same time knowing that there is a better, more appealing, more exciting choice.
The other thing to consider is that there are not two outcomes. Firstly, there are four very obvious ones, with millions of variations in between. Let me explain. You make the plan, you set the goal, and you get what you want. Great! Alternatively, you make the plan, you set the goal, and you get what you want. And it’s disappointing. It’s not what you thought it would be. It’s that “Mona Lisa moment”.
Some years ago, I was in Paris for the day. We decided on the day to see the Mona Lisa. There wasn’t time to see anything else in the Louvre. A trek through the museum and there it was. Small. A packed room. Nothing special. And yet we achieved the goal.
The flip side is that you get something other than what you wanted. It’s disappointing. Failure. Except NLP tells us that there is no failure, only feedback. No consolation, though, when you’ve put time and energy into making it happen. It is, though, possible that you get something other than what you wanted, and it’s actually better than the original plan or goal. If it’s not better, you have the realisation of all that you have done and learned and experienced. That, you realise, is really rather awesome.
So, make the plan. Set the goal. Take steps to make it happen. Enjoy the progress. Embed the learning. Live the experience. Change your mind as you learn and grow. Be prepared for unexpected outcomes. Everything is better than sitting doing nothing. Stuck. At effect.
If you can do it, do it now. If you’re not sure, book a free consultation here, and then take the next step. You know that you can do it, and you know that it makes sense, don’t you?
