“What’s Your Everest?”
I was totally inspired by the recent Everest summit made by Ben Fogle and his challenge to us all “to find our Everest”, whatever that might be. Two years of preparation, setback after setback (losing your training partner, horrendous weather conditions, stories of other teams in trouble, failing oxygen equipment), the sacrifice of being away from home and yet the doggedness and determination to achieve something few of us even dream of.
It made me consider what my challenges are and how determined I might be to achieve these.
And what about you, what are your current goals? What do you dream of? What keeps you awake at night?
A great coaching tool I use to explore this whole theme of goal setting is the psychometric tool, the Opportunity Orientation Profile, provided by www.tmsdi.com. One of the tool’s five insightful indicators is Moving Towards Goals Energy – the amount of energy an individual puts into setting and achieving goals.
For some, goal setting is a strong driver. Setting and striving towards a new goal is a hugely important motivator. Once one goal has been achieved, they immediately consider the next challenge. As C.S. Lewis proposed:
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
So, how important are goals in your life? How frequently do you set yourself new goals? How often do you consider where you are heading and what you might achieve?
Despite setbacks and challenges, many individuals have the resilience to achieve their goals. Their faith in themselves, their commitment and doggedness to achieve, ultimately brings them the success they are striving for. How would you describe your levels of resilience, your bounce-back-ability? What do you do to keep on track?
For others, clarity around the goal remains elusive. The ability to define the goal or target and what they might be looking for and seeking is missing. How far can you describe to me your next goal? How clear is the goal to you? Are you able to put your goal into words? As Earl Nightingale stated:
“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going. It’s as simple as that!”
And for others, the determination to continue when setbacks are encountered, is lacking. Some quickly resign themselves to a plan not working out for them, for “the stars being against them”, for “it not being my time right now”. How important is this goal to you? How committed are you to meet this goal? What effort are you willing to put in to achieve it? When setbacks arise, how determined are you to persevere and stay true to this goal? What sacrifices are you prepared to make?
The coaching conversation is hugely helpful here to support individuals to consider what their aims and ambitions are, to explore how they might develop resilience and determination to continue.
Interesting, just in the news this week was the announcement from Chris Evans, presenter of Europe’s most-listened to breakfast radio show, that he wanted to “find his new mountain”, find his next challenge and leave BBC Radio Two. The same metaphors, the same meaning, certainly a week of challenge and ambition!
“What’s your Everest?”
- Own your goal. It’s your goal. Let it be part of you – your personal goal.
- It must be in line with your life ambitions and values to keep you motivated.
- Discipline yourself to achieve this goal. Have a plan. A goal without a plan is just a wish.
- Keep moving towards it, even with small steps.
- Celebrate the successes!