9:16pm, Feb 12.
My birthday is in less than 3 hours and I feel full of emotions. I am grateful to God for how far I have come. I also look forward to the wonderful things that I am set to achieve. Lami is most grateful for life, purpose, and direction.
Feb 13
As I am about to start a new year, I want to talk to you about setting goals. A goal is the desired state you want to be in after doing certain activities over a period of time. This tells you that a goal is time-bound and that it constitutes small successes that all add up to an ultimate one. Finally, your goal needs to be yours. You can’t achieve someone else’s goals, neither can they achieve yours. Your goal is the projection of your future. This is why it needs your absolute focus.
The thing is that many of us find this difficult to keep our eyes on ourselves. An obvious reason these days is social media. If you have managed to shut out the noise on social media, good for you! For others, however, I understand the distractions. This person was just promoted. Another person relocated. Another just completed an amazing project. You are happy for them but can’t help to feel like you are not doing enough. Let me ask you these questions, though. Did you know when they started, though? Can you guess how much time they put in to gain such successes? I don’t think you can. I also don’t think that you need to think about that. What you should do it to focus on yourself.
If you don’t, you may end up fueling yourself with jealousy. You begin to covet what they have. Envy grows and you become a bitter mess. I don’t want that for you. So, I need you to let your eyes be only on yourself. You have so much potential. You do, trust me. The fact that you feel pressured that you are not doing enough (after seeing how well others are doing) shows that you have a growth mindset. Well, kinda (the growth mindset will become positive when it is focused on you being the best version of yourself, not the better version of others).
The trick to setting goals that will keep your eyes on you is to know the reasons for those goals. For me, my goals are targeted at achieving my purpose in life. I will talk about how to find your purpose someday. Other reasons could be your future plans or academic desires. It could also be that you just want something. All are absolutely fine. Don’t lose sight of the reason. Now, how do you set a goal? I deal with writing too, so get your pen-paper/laptop ready. Your goal can’t be in your head.
- It’s Yours. Write down the coolest outcome of that goal. For example, if it is to get a job, the coolest outcome would be that you will get a job at your dream company with your dream pay. We don’t limit ourselves here. Be realistic, though. Is it something that can actually happen? For example, we know that “become a billionaire in 2 weeks” isn’t something quite achievable if you don’t already have 900 million.
- Baby steps. Next, make a list of all that will be involved in achieving that goal. E.g., the name of the company/ies (of course), the position you want, a CV, a cover letter, some experience/training, etc.
- Babier baby steps. Pick each item and get an idea of what you need to do about them. For example, you need to read about the company/ies. You need some information about the duties involved in role you are after. For the CV, you need to actually know how to write one. Make them as bite-sized as possible
- At this point, atom steps. Arrange the needs of each activity (from step 2: “baby steps”) in chronological order. What do you need to do first, and what do you need to do last? At this point, I should pause and tell you, “Yes, you can reiterate at ANY point. You’re not at war with yourself” ?
- Time is essential. I would say that this is kinda the most important step. However, when not used well, it can mar your plans. How does it work well? You account for every time spent, especially deadlines missed. Don’t be lying to yourself like you’re going to get into trouble or something ?. How does it not work well? You procrastinate or set an unrealistic time for any item. To make your goal time-bound, assign a timeframe for the completion of the goal. Let’s say three months. Now, take the items from step 4: “atom steps” and assign a time and day to them within your three months timeline. Include this in your daily to-do list, and you are good to go.
You may want to review the activities relating to your goal once in a while. This is because you may begin to learn new things as you proceed. Let me be Nigerian and say that when you are busy with your business, you won’t see other businesses to mind. I am rooting for you!
If you did not already know, I like to consult text, audio, and video materials to gain knowledge. Here are some resources that helped me with this article (and setting my goals for the year):
- How to design your life in 2022
- How to design your life
- Last, but not least: How to plan your best year ever in 2021
This is 500 words (or more ?)! Talk to you tomorrow!