Have you ever planned a trip? If so, than you probably experienced the joy and elation of picking your future destination. But the honeymoon is usually short lived as you then have to begin planning it.
Just like planning a trip, setting new goals can be a fun and joyful thing. But the planning stage can be mentally exhausting and sometimes hard to navigate. What 3 tips can you use to reach your goals?
1.) CHALLENGE YOURSELF
When you are reaching for your goal, you need to challenge yourself to push past your comfort zone and as well as plan to surpass your goal. Let's take Steph Curry as an example. If you have ever seen his practice videos, you might be impressed because he is practicing things that don't really come up in any game. When will he ever need to dribble with 2 basketballs in a game? When will he ever dribble a basketball while simultaneously passing a tennis ball? When will he ever have giant bands holding him back as he drives or makes a dribble move?
His practice is a good example in principle to follow, because he trains past game scenarios. He doesn't make it easy on himself and you shouldn't either. By challenging yourself to go beyond the actual goal you have set for yourself, you are ensuring that you will not only reach your goal, but probably crush it. But be prepared to move past goals and set new ones while your wrapping up the old ones.
2.) FIND A GUIDE
Before taking a trip you likely looked at reviews or heard some anecdotal information regarding your destination. People will tell you the things they saw and their personal assessment of the location in question. But who's analysis would you trust more, a first time visitor or a local guide?
When reaching for goals, you need to spend some effort finding a guide who can show you the way. And you likely want the best right? An exhaustive search of Google could yield some information about the life and the methods of those that have achieved success in reaching whatever goal you have outlined. Now I am not suggesting that you simply imitate their tradecraft and routines, but rather the principles that govern their actions. This will yield higher results than looking at every detail of their life and mimicking everything they do.
For example, I take cello lessons 2 times a week. Once with Sarah Holdstadt (Sarah Joy) and Steve Martin. During my lessons with them they always found ways to help me conceptualize what I wanted to accomplish. They would re-frame questions and create exercises as well as mini goals to help me understand key concepts. They never suggested that I should play exactly like them. In fact, I don't think that's entirely possible, or at least it isn't for me. But to get to the stage they were at, I needed to adopt the same mental attitudes and problem solving skills that they had acquired over the years. Without their help, I don't think I would be any good at cello to this day, no joke. Here is a clip of me playing Click Here
Now here is a word of caution: As you imitate the examples of others avoid being dis-genuine to core values like: love, empathy, joy, contentment, peace, patience, courage and humility. If you note that your guide doesn't exhibit these traits, they may not be the person to help you reach your next level. Toxic people rub off on you and you don't want to acquire a new skill with a whole host of character flaws.
Also, when you select your guide, don't be afraid to acknowledge their contributions to your growth and honor them for that. But only take away the essentials or the things that you need to achieve your goals. Everything else you can leave on the floor.
3.) DO IT OFTEN, THEN DO IT SOME MORE
Trip planning can be as one dimensional as you like it to be. You can literally look at a map, highlight the easiest route to take, then pack and leave. It could be that simple, but likely it isn't. The bigger the trip, the more time is needed to ensure that everything will run smoothly. And chances are, you don't just sit down once and think it over. It could take weeks to plan a big trip!
Now your goals are probably a little bigger in the grand scheme of things than just taking a trip, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the goal you would like to achieve is to take a tour of the Grand Canyon or see Paris. Whatever the goal though, you need to spend time carving out how to get there. It's not a one stop drop and you are good to go. You need to revisit and think your way towards the top of your goals.
I listed the other two tips before this because once you have a working model of the challenges you should be setting for yourself as well as the guides that help you to get there, begin honing your craft regularly and with passion. This means spending time towards reaching your goal daily if possible.
Are you currently binging on a Netflix? Turn it off, save it in the queue and start trying to achieve your goals. Are you playing on your cell phone the latest Candy Crush EXTREME? (I don't know if thats a thing or not.) Put it down and start honing your craft. Practice, practice, and practice some more. To get to the top of a mountain like Everest, you don't just try it once and reach the top. You have to spend huge amounts of time climbing and building your abilities as a climber before you can reach those heights. If you want to achieve any goal, you have to spend time doing what you can to accomplish it, then doing it again. Rinse and repeat my friends.
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