Goal Setting Series Part 2: The Key to Follow Through

In my previous post, I gave an introduction to the Goal Setting Series and talked about why it's important to determine the 3-5 steps that you'll have to complete to achieve your goal. Today I'd like to talk about follow through.

Lack of follow through is one of the hallmarks of adult ADD. If you're like most ADD business owners, then you've got tons of "goals" floating around your head, but rarely start (and even more rarely complete) any of them.

There is a difference between a goal that is worth pursuing because it will have an immediate or sizable effect on your business, and a goal that would simply be nice to achieve. When time and resources are limited, stick to the goals that will make the biggest difference. Then, to ensure follow through, take some time to connect to your goal. Ask yourself, Why do I want to achieve this goal? What's in it for me? What's in it for my business?

Business owners, like all adults with ADD, get caught up in "shoulds." The result is that you choose goals that aren't really that important to you simply because you feel like you don't measure up. For example, you might read an article that suggests creating a blog to reach out to potential clients and customers. If you then feel like you should create a blog, simply because the article says so, you've set a difficult goal for yourself. There's nothing to connect to.

On the other hand, if your clients and customers have a strong online presence and you know that you can reach more of them with a blog, then you have a goal that you can connect to in an emotional way: You want to start the blog to reach out to your potential clients and customers. Sales will increase in the business, and you'll feel good about personally connecting to the people you serve.

Once you connect to your personal reasons for wanting to achieve the goal, you can continually use this as motivation for follow through.

Next, we'll continue to explore the concept of following through on goals by discussing the measurement and tracking of goals.

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Comments

[steve]

Is that why I am constantly jumping on different things? because my emotions of excitement or bordem are causing my in-attentiveness? Do I need a special structure and routine everyday, maybe very hour, to remind myself of what my emotional connection to a goal is, so i feel more excited to do it?

sometimes i work hard at something because i feel inspired (emotion) to get it done. other times i want recognition from others for doing it (emotion again), but if something is not going well, i either pursue it to the point of perfection (when i should have given it a rest and tried something else), or i give up and never return to it. I hate these extremes.

but now i can try this strategy - to determine my emotional connection to a goal, and when i am not working toward it, then remind myself of the emotional connection and see if that motivates me to get back in the game.