As I ponder the process of vision and goal setting, it’s becoming even more germane to life than even I (an admitted aficionado of such) believed previously. But elements of it also have become more pressing on me–”good Pee-Pee” (as my 2-year old would say) and M&Ms. Let me explain:
When we set goals, we also need to conduct a brutally honest assessment of where we are right now–our starting point. If we have a VERY clear picture of where we are going (one that we can literally “taste”), AND a brutally honest assessment of where we stand right now; then going from one to the other, from A to B, becomes a largely formulaic exercise.
However, the challenge sometimes in being “brutally honest” (with ourselves) as it relates to the current reality assessment is that you (may) get depressed… “I’m not perfect, and I thought I was….” type of thing. What you need to realize is that it doesn’t mater that you’re not perfect… only that you “Pointed” and Prioritized.” That’s the key, being Pointed and Prioritized as to where you’re heading and what’s important. That’s good P-P!
Also, you’ll need some candy along the way. M&Ms are the official candy of people “going somewhere”–preferably the peanut ones! What are M&Ms? Well, they’re candy (obviously), but also “Meaningful Milestones.” You could go further and call them “3M”–Measurable, Meaningful Milestones (but that’d infringe on yet another Trademark). So I’ll just stick with M&Ms. You need to break down that “elephant” into one bite at a time. Break down the “BHAG” into “stuff” to do this quarter, month, week, day, hour, etc. Turn the big goal into a series of smaller ones and right down to a Pointed, Prioritized daily To Do list—preferably specific and Measurable.
Then you just chug along doing what is right, best and in sequence and you get there—formulaic, simple, clean and guaranteed!
So always have some M&Ms and always have good Pee-Pee.