Setting goals: what to do when you don't feel like doing anything.

It was Robert Collier who correctly asserted “success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.” All of the little actions that you partake in daily are not so little when you come to realize that the sum of those actions becomes your life, that when you add up all of the things that you do, what you are presented with is your life. Therefore, as Jill Tibbels claims “it takes a commitment from you, to you, that you’re going to reach your goals.” She’s right. Tibbels explains that there is a “fairly serious reality gap between what we tell others we do and what we really do.” This is an important realization to have if you are entering the world of small business owners because it is up to you to always keep in mind the actions and the consequences of your actions. Are you furthering your business? Are you making things more difficult on yourself? Are you leaving it stagnant? In order to “help you see what activity you are really doing,” Tibbels suggests “you work on only four goals a week.” The four goals can be anything you need to accomplish, but should be things that you can set your sights on throughout the week. They should be goals that can help refocus your attention, can help narrow down and prioritize tasks. “These goals can change from week to week, but with all of the other demands on your time, four goals a week is usually workable.” Keeping these goals visible is also important. Tibbels notes that “you want to keep these four goals written in front of you daily.” Give yourself the opportunity to check in with your goals, to check in with your progress. “When you accomplish small, daily goals, you will reach the big, long range goals.” When it comes to small businesses especially, all of the little tasks end up being incredibly important in the long run and it can be easy to get caught up in them. They are equally as important as the long range goals, but they cannot overshadow the long range goals. It is vital that you keep them all in perspective. “You will accomplish much in life by doing the small daily steps necessary to make the goal a reality,” but it is also important to keep the bigger tasks on your horizon at the front of your mind. More than just setting goals and reaching for them, Tibbels asserts that it is a methodical process in reaching your goals. You have to be ready and you have to take the steps yourself to be ready. “To reach your goals, you need to get in shape physically, mentally and spiritually.” If you are distracted by other people, by a body that is ill or by anything, really, it can be difficult to achieve your goals. Intense focus and dedication are required as a small business owner and so it is important to keep the vessel that is delivering that intense focus and dedication on a straight and healthy path. “After all, we are physical, mental and spiritual. We need to deal with all of these natures.” However, there are times when these goals we set for ourselves cannot be met. It is in these times that we discover who we really are. “How you handle the disappointments in life will determine, to a large degree, how you will reach the success in your goals.” Disappointments prove to be far greater of a sign in future successes than the little goals met along the way. Tibbels reminds us to “understand in life there will be times when you are discouraged and lose heart.” There are definitely going to be days when that alarm clock goes off that make you want to roll over and go back to bed. Days when facing work, facing reality, is just not what you want to do. However, it is “when that happens [that] character and commitment take over.” You have to let yourself be led by your commitments rather than by your feelings. “There have been numerous occasions when all of us did not feel like doing what we needed to do. But because we’d made a commitment to the job, we dragged ourselves out of bed and went to the assignment. After we took those initial steps, many times we ended up feeling like doing the job.” Success does not just fall into the laps of people. Success is constantly fought for. Success is a dynamic term, it means different things at different times for different people. In order to truly be a successful business owner, a successful friend, a successful person… you must be willing to work on reaching your success, on staying devoted to your commitments no matter the circumstance. “The point is that motivation follows action, not vice-versa. When you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, the time will come when you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them.”