Self Improvement

Revealing 3 Powerful Strategies to Obliterate Obstacles

Think how much faster and farther you could go if obstacles didn’t slow you down?

What is it about our desire to set and achieve goals to improve our lives that is both compelling and frustrating?

It is compelling because we visualize the possibilities that life could be different. It could be better if only

We were in a great relationship … or

We were finally able to lose those 20 lbs. that persist in hanging on … or

We had the money to do the things we would like to be able to do … or …

Our brains are infinitely talented at creating wonderful scenarios of things that would make life better.

When that scenario becomes sufficiently appealing, that is when we decide to set a goal to achieve it.

We create a plan. We’re excited about the promised future we see dangling in front of our eyes once that goal is achieved.

Then life happens. We hit a road block. Some form of an obstacle. We are stuck. We become frustrated and disillusioned. If feels like another failure.

“Why do goals work for other people but not for me” we ask ourselves?

One reason is they have a strategy for dealing with obstacles. Knowing they have a strategy, they don’t give up in a pique of frustration and disappointment.

They pull out their favorite strategies, dust them off and apply them with the confidence that they are obstacle pulverizers.

So are you ready for 3 Powerful Strategies to Obliterate Obstacles

Strategy #1 to Obliterate Obstacles -The Power of Why

I know you have heard it 100’s of times … but before you roll your eyes …

STOP

Please consider a few things before you decide to check out on me because you have heard this all before. Goals set by most people are based on “shoulds”.

I should lost weight ….. because my clothes will fit better and I will be more comfortable meeting people.

I should exercise more …… because I will be healthier and less vulnerable to chronic illness like diabetes or high blood pressure

I should clean out the garage ….. because if I got rid of all the junk stashed there I could actually put my car in my garage

So what are the “shoulds” you have set goals around? There is always a good reason why we should do these things.

Sometimes it is because society expects us to. Sometimes it is the result of encouragement or expectation from a family member or a boss.

Sometimes it is simply our own expectation.

But is is doubtful that any of these why’s are powerful enough to propel action when we encounter obstacles.

I had 2 clients who were sisters. They had come to me for different reasons but they both wanted to learn to speak Spanish. Their story is a great example of how the power of our whys allow obstacles to stop us or how they motivate us to burst through those obstacles.

We will call the first sister the traveling sister. She loved to travel to Mexico and explore the areas less frequented by tourists. She decided that learning to speak Spanish would facilitate her adventures. Makes sense right?

We will call her sister the family sister. Family relationships and closeness were one of her core values and priorities. Her son had just become engaged to a young woman who only spoke Spanish. Her desire to learn Spanish was all about connecting with and welcoming her prospective daughter in law.

Several months later both sisters spoke Spanish. There was a significant difference in their fluency however. The traveling sister described her Spanish as the equivalent of a middle school student taking one year of Spanish.

The family sister, while not fully fluent was comfortable having conversations in Spanish with her daughter in law. She watched TV programs in Spanish, talked to her son in Spanish and I believe even listened to an occasional podcast in Spanish. When ever she felt stuck or overwhelmed she looked for another way to immerse herself in the language.

They both achieved their goal of speaking Spanish but their degree of accomplishment varied widely. Why was that? It was the power of their individual whys.

The traveling sister felt it would be nice and even helpful to speak Spanish. When she got stuck there was no passion or power driving her to move forward. If she got derailed for a few weeks it was not big deal.

On the other hand the family sister was driven to be able to converse with her prospective daughter in law as soon as possible. She was committed to embracing this young woman and making sure she felt loved and like she was a part of the family. Her why was directly tied to a core value.

When we hear about goals we frequently hear about the power of why. The traveling sister had a very logical why but it did not have the power to propel her forward when she encountered an obstacle.

The family sister had a why that was clearly linked to one of her core values. When she hit an obstacle she knew she had to find a way over, around or through it. Her progress was too important to her to allow herself to be delayed or stopped. This is the Power of Why and why it is an essential strategy to achieve our goals.

If you goal doesn’t have the why power to propel you forward when the going gets tough then revisit the goal. Recognize that at least at this time that goal is not important enough for you to pursue it, or that you need to revisit your why and see if perhaps there is a more powerful why lurking somewhere. A Why that resonates to the very core of your being is essential if you are going to set yourself up for success.

Strategy #2 to Obliterate Obstacles -Targeted Daily Goals

This is all about consistent incremental progress.

The magic used by goal achievers is that they have a long term vision of where they are going and what life will look like when they get there. Every goal, whether long term, mid range, or short term is focused on that vision.

We easily recognize that long term and mid-range goals will require incremental steps. Sometimes we are not as quick to recognize the importance of incremental steps for short term goals.

Reverse engineering is always the key.

If you have a 10 year goal … where do you need to be in 5 years … in 3 years … in 1 year … in 90 days … in 30 days … in one week? Each of these benchmarks represent incremental goals.

Some goals may be short term and be designed to be accomplished in 90 days or even in 30 days. The principle is the same.

Identify the goal and the time frame.

Create benchmarks to monitor your progress to insure you are moving forward and on track. When you consistently hit those benchmarks, accomplishing your goal becomes a no-brainer. It will happen.

Reverse engineer back to this week. What do you need to accomplish this week to be on track?

This is where the rubber meets the road. What are 1–3 specific things you will to do today to to insure you will meet your goals for the week.

This is your action plan for today. This is not a “to do” list. It is the targeting of specific actions you are committing to yourself you will do today regardless. You have identified why accomplishing these specific actions matter.

Consistency in creating goals based on powerful whys and then reverse engineering what needs to happen step by step starting with today is a huge factor in moving from being a goal setter to being a goal achiever and seeing your life change in ways you have only dreamed of.

Strategy #3 to Obliterate Obstacles -Personal Accountability

Learning to seriously commit to keeping promises to yourself is huge. When you do so you teach yourself you can trust yourself. When you fail to do so you teach yourself that you are not trustworthy.

Can you think of a more destructive message to send yourself?

Personal accountability is the process by which you are accountable to yourself for those action plans you committed to this morning.

Did you keep those promises you made to yourself? If so, did you just do the minimum like you were checking off a box or did you really do your best?

Best does not mean perfection. The quest for perfection becomes a perfect excise for rationalization and procrastination.

If you want to achieve your goals and see your dreams become real it means you do your best. You know the difference between your best and a poor imitation of that.

Personal accountability each evening for the day’s choices is a way of giving yourself a pat on the back and saying well done. It is a daily confirmation that you are on track.

Bonus Tip

Be mindful in the creation of your goals. This link will help you in that process. https://readmedium.com/the-magic-bullet-to-achieving-your-goals-is-personal-accountability-b0feedd727d4?sk=9fc9805cf1e30fa9f7c8374236ffec35

Never focus on more than three goals at one time. You may have a dozen goals. 90 days is an actionable time frame. Focus on three goals for the next 90 days. At the end of 90 days set aside at least one of those goals and focus on another. Over the course of a year you want to make progress on all of your goals. If you try and focus on all of them at once you will wind up fragmented and frustrated and nothing will get accomplished.

You can do this and feel the magic as your life is transformed in ways you have only dreamed of.