Goal Setting and Accountability

A long time ago, a friend of mine suggested to me an exercise: writing down a list of 100 things that I wanted, just for me. It was a lot harder to fill that list of 100 things that I expected, but it did make me really think and really have to put into words some of my dreams and desires (from the trivial such as “getting a pedicure” to the deeper and more sincere). But as Heather mentioned in our first workshop Personal and Professional Goal Setting, these are not goals, they are simply dreams and desires.

I have found great pleasure in the fact that over time, I have been able to check off some of those things on my list (law of attraction? See Lisa’s post), including getting that much needed pedicure J. What really struck me about Heather’s discussion, though, was the idea of having new goals in mind when you have achieved what you originally set out to achieve. I know that I haven’t replaced those list items, and so it got me wondering – have I really set any specific, measurable goals, and have I thought of what to do to replace the things I have achieved, in order to look forward to more great things?

I sat down, set my alarm for an hour, and created a new list. A lot of things on the list are still just dreams and desires, because I don’t feel able to set a time limit (for various reasons I won’t go into here), but what I did find is that I created a lot more specific goals with measurables and deadlines and it felt really good.

Now that I have taken that more specific step, I think my next concern is who to ask to be my accountability partner. I agree with Heather that family or others close to you are perhaps not the best people to ask, but at the same time, I do feel that with something so personal, I want to “report” to someone who understands and knows me, and who can not only check that I have “done my homework” so to speak, but who can guide and encourage me. This is perhaps my first and most important goal for now – finding an accountability partner who fits.

Perhaps our next workshop (on Tuesday the 20^th) on building a professional network will help reveal that partner? After all, I have put it out there, and added it to my list, so here’s hoping it works!

Geraldine

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