Too Many High-Level Goals?

Hmmmm? Too many goals? What’s wrong with having a bunch of high-level to-dos that you want to achieve? Well, really, nothing at all. Nothing’s wrong with being “extra” in the goal-mining realm. Personally, I think it’s great to aspire to see dreams-turned-reality. It makes for a life of optimism, growth, and betterment.

Just think how boring life would be if we didn’t have anything (important to us) to pursue or work for? Seems like we’d be stagnant in the “Life Improvement” category. I mean . . . it’d be like we were just going in slow-mo with our day-to-day — in a timeless rut of not doing much of anything to further the advancement of the “personal development” movement.

So, having a smorgasbord of achievements to accomplish is nothing to balk at. It keeps life from getting on the mundane side . . . keeps it from getting stale . . . from getting goalless.

HOWEVER.

Having so many of those high-level things you want to achieve (at the same time) can, oftentimes, work against your forward-moving intentions of GETTING THINGS DONE. It’s the weirdest phenomenon. Believe me, because I’m experiencing it right now.

Oh, and don’t tell me YOU haven’t experienced the “having so much you want to do that you end up pausing and momentarily doing none of it” block. Or, maybe you haven’t. And that’s awesome if you haven’t — to date. But, let me enlighten you on the experience, so you won’t be blindsided if it happens to come knocking on your goal-minded door.

For me, these little “ruts” come on in brief sessions. Because quite frankly, I don’t have time to entertain them for very long. Too much to do and life ain’t goin’ on pause while I get over my little stuck-in-the-mud episodes. I eventually brush the dried-up mud off and get things goaling again.

I just need to take some of these momentary breathers from time to time. Taking time to reflect on what direction to take with some of the most monumental moves I desire to make in life.

And, I’m not talking about those continuous to-dos we consider our regular daily routines that keep our households running. I’m talking about those high-level goals that aren’t of your everyday variety and can change the course of how your household looks currently. The kind of goals that will not only affect you but those in your circle of influence.

So, since our minds can occasionally work overtime and not allow us to rest even when we’re trying to finally go to sleep at night (or in the wee hours of the morning), then it’s time to take a minute to mind dump the overwhelm with too many goals.

We have to. Having too many competing high-level goals on the mind has to be managed in a healthy way, or we’re just going to stay stuck doing nothing. And furthermore, we’re going to lack appropriate sleep and peace of mind until we figure out what to do about it.

My experience has been one in which I’ve decided to do a mixture of reflection and planning to come up with a viable solution on how to return to goal-pursing status once again. And usually, my time of reflection and planning can span anywhere from days to several weeks. (It’s different for each person.)

Here’s where I pivot from talking about “me” or “we” to addressing you:

My “two cents” advice is as follows: take as much time as YOU need to make sure you are focusing on those high-level goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) enough for your attention, first of all. Then, you want to narrow down your pursuits to less than a handful — maybe only one to three to work on at a time. Depending on the goal, one may be enough to concentrate on until you either get the goal got or it’s well on its way to accomplishment before starting on another high-level goal.

Base the high-level goal(s) you start on first according to level of importance (needs over wants), time-sensitivity (urgent over non-urgent), and level of value-added contribution (positive impact) to your life and the lives of those around you.

And by all means, don’t rush through this reflection and planning period. If it takes a little pause (or a lot of pause) in active goaling, that’s okay. Honestly, you’re still in the game on the whole Goal-Achievement Process when you’re planning, believe it or not. Goal setting/planning is all a part of reaching the goalpost.

Remember: the mindset is where the action draws from. So, get your plan in order first. Make it make sense to you. Your mental acceptance (mindset) of the plan must be on point when you get after these high-level goals, or you’re not going to achieve them. It’s as simple as that.

In fact, the distractions and challenges aren’t going to magically disappear while you’re hot on your goal pursuit, so the mind needs to be ALL IN. Just know that the plan your mind concocts will be your guiding light when dark times come. A lot of times, game-winners (goal winners) come by mental strength, not by brute force.

So . . .

Embrace the rut, the “stuck in the mud” temporary periods you have in life, and use them to your advantage to get the mind right. That mind is what will cultivate the necessary reflection and planning periods leading to all the doable and impactful action you’re about to take in the very near future.