172 / KNOWING YOURSELF
Setting goals
Examining your ambitions
Getting a clear view of your ambitions is
not quite as easy as it seems. First, you
may have arrived where you are more by
chance than by design and it can be hard
to avoid being influenced by your current
situation. So, if you are working in sales,
you may not look beyond a future in
which you progress through the ranks
to become sales manager and then sales
director. Second, you will have family ties
or other responsibilities that limit your
freedom to follow your dreams. Third,
your “ideal” job will change over time
as you develop skills and experience.
Looking at the future
There are many ways to systematically
look at your career and life goals. Some
prefer to work with a coach—an objective,
sympathetic, and experienced person
who can help identify directions for
progress. Others favor less formal
consultation with their colleagues or
peers, but it is equally valid to work
through the options on your own. Indeed,
the question is so central that it is worth
applying more than one approach and
repeating the analysis from time to time
as your circumstances change.
Visualizing the way
Visualization is a technique that can help
you clarify your goals. Set aside some
time to sit undisturbed and relaxed.
Picture yourself at various points in the
future, say in three, five, and ten years’
time. Think graphically and generate
images of your ideal world, asking
yourself questions such as:
•
Where will I be living?
•
What job will I have?
•
What type of organization
will I be working in?
•
Will I own and be running my
own business?
•
What will I be doing on a daily basis?
•
Will I have a team working
for me or will I be a specialist?
•
Will I be commuting or working
from home, perhaps?
•
What will my interests be?
Work takes up a large chunk of your life, so job satisfaction is important.
Achieving it doesn’t necessarily mean changing jobs, it could just be a
matter of broadening your existing role. Knowing what you enjoy and
want to achieve will help ensure you’re in the right job. If you’re in the
right job, you’re more likely to succeed at what you do.
of people in one survey
admitted that they
lacked a goal in life
80%
Think graphically and generate
images of your ideal world
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SETTING GOALS / 173
Note down your thoughts and assess
the picture that emerges against fixed
constraints, such as your obligations
to your family.
Now reflect on the results. How can
you work toward being where you would
like to be? This process is not intended to
make you dissatisfied with your present
circumstances, but to open your eyes
to new possibilities.
THINK BIG
Reach for the sky—it is
important to dream before
you do a reality check.
Tip
How to discover what
is important to you
Take five adhesive notes.
Write on each adhesive note
something you currently
enjoy at work, for example
“managing my team.”
Take another five adhesive
notes in a different color.
Write on each adhesive note
something you would like
to do, but currently do not,
for example “travel.”
Arrange all of the adhesive
notes on the wall in order
of priority.
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