Goal Setting and achieving those Goals is more than just creating the Goal and putting a date on it. The Goal is the easy part. The hard part is in the execution, in how we achieve that Goal. You see, no matter what not all Goals will be achieved without setbacks or something getting in the way. It’s rare that a Goal will be achieved smoothly with little standing in its way. In fact, if it does happen, you probably didn’t set your Goal high enough.
So what can we do about it when we run into an obstacle? Especially if the same one keeps popping up? Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. When working toward our Goals, we MUST remain flexible. We have to be able to adjust and change things on the fly if necessary. It doesn’t mean we have to be so flexible we change our Goals at the drop of a hat. It does mean that we need to be flexible on how we achieve them and sometimes when. Obstacles that appear in our path, especially ones we didn’t expect, take time to handle.
There are a few things to keep in mind and do.
First, what’s the nature of the obstacle? Is it a person, a thing, timing or is something missing that you need? Most of the time if it’s a thing, a timing issue or you need something you don’t have; it’s relatively easy to deal with that. When it’s a person that’s your obstacle, it gets a little trickier. You have to approach the person that’s throwing up the road blocks carefully, so they don’t get to be even more of an obstacle for you. Usually a simple approach works best where you explain the issue and ask for their help. If that doesn’t work, you can either try to work around that person or make some changes to your plan. Not the Goal necessarily, but the plan to achieve it.
Second, how big of an impact is this obstacle? If it’s minor, then the solution might as simple as ignoring it or plowing right through it. The larger it gets though, the more you have to account for it in your planning and the execution of those plans. You might have to go around it or remove it entirely and that’s going to slow you down if you didn’t allow some time in your plans for such things.
Third, is this a good obstacle or a bad one? Yes. Some obstacles can be good to encounter. They can make you pause and re-evaluate what you’re doing and where you’re headed. Not all of our plans will work and not all are ones we should actually do. We can make plans that lead us down the wrong path or don’t do what they should. Encountering an obstacle lets us look at the plan from a different perspective. What’s causing the obstacle? The plan or something else? Maybe the obstacle is really an opportunity for something better, only in disguise.
We should never take an obstacle at face value. It’s always a good idea to examine it from all sides, which doesn’t have to take a long time to do. When we keep these three things in mind when examining the obstacle, we might find not only a better way, but a faster way or even a better Goal.
