As you might be aware, I teach A LOT about goal achieving. . . . not JUST goal achieving, actually, but learning how to permanently raise yourself to that place in life where you deserve to be.
So, more than “goal achieving” you’re “growth achieving!”
So many people think that setting goals is all about GETTING STUFF … a promotion, a new car, a bigger house, a bank full of gold bricks, the love of your life. Yes, this can all be achieved, but the real reason we have goals is to stretch and GROW into a new place of living and being.
When you set big goals for yourself and then take action (as best you know how, which is all that can be expected), this causes you to draw something out of yourself that you didn’t even know was there! You begin to understand how much power you have in the choices for the course of your life.
Most people think a goal is for soccer or football
Oddly enough, if you were to walk down the street and ask a passerby, they wouldn’t be able to tell you their goal. You’d be amazed at how many people coast through life without setting any goals for themselves. And, if they were able to put voice to something, they usually don’t have the specifics down. They haven’t thought it out or visualized it in detail.
“In the absence of clearly-defined goals,
we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia,
until we ultimately become enslaved by it.”
– Robert Heinlein
When it comes to goal achieving, you must . . .
Get VERY specific and VERY visual in order to see this goal cross the finish line. This is why I stress writing it down on a goal card that you keep with you all day long and refer to frequently through the day.
You want to spend time writing it each day, even saying it out loud as an affirmation in your mirror.
And you want to picture it in living detail as if it’s already accomplished. This is key.
Now, I get to all of these Goal Activation Steps in any of the classes I teach, whether it be my monthly members’ platform, Navigating Your Way to Millions for people who are ready to create and receive much greater abundance in their lives … or my yearly Marketing Alchemy Academy for entrepreneurs who want hands-on help from me and my team for an entire year … or my soon-to-launch powerful Lead the Field 3-month program where you truly take action in becoming the leader of your own life.
But what’s even more important and priority beyond all those steps
is understanding what kind of goal to set.
A, B or C … what’s the difference?
So, let’s take a closer look at the three types of goals.
A-Type Goals stand for “Already Done”
An “A” goal is something you know you can easily reach because you already know how to do it. There are cells of recognition already in your mind. “A” Goals just keep you moving sideways. You’re not required to grow or stretch beyond an inch or two.
Take for example … you want to buy a house. You purchased a house awhile back, but now you want a slightly larger house. OK, so it might require a slightly larger down payment (no big deal) but you already know how to buy a house. Now, if you were going from a starter home in suburbia and decided you wanted a castle in Ireland, that might be more of a “B” or “C” goal, but little goals that require little stretch are really not goals at all. They’re simply “Already Done” tasks on your to do list.
A real goal is about doing something you’ve never done before. A lot of people think they’ve landed in this category by setting a “B” goal, so let’s explore what that’s all about.
B-Type Goals stand for “Blah”
B-type goals are those kinds of goals you set that seem like a stretch … BUT you think you can chart a path to its achievement. You’re pretty sure you can gather or access the resources you need to make this B goal a reality.
As an example, back in March 2020 when the pandemic hit, I decided it was finally time to create my own website – the one you see here at DianeArmitage.com. This was something I had thought about for a long time and had stalled on for an equally as long time!
Yes, it took focused effort to create the blueprint of what I wanted. Yes, I had to create all the written content. And yes, I had to get a programming team involved. But, fact is, I’ve been writing websites (including 5 others of my own) for 30 years, and I have my own programming team that has created more than 500 websites with me.
Yes, it as great to accomplish it. But this was pretty much an “A” goal with a little bit of stretch.
If YOU decided to create your own website for a new venture or idea, you basically just need to contact me! ONE CALL and you’ve got the brand identity, color palette, logo, website content, website design and even the attachment of a blog or e-commerce cart or membership platform DONE. Yes, it’s a great move in a great direction, but you already know the resources are at the ready.
If you really cared, they’d already BE in your life
I often refer to B-type goals as “BORING” or BLAH” goals because they’re not inspired goals. Basically, you’re thinking, “If I put this resource here and if I pull this resource in, and if I maybe move money from here to there, I can accomplish this.”
Many of my clients will set B-type goals and, then, eventually, just let them fall to the wayside, far from achieved. This is where you look back at the resolutions you made last year … and the year before … and the year before …and you’re still carrying forward those one or two items that you didn’t accomplish the year before.
WHY? Because you just don’t care enough about really achieving them. They SOUND nice. They may even LOOK nice in your life if they were ever to become a result. But if you were inspired and passionate about them, they’d already BE in your life.
“C-Type Goals stand for “Fantasy”
Long before you decide on a “C-type” goal, you have to do one thing (and do it well). You have to give yourself permission to fantasize. Let me assure you, most of the people on the planet put fantasizing away when they were about 8 years old.
We’re born into this world with an Inner Source of power that is only for expansion and expression of your greater self. Initially, we’re encouraged to use our imaginations and fantasize. We’re given coloring books with a whole lot of crayons … we’re given Lego blocks and imaginative Disney movies that encourage us to “wish upon a star.”
And then, “cold, hard reality” comes knocking. In the majority of cases, as we get older, we’re encouraged to tamp down that creative imagination and trade it, instead for a “get real” mentality … because “getting real” means we need a college education and a degree and a secure job and a pension and a marriage and 2.5 kids and … and … and.
Unbeknownst to us, we begin living a life that other people want us to live. We begin living up to their expectations.
What happened to OUR expectation, our anticipation? Well, they quietly got swept under the bed with all those coloring books and Disney movies.
People who achieve C-type goals … they’ve NEVER stopped imagining.
They never stopped coloring outside the lines. They’ve never stopped asking, “WHAT IF?” They’ve always approached their day with an inquiring mind that asks, “I wonder …”
Now, if you think you’re not that kind of person, I’m here to tell you that you’re dead wrong. You are SPIRIT, first and foremost, having a human experience. It’s not the other way around. You just need to reach under that bed, pull that creativity out, maybe dust off a few of those dust bunnies, and let your mind and heart soar again.
That’s what a “C-Type Goal” is all about. You SEE an entirely different future.
And the way you do this is by asking yourself what you REALLY want. What do you REALLY love? What do you LOVE doing? This is where your spirit, your passion and your purpose resides.
When that BIG thought burbles up, you’ll know it’s the RIGHT thought because it causes a ripple of excitement in you … and, most likely, a ripple of fear, too. THIS is the great unknown. But this is where you want to GO. This is where you feel drawn, pulled to go.
This is where you feel yourself come alive.
Don’t stop at the fantasy stage
So many people feel that ripple of fear and they immediately step back (or turn tail and run) from it. That’s the wrong direction to be going, my friend. (And it’s not going to work anyway because now that you’ve let it come t the surface, it’s not going to leave you alone. It will haunt you with its desire to bloom.)
Before you let that big idea go, push yourself into the “Theory Stage.” Start theorizing about this big idea. Start asking yourself what about your life would change … how would your life LOOK when you’re able to achieve this big fantastic idea?
Once you begin to create a realistic, already-achieved vision of this being DONE in your life, you’re progressing from the “Theory Stage” to the actual “Creation of a Goal Stage.”
NOW you have THE C-Goal.
You SEE it in your mind.
You feel your nervous system come alive.
You feel YOURSELF come alive.
Now we have something to work with! You’ve effectively raised your Unconscious Desire to Conscious Awareness.
This is where I help you stay on course … navigating and tweaking your way … all the way to your new landing place for YOU … NOT for anyone else … JUST for you … where the land of your dreams is actually something you come to stand upon.
What’s your dream, my friend?