When I went to my first real estate seminar, I learned TONS of information, left excited about the future and all that I could accomplish. Somehow, over the next few months, the daily routine got in the way and I didn’t manage to implement all that I needed for success.
I remember attending a fantastic church retreat - went home with the feeling that I was on the mountaintop. By the middle of the next week, however, I was pretty far down in the valley, wondering where that mountaintop feeling had gone.
You have probably had a similar experience - perhaps a sales presentation, brainstorming group or some other event - where you leave all fired up and ready to change your life. You’ve even made the commitment, perhaps signed a piece of paper to proclaim the changes you will make, the successes you will have. Somewhere along the way your resolve dissolves.
Do you wonder why this happens? The grand changes to which we commit seem to dissolve and we go back to the way we were. Maybe it was New Year’s Eve the last time you envisioned a great change. I remember looking forward to New Years Eve every year because I just knew that I would change some things in my life that would make me successful… or wealthy… or thinner… or…
Many times I told myself “This time I will do it and nothing will stop me.” Fad diets, new jobs, family routines - I could go on listing the things that most of us have tried in the quest to change our lives, only to find that a short time later we have slipped back into the same old routines. The very routines that prevent those changes we look forward to.
Our past efforts and failures can keep us in locked into the old routines. We try really hard, meet with resistance and sometimes push through, only to give up a short time later because of a smaller obstacle. It’s no wonder that, as we get older, we don’t step out and try really great things. It’s too risky; we have tried before and, more often than not, have missed the goal.
I’m not saying don’t make resolutions. I’m not saying don’t make commitments to change. What I AM saying is to recognize the difference between a vision and a goal. The end results I would like to achieve are how I envision my life. That’s what I come away from the seminar with. That’s what I dream of at the retreat. It’s the vision that I can see in my mind’s eye - that eventually becomes a discouragement because it seems so far away.
The commitment I make, however, must be smaller than the vision; it must be a smaller goal that will take me a step closer to the vision. If the change I envision looks like it could be a reality six months in the future, I should commit to specific goals in each of the six months to move towards the vision. When the commitment is achievable in a short amount of time, the vision remains a motivation and doesn’t become a discouragement. For instance:
It’s New Year’s Eve and I have made a resolution to lose 20 pounds. Not a good resolution.
It’s New Year’s Eve and I have made a resolution to lose 20 pounds during the coming year. I am going to achieve this by losing 1 1/2 pounds each month and I am committing to walk for 15 minutes a day, at least three days a week. Good resolution.
I’m not overwhelmed by the 20 pound weight loss, in fact, losing 1 1/2 pounds a month seems like a piece of cake! Okay, maybe not cake. Walking 15 minutes, three days a week seems pretty simple, too.
The point is, dreaming the big picture is good but dreaming AND committing to small goals that lead to the vision is better.
As always, I welcome your feedback.
Tags: Commitment, Goals
