How Clear Is Your Intention?

2 weeks ago I had a conversation about goal setting with another agent. During a class in October she was asked to write down what she wanted to accomplish by the end of the first quarter. We were celebrating her having achieved those things.

Admittedly, I waffle on goal setting. I like the idea of it, but feel that it has the potential to be counter productive.

But the idea of short-term goals intrigued me.

My general issue with goals that are a year or more out is that they leave you in this no mans land of “am I going to make it or not” for so long that it’s easy to give up.

Short term goals however:

• Require a shorter burst of energy. You can’t function at 100% every day. But short bursts of energy and concentration are possible and more engaging.
• Provide faster feedback. The problem with a 1 year goal is that you have to wait an entire year to know if what you are doing will work. You don’t have to be obsessed with instant gratification to know that most people are not going to make it that long. Short term goals provide faster feedback allowing you to course correct along the way, giving you a greater chance of reaching the long term goal.
• They force you to focus. This is the best part of short-term goals. With long-range planning we tend to clutter our list with too many options. Condensing the timeframe forces you to pare things down.

Gary and I had a conversation about this over the weekend. I asked him: if he could only accomplish one goal in the next 30 days what would it be? He pretty quickly came up with one clear answer.

I, on the other hand, had a tough time. I think I came up with 8. First it was deciding which area of my life I should focus on: health, business, financial, relationship? If I had one goal in each category would that still count as one goal? I’m not sure if I set the goal properly so I should probably have back up goal in each category.

It surprised me that I had such a difficult time with the exercise. It actually took me a few days to narrow it down to one goal.

Why is this?

Fear of loss. If I don’t focus on something it will not get done and I’ll fall further behind. I have to also admit to being an over achiever. I tend to think that I can get more done than than is realistic.

My intention is great, but it doesn’t always match my actions because time becomes a factor.

Reality check: Currently nothing is getting done, so focusing on one thing for 30 days actually puts you further ahead, not behind.

Case in point: For the last few years I have been focusing on building a training company to help agents with their business and also doing real estate. While I was making progress it was slow going. I constantly felt scattered and strapped for time.

Last year I made the decision to focus my efforts on real estate. To narrow the focus. Yes, I still do some training, but it’s mostly local. I’m not traveling all over the place right now to teach. The result, I doubled my real estate business last year.

It requires a mindset focused on clear intention.

Scattered intention feels frustrating, draining and like you are stuck in a cul de sac going round and round with no way out.

Clear intention feels exciting, invigorating and powerful.

I invite you to do some spring cleaning on your intentions this next week and narrow it down. Know that by letting go of some and focusing on others you actually make it easier to move forward on all of them.

To your success!
Nicole

PS: If you need some help clarifying your goals and rejuvenating your business, the next round of the mentorship group starts April 14th. Here’s the link with more information and to get started.