Goals Part 2 Process

You’ve named your goal, decided on an appropriate action step and are about to take that step.

Congratulations!? Today is an auspicious day!

Taking action, any action, is the beginning of your journey from Point A (your current situation) to Point B (your goal).

Process is the active part of reaching a goal.?

Moving forward means you literally have to DO something. ?

You can’t think your way to achieving your goal.

Process is rather simple: you take a step, evaluate if you’ve moved closer to your goal, take another step, then another, pause to assess again and repeat until you reach your goal.

While process is simple, your journey to your goal is most assuredly NOT.

Here are 2 aspects of process which are often overlooked:

1.???? Change

2.???? Unintended Consequences

Learning more about these 2 aspects may help you better deal with the curveballs which WILL happen during your journey.

People set goals to fulfill desires, hopes and dreams.? If you haven’t accomplished your goal before, you’re moving into the unknown.?

As you reach and stretch and grow, each movement forward changes you a little.?

Most goals require many, many steps so as you continue acting, all those little changes eventually add up to big ones.?

During your journey to your goal, you may or may not notice you’re changing.

Often people in your life may give you feedback (usually uninvited, sometimes loud and not always positive feedback) on how you’re changing.

The changes which happen to you during your journey may be permanent or fleeting, that is your choice.

Most people fear undergoing change since change is inherently unpredictable.

Understanding that change is and always will be part of the process of achieving goals may help you deal with changes a bit more.? While you may not be able to anticipate what kinds of changes will happen or when, you now know change will be part of your process.?

Unintended consequences are by-products of moving towards your goal and are part of your process as you step forward.? ?

I define unintended consequences as the unexpected secondary results occurring as you continue to act.

Here’s an example:

You set a goal to be fitter.? You decide an appropriate action step to take is attending a weekly class at your local gym.

One possible unintended consequence could be:

You meet someone in your class who becomes a friend.? You’re now attending class regularly to see your friend, strengthening your commitment to class and expanding your social circle.?

Another possibility:

You like the class so much, you want to learn to teach the class.?

Yet another possibility:

You hear someone in class talking about an upcoming 5K and you decide to register for the race and start training.

On your way to your original goal of “getting fitter”, you’re also becoming a “regular gym goer” or a “fitness instructor” or a “runner”. ??

You’ve added new labels to your self-identity and a few secondary goals.?

From these secondary goals, other unintended consequences may occur.?

For instance, to support your new idea of running a 5K, you may decide to:

·?????? evaluate your nutrition

·?????? ?join a running club

·?????? research running routes in your neighborhood

·?????? create a training schedule

Working towards your original goal can create any number of unintended consequences.

Unintended consequences may both excite you and scare the pants off you.? They can also distract you from your original goal so beware.?

No need to panic, though, about unintended consequences.? Think of them as new possibilities.

Whether you choose to pursue the possibility or not is entirely up to you.?

In the previous example, you may decide to postpone learning how to teach the class or decide not to run the race.

Remember, not acting is a choice.? ?

When faced with an unintended consequence, you can pause and consider whether you want to explore a new possibility now, table it for the future or outright eliminate it for whatever reason.

Taking time to make a conscious decision gives you power.

Unintended consequences are by-products of process and are part of your journey to your goal.?

Like change, unintended consequences create new self-identities and new possibilities.

And as you continue to move forward, even more possibilities will present themselves.

Are you ready?