So, we've reached February. We are 1/12th of the way through the year and I'm curious to know how you are progressing. You probably had grand ideas dancing in your head at New Year's. You could see how great the upcoming year was going to be. These ideas brought you optimism and happiness. This year will be your year. Most of us create these lofty goals to help motivate us for the forthcoming year and we end up not accomplishing as much as we hoped.
Are you setting yourself up to win?
The best way to make your dreams a reality is to have one major goal and then it all comes down to how you support this big goal with smaller goals. Now that we are a month into the new year...what have you accomplished and are you on track?
I've revealed my goals on this website before and I've worked hard at accomplishing all of them. I do this to show you my successes and failures. Oh, what failures there have been! The fact is that working happy is not about always getting everything you want out of your career. No career is perfect; in fact most careers can be very frustrating if you only worry about your accomplishments.
The idea is to create supporting goals that bring you closer to your gigantic goal, so even if this grand goal doesn't happen at least you can see progress through your smaller goals.
Supporting Goals
You need to have one major dream and supporting goals to make this plan happen. I can't just walk into a business and tell them that I'm an expert on work happiness. I have to prove myself. I do this with my blog, research, networking and putting a Work Happy Now book/program together. I live and breathe work happiness. It's a bit of an obsession and I know Nikki would like me to have a little more balance, but as Guy V likes to say, "You have to be everywhere." It takes time to be everywhere. As I have built these resources, every emotion has burst out of me. When you are passionate about what you do you expect to accomplish a lot of goals (sometimes too many).
I've yelled at my computer screen plenty of times. I'm practicing at using these experiences to improve my emotional development. Sometimes we need to scream (at the computer screen, not at a co-worker) to get every last drop of frustration out. After a good scream or growl I refocus my thoughts on what I'm learning from the experience.
Some of my goals that have come to fruition:
- A new website design.
- On the radar of many business owners and bloggers.
- Consistent content on this site.
- Start a program on helping people become happier at work.
- Finish an eBook for my audience who subscribes to my blog - Work Happy the Google Way. It was published on this site in PDF form on January 7th.
Goals I missed:
- 500 RSS by the end of the year
o I'm over halfway there which I'm still proud of after only 1 year.
- Completing a book/program on Work Happiness.
o Running a blog takes more time than it looks. It's not an excuse, I'm just letting you know where my time has gone.
- Speak to one company about work happiness.
o Hasn't happened yet, but it will real soon.
My goal for this year is to complete my program and have it available by the end of the summer. I want to use that program to support my speaking career. After 2 years of research I'm ready to help companies improve their employee's happiness and productivity.
By doing this I will solidify myself as an expert in work happiness. I know that I already am, but to those of you who need more proof it will be in the book/program.
Your Major Dream
So you have a big dream. You are working hard to make it happen, which is awesome, but you have to let go of bad business practices. I've made so many mistakes in the past year. As I try to build my blog, I've learned that Digg doesn't help me. My content doesn't resonate with the readership. I've spent countless hours (over 100) trying to get Digg to send me a lot of traffic and failed.
I could go on with the list of mistakes I've made, but what matters is that I've adjusted. I still work a full time job, so my time is limited. I have to pick a few support goals to make my big goal a reality. Instead of spending time on social media, I've limited myself to just connecting with people on Twitter and Facebook. I'm also writing guest posts, contacting businesses and bloggers every week and trying to write the best darn content on this blog.
You've got to have support goals to make your big dream a reality. These support goals have to be well understood so you don't deviate from your big dream.
I'm ADD enhanced which means that I bounce from idea to idea. I used to bounce from idea to unrelated idea. I lacked focus. Now when I bounce to a new idea that doesn't help my big dream, I take notes and save it for later. I get back to what will make my dream a reality. At times it hurts to reign in my enthusiasm, but it's the only way my dream will become a reality - consistently directing my focus and putting myself on the right track to get noticed.
You can also be putting yourself out there in front of the right co-workers, creating a blog, and building the brand that is you. The only way for your dreams to come true is to know exactly what your dream is and start building one small goal at a time, until it adds up to your dream. It's not easy and to be honest it can be quite painful, but it's a good hurt. You know the type of hurt you have after you have exercised for hours and you can barely move a muscle the next day. There will be days when you feel you can't go on and when this happens, take a break. Step back, make sure you are heading in the right direction and then do something totally unrelated and fun. When I take a little time to relax, my dream always pulls me back like a tractor beam. No one can fight what the heart wants.
What is one major goal that you've always wanted to accomplish? I'm talking the big one. What would you love to do that would make you so excited that it would make you pee your pants just a little if it came to fruition?
If you liked this article I can sense that you will like these too:
I think the thing you're really showing here is that it's not the achievement.
It's the pursuit.
The more I study success, the more I'm convinced it's a numbers game and it's about getting put to bat. Couple that with giving your best where you've got your best to give and you have a life-long recipe for success.
I have a very successful life. My biggest accomplishment (over my career by far) is my wonderful, balanced family. I am so proud of our two children, the people they have chosen to share life, and of course, a long, positive marriage with a wonderful man. You are getting ready to bring a new life into the world. You don't know yet, but this will change your life forever. It changed mine. I was a very focused career person before my first child was born. I became a completely different person with different goals at that time - it all became about family (the collective). Balance is key when you are juggling family, career and your own life. Making a realistic list and focusing on one thing at a time has helped me over the years. It has helped me become super efficient and able to accomplish many things at the same time.
I love this quote I read on the wall of my chiropractor's office:
Success is a journey, not a destination.
It's all the steps in between that count, because if you're not taking them, you'll never reach your destination.
My two big ones:
Pitch my book idea to an agent/publisher and they LOVE the idea. I'm working on it now.
Submit my community TV show/videos for national TV syndication. Submission was supposed to happen last year, but I thought my stuff "wasn't good enough". This year, for sure. I realized it doesn't have to be "good enough" it just has to "Be". And it is!
Good luck with all of your goals!
Well I have 3 big dreams this year - and I'm going to try and pull them all off, at the expense of minor ones:
1) Finish 1st draft of 2nd novel
2) Get my latest website earning $$$s
3) Start/continue in L.T.R.
(Which is my #1 I'm not sure. Lol)
Minor goals include
1) Stretching myself by going on a stand-up comedy course (I am *no* comedian!)
2) Completing several fell races (I run on-road at the moment)
3) Start to learn how to play Double Bass.
Yes, I think it's 'getting started' that's the most important thing with happiness, goal-setting etc.
Thanks for the interest blog post
Steve
I think you're doing great here, Karl! I love the message that comes across in your words, and I think it fits so well the idea of "working happy". The thing isn't that we meet all of our goals - it's that we're working toward them.
My big goal: to write a book. And I've started down that road (ever so slowly). I'm talking with someone who's been through it before, who is willing to help me get going - and is a big cheerleader in support of what I'm doing. I've faltered in that I haven't spent enough time really starting to write the book - to get it out of my head. And being here today reminds me I need to give this more focus.
Thanks for this. And good luck to you in achieving all your dreams!
Hi J.D., I agree that's it's about how often we try. We also have to make sure to stay focused and not fraction our attention to goals that won't help the big goal. Otherwise we just end up paddling in circles instead of getting some where.
Hi LA, Balance is the key. Many people let work take away time from their loved ones. They want to spend time with family and work, but don't know how to balance them. It's about knowing what is most important to us so we can focus our time and energy on those people, when we are with them, and projects, when we are doing them, without feeling guilty.
Hi Stacey, those are some awesome goals. It's about being our true selves and not worrying about how good it is or isn't. We just need to deliver value.
Hi Steve, making money off a blog isn't easy. I've been thinking and researching how to make Work Happy Now a money generator, but haven't implemented anything yet. Good luck with your book too. Let us know how it's coming along.
Hi Lance, looks like a lot of bloggers want to write a book. I guess when you have writing in your blood it's a hard goal to resist. I know you have a great book in you. I look forward to reviewing it on this blog.
Hi Karl
As always, you are so open.
For me, I am moving along in the general direction. Actually, I've achieved quite a bit in some areas, and quite a little in others. Perhaps I should be more regimented about my goals, but, somehow that never happens.
Juliet
Hey Karl- sounds like a pretty good year. I can vouch that a blog takes MUCH more time than it seems at first. I probably work 80 hours a week, and I never seem to get anything done, but having a blast so no complaints!
I think we all should write a book- there is at least one in all of us.
Major- Sustain myself and family through self employment ventures while making a positive difference in everyone's life I touch.
PS- 1 more RSS to get you closer to your goal. Thanks Karl!
Karl, I am really impressed with your share. I think you have done the great things which were not carried out by most of people. You did plan, action and reviewed all of your progress. I am also impressed with the share about your failures. Many people didn't dare to admit them.
I can learn many from your experience. Thank you, Karl.
"Oh, what failures there have been!" Thank goodness it's not just me! Your idea that the big dream is the one that has a tractor beam seemingly fixed on you really resonates with me. I do need to put a lot more thought into the small goals that will lead to that tractor beam goal. I've been more of a "throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks" kind of person, which is great for a hobby. For a big goal, not so much.
Hi Jay, it looks like we have very similar goals. It's all about having a blast. The more fun work is the more successful a person will be.
Hi Arswino, admitting wins and failures is what keeps me balanced. I actually try to celebrate both. I try not to think of any experience as negative (this is tough at times) because every moment can help add to our lives.
Hi Sara, we all fail big. When we put ourselves out there we are going to make big mistakes. You have to do what's best for you. If "throwing stuff up on the wall" method works then keep going with it. You have a great blog and growing audience, that's a great accomplishment.
Hi Juliet, like Sara, just try to work within yourself. If you try to get too regimented you'll end up taking the fun out of the process.
My resolution this year is to listen to my heart more intimately, instead of my ego, which is where negativity and regret are bread. Having this simple big-picture dream has allowed me to gear my goals in the right direction. For instance, I am finally fulfilling a lifetime goal of developing a band with my sister and making it top priority in my life. After several music degrees, I feel I am finally making good use of what I have learned over the years, and doing with it what feels right, not what I think I SHOULD do.
Thanks for the great post and encouragement, Karl. It prompted me to revisit my resolution once again.
Larissa
I had my big goal accomplished last year, pay off all debt >6%. I have to re evaluate and come up with a new one. Most of my new goals focus on my blog and dating. hmm.
-Nate
There is so much good in this post, but I can't say anything about those things. My mind just wants to focus on this little statement at the end of your post. Thanks for the laugh tonight Karl.
"What would you love to do that would make you so excited that it would make you pee your pants just a little if it came to fruition?"