Action Achieves Goals

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by Dale Stuemke

The third part of our study of the word change takes us to A, for action. This is pretty obvious, isn't it? You've identified a goal. The way you've been living hasn't been taking you toward it. You're willing to change, to take action. What now?

Let's say I want to drive from Austin, Texas to Dallas to visit my son. I have a goal, to visit my son. Saturday morning comes, and I get the lawn mower out and mow the lawn. The shrubs need attention, so I spend an hour or two doing some pruning. I really need to sweep the patios; they're messy with leaves again. There's another hour. Now I spray some weeds, blow the lawn clippings off the driveway, check my email, and just generally stay busy all day long.

I hope my son wasn't fixing dinner for me. It's 5:30 in the afternoon, and I'm still in Austin! But, I've been busy taking actions all day long. Why haven't I reached my goal? It doesn't take all day to drive to Dallas!

Maybe I should amend the title of this article. Action achieves goals if it's the right action. You probably picked up on that half way through my Saturday's activities.

You are setting a course to achieve your goal. What is it going to take to get there? You need to have a course of action established that will succeed. If you want to drive to Dallas, you need to know what roads to take. You should fill the gasoline tank on the car. If your goal includes being in Dallas at a specific time, you need to leave early enough that you can meet that.

I don't know what your goal is, but I know the action plan you put in place must be consistent with your goal. Remember the article on getting help? We looked at how important it is to get help from someone who has already succeeded at achieving a goal like yours or can educate you on how to do it. This person will help you establish an action plan.

What should you include in your action plan? Here's a list of six things:

1. Clearly identify where you are right now.
2. Clearly identify what you need to accomplish to put yourself at your goal.
3. Establish action plans to move you toward your goal in a step-by-step manner.
4. Establish how you will track your accountability to your action plan. You must follow the plan closely or you won't know whether it's working.
5. Take measurements along the way. Measure how accurately you are following your plan; then measure the progress you are making toward your goal. If either of these is more important, it's the first part!
6. Based on these measurements, decide whether you need to adjust the plan. Adjust if you need to; otherwise, just continue on the established plan.

That is a simple way to establish your action plan. Now you can take actions, the correct actions, to achieve your goal. You'll be checking the sign posts and mileage markers along the way. You will make progress toward your goal!

I'm a husband, father, and grandfather. I couldn't have dreamed of the life I've lived. I've learned that dreams and goals are achieved with a good plan, focused effort, good mentorship, and commitment. Humans are designed to be achievers. Visualizing the future and setting and achieving goals to make it a reality is uniquely human! I'm still dreaming my future into existence and setting goals to make it happen. Visit: Launch Your Goals Blog

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