You achieve your goals – then what?

I revisit this theme occasionally, because it is a recurring problem for many of us. I wrote about this last in 2006.

Almost every one of us has a set of goals we are working toward. The more
carefully the goals are defined, the more likelihood we will achieve
the goals. When they are achieved, then it’s time to move on and reinvent ourselves.

The big problem with goals or business plans, is that they
may be based on a short-term horizon, like a couple of years. Those few
years can fly by and your life or your business begins to flounder and
you don’t know why. It may be because you have overrun your goals. All of your plans were directed to getting to a certain point with no thought as to what would happen afterwards.

For example, the girl who plans to "get married" has to reinvent
herself as a wife once the ceremony is over. The student who is dead
set on graduating at all costs has to reinvent himself as an employed
person once graduation is over. If they don’t do this they are in for trouble.

You only get what you intend and most of us shy away from plans that
extend too far into the future. As a result, we make plans for the next
two or three years and concentrate on getting through life without too
much collateral damage. When our goals are achieved, we can find it very
difficult to refocus our efforts on a more distant set of goals. It generally requires us to reinvent ourselves.

Is that something you are prepared to do?

Reinventing yourself rejuvenates you and gives you new activities to
focus on. It is the best way to master a constantly changing world.

Take a look at the plans you have for your life. How many of them
extend past the next five years? How many of them take into account that you have situations
in your life that will change drastically in the next five years? How many of them take into account
that most of you will not be working at the same company five years
from now?

Open your mind to the possibility that desirable opportunities await
you if changes can be made in your skills and in your
knowledge. Embrace the idea that reinventing yourself is a step
forward, not a retreat from failure.

If your business plan has run out
of gas, it’s time to write a new one which will carry your further.
Don’t bewail the fact that your hard-won goals are being rendered
worthless by time or circumstance. Reinvent
yourself as the person who can solve your problems.

Remember, there is no rest point in life. There is only motion.
Things get better when you do the necessary actions to make
improvements in your life. Otherwise, they get worse. There is no other
alternative.

Wishing you success in your next reinvention.

This entry was posted in Possibly Helpful Advice and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

0 Responses to You achieve your goals – then what?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

+ thirty nine = forty eight

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.