Ready, Set, GOAL!

We dream of the future, we make a wish as we blow out our birthday candles, and we throw a lucky penny in the fountain in hopes that our beautiful and powerful desires become reality. But dreams and wishes are hopes not action. We must take specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound steps if we want to reach our dreams. We must be ready and set a S.M.A.R.T goal. 

Wise author, coach, and speaker Tony Robbins shared that “setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible” and this week learners took visible steps forward on their heroic journeys. For some learners, the simple process of identifying “what is my goal, what do I want to accomplish?” was challenge enough. For others the challenge was to flesh out all the details of what, how, when, and why. 

Learner: “I want to be a reading boss! I want to really nail every book I read!” 

Guide: “What do you need to do in order to get one step closer to being a better boss reader?” 

Learner: “I need to level up in the Bob Books over and over again until I’m done with all of them.” 

Here begins S, the specific goal of what to accomplish, the more specific the better. Next, learners make decisions for each S.M.A.R.T step—M (measurable) how will you know you’ve accomplished your goal?—-A (attainable) how can your goal be accomplished?—-R (relevant) why is it worth working hard to accomplish?—T (time-bound) when will you accomplish your goal?

Now you’re ready to take action but taking action may often feel like fighting a dragon. This week a Spark learner got super frustrated and whined “this is taking longer than I expected!” I asked her, “is it ok if it takes longer if you eventually reach your goal?” To this she thought for a moment and then her eyes sparkled “well yes, I wanted to give up, but I can’t, I’m a hero!” My heart both melted and burst with renewed strength. 

At Acton, goals are continually set daily, weekly, by session, or even annually. The process of goal setting and reaching goals is a life-long habit for heroes who want to change the world. Henry David Thoreau said it best “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”