Many people can think ahead three, five or maybe even ten years, and talk about what they hope their life will look like at that point. Some will also have a specific business or personal long term goal. Even fewer though, will have a plan as to how they will achieve those goals.
Why does this occur? Why do people become less confident with their action plans? It is as if they have put all their eggs into one basket and then start praying that they don’t drop or lose the basket. Why do so many people follow this high-risk strategy?
The challenge lies in the action planning. There is never just one way of achieving something. People become set in their ways of how they can achieve their long term goals that they put on their blinkers, dig in their heels and convince themselves that the one plan they have come up with is the only way to achieve their end goal.
Picture yourself taking a road trip to your favourite beach holiday home. On the way you encounter road works and unfortunately a detour. It will add 30 minutes to your trip, but you will still get to the holiday house, just a bit later than expected.
This above example is the reality of the situation and what actually happens with goal setting and planning the way forward. The holiday home is your end goal and the road route is your plan. Sometimes there will be detours and roadblocks in the road, but there will always be an alternative route. You just have to be open to the idea of looking for alternatives and accepting that deviations do occur.
The slippery slope to becoming unsuccessful in achieving the end goal starts when people refuse to see alternatives. They get stuck at the road block and instead of following the detour route they wait, expecting the roadblock to magically disappear so they can continue on the set route.
By becoming so set in your ways and believing in only one route you can prevent yourself from ever achieving your goal. That’s why people often give up quickly. The first plan didn’t work, so they convince themselves that they have failed and the long term goal goes back to being a beautiful dream of something they would like to have, but deep down feel they will never achieve.
Reviewing different plans or routes is not a sign of failure, it is a sign of being comfortable with change and being open to alternative thinking. Those are the traits of successful people. Its not just about the plan.
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