Success Is Specific

By Author: Brent Riggs
Total Articles: 22
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A lot of people pride themselves in "shooting from the hip" and "living for the moment". They wear their lack of goals, plans, and schedule as a badge of freedom. If you peel the badge back, what you'll probably find is a lack of discipline, a lack of focus, and lack of any real objective for each day.

If that's the life for you, that's cool... but if you have goals, ambitions, or achievement in mind, "shooting from the hip" is rarely a successful strategy. Neither are vague or broad objectives like "I want to make a lot of money" or "I want to be spiritually disciplined".

You need specific goals, specific plans, and specific objectives if you want to be able to determine what needs to be done to accomplish them. Specificity motivates us to take action because it gives us a clear picture of the reward and makes the attainment of it believable. Specific objectives provide a framework for tangible, specific action.

For example, if I say, "I want to grow spiritually by helping the needy for one hour a week," then I can do exactly what is needed to accomplish that goal because the goal is realistic, measurable, ...
... and specific.

Specific goals should be written down on paper so that they can be reviewed regularly. If we fail to commit them to writing, the goals often become fuzzy or forgotten. Written specific goals help us to focus sharply on whatever action items are needed to be taken.

Goals also need to be measurable. "I would like to make another $400 a month," or "I want to become more spiritual by giving 5% of my income to charity," or "I desire to be a better father to my kids, so I'm going to spend at least one hour a day playing with them," are all examples of goals that can be measured. Specific, measurable goals are ones that can be achieved.

Another important thing to remember regarding goals is that the goals you set must be YOURS. Don't fall prey to setting goals in order to appease others. Your goals must be something you are passionately invested in or they won't keep your attention for long.

Also, your specific objectives should be realistic. I can have a specific goal to play professional basketball, but trust me, it AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN. Your specific objectives must be realistic and attainable.

I don't want you to rush by this concept too quickly. At times, I hear "I want to become a millionaire in 6 months." Specific? Yes. Realistic? That depends on a lot of factors. "I would like to lose 100 pounds in 4 months." Specific, definitely, but realistic? Probably not gonna happen. Then there's "I want to lose 4 pounds a week." That's getting closer�difficult, but realistic.

Make sure your goals are compatible with each other. You can't set a goal to build a business, coach a little league team, train for a triathlon, and get your Master's degree all at the same time. You have to be realistic about how your specific objectives fit together in a master plan.

Lastly, make sure to put dates and times on your goals. This will assure a sense of urgency that will lead to action. Take the time to regularly assess your progress along the way. Setting up these "mile-markers" will show you if you are behind schedule or not. If you are, then you are able to adjust your intensity level to catch up or even get ahead.

There are appropriate times to "shoot from the hip" in life, but if you desire to get ahead, gain financial freedom, a well-balanced life, and spiritual fulfillment, this care-free method of approaching life will not lead you where you want to go. You need specific, realistic goals with timelines to get you on the path to successful life management.