When Is A Goal “High-Impact”?

For those of us motivated to succeed, excel, and thrive, to continue on a growth path that leads to greater personal mastery and a more deeply purposeful life–I’m speaking to us today.

If you’ve listened to me for very long, you know that one thing I talk a lot about is creating and achieving high-impact goals.  This is what I specialize in as I work with people, but even if you never personally work with me, I want you to understand this idea.

So today, we’re getting back to basics.  Let’s take a minute and consider what a high-impact goal is, and if you’re actually pursuing any yourself.

I won’t spend time talking about preliminary matters, such as what a goal is, but I will say that most people (yes, MOST people) never have actual goals, they only get as far as having WISHES.  Go read more about this here.

Let’s get to the heart of the matter:  what makes a goal a HIGH-IMPACT goal?

You can decide this for yourself.  However, as I’ve pondered this, and reflected on my work with many awesome clients as well as reflected on my own life, I’ve come up with three ways that a goal is “high-impact”.

A goal is high impact if, after achieving it, there is a meaningful increase in one or more of the following:

1-FREEDOM

2-SATISFACTION

3-EXCELLENCE

These three categories are packed with meaning.  I won’t give an exhaustive explanation, but here’s a bit of elaboration.

Freedom=

  • greater ability to be your authentic self, and not trying to keep others happy with your game-playing “false self”
  • giving up trying to control others, and re-focusing instead on controlling yourself (which is all you can ever control anyway)
  • getting free from others that try to control you
  • getting free from things that control you
  • getting free from ways you sabotage yourself and keep yourself in “bondage”
  • other ideas?

Satisfaction=

  • includes greater contentment, happiness, and fulfillment
  • your inner state of greater well-being (that flows into your actions, behaviors, and how you interact with the world)
  • other ideas?

Excellence=

  • improving how you live and work
  • development of greater skill
  • development of greater mastery
  • getting better at how you do something
  • growing internally–your character
  • other ideas?

Obviously you could add to these three lists.  And, you may have your own categories that make a goal “high-impact” for you.

This is what I’ve come up with, and I offer it to you as you think through your goals.  

One important caveat:  every goal doesn’t need to be high-impact, but if you’re trying to grow, advance, and progress, getting yourself to the “next level”, then you absolutely NEED some high-impact goals somewhere in the mix.

Even if it’s only one.  In fact, that’s my challenge to you.

Create ONE high-impact goal for yourself, if you don’t already have one.  

Then develop a simple plan to get there.

Here’s the deal:  this is one of the few things that has the potential to break you out of your status quo existence, giving you the fuel and momentum to rocket your life forward.

Don’t minimize the power of creating and achieving your high-impact goal.

I wish you all the best as you continue growing and progressing, and as always, keep me posted on your progress!

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