198: Another Reason Why We Need a Better Goal

This sense of procrastinating on what’s important and Actually following through on the very things that you have told yourself need to stop. The things that are wasting your time.

[00:00:20] It could be scrolling on social media. It could be indulging in some other activity that you know is not serving your life in a positive way. That’s super common. I actually just had a really powerful conversation with Sam about this exact topic this week, and it made me want to come and share why this happens with you, because it’s not just you. Sam came into our session and I asked him, what do we want to focus on today?

[00:00:50] What’s going on? And Sam told me this exact thing. He said, Zach. Look, I’m, I’m really frustrated because I actually do have time that I could be focusing on building my career. You know, a lot of people struggle because they’re so busy. They have so much on their plate. They’re working 50 or 60 hours.

[00:01:10] They’ve got kids at home. They’ve got a spouse. They’ve got hobbies. They’ve got a yard to mow all of these things going on in life. And they just feel like they don’t have time to focus on coaching and personal development. And Sam was saying, that’s not me. I don’t have those excuses. I’m currently single.

[00:01:27] I don’t have kids. I’m renting. I don’t have a lawn to mow. I don’t have any of these hobbies that are soaking up time any more than I give them. I actually have the time to focus on my career. But I’m not using it in a productive way. Every night when I get home and after dinner I have time that I could be doing something to help myself advance my career, to look for a new job because I’m unhappy where I’m at.

[00:01:53] I can’t seem to get myself to do it. So I asked Sam to tell me more about what was going on in his current situation. What was happening at work right now? And the truth is, he was really burning out. was in a situation that was pretty toxic. He didn’t like his boss. His boss was not treating him well.

[00:02:11] He was publicly shaming him for different things that were not going the way they wanted at work. It was extremely frustrating. Sam was unhappy with that relationship and the direction that his boss was pushing his career, the type of work that his boss wanted him to focus on. Sam was not interested in, in that kind of work.

[00:02:30] It wasn’t in his zone of genius. It wasn’t something that he wanted to learn about. not only were his current projects ending and he was getting bad feedback, but he was being pushed into a direction that he was not excited about. So, almost everything that can disengage you and burn your energy and, and frustrate you and leave you stressed and anxious and unhappy at work, Sam was facing all of that.

[00:02:56] when I asked him about why he felt that he was having a difficult time, executing on his goals after work or on the weekends to advance his career. He sat there in silence and said, well, I don’t know, and I don’t really even know what the goal is. That right there is the key. That is the thing that we spent the rest of our time talking about.

[00:03:27] And it’s one of the most important things. that you want to ask yourself and be honest about. If you’re finding yourself in a position where it is difficult to take actions that are for your ultimate good. Do you have a crystal clear, compelling life changing goal, a vision, a direction that you want to take your life without a clear vision, getting yourself to do hard things to grow.

[00:03:58] Is extremely difficult, if not impossible, because why would you exert that energy? Why would you bring that focus into something for development? If you don’t actually have a goal or an outcome in mind as to why that matters. I can tell you in my own journey, when I don’t have a clear goal, it’s just as hard for me to get motivated as it is for Sam.

[00:04:22] Okay. If you’re in that kind of situation you have the space. And you’re currently unhappy, or shoot, even if you have no time at all, but you’re currently unhappy. You don’t like your work. And all you know is that you don’t want this. You don’t want the thing that you currently have, but you don’t know what you do want.

[00:04:44] If there is no clear vision, no clear goal, then you’re going to feel just like Sam did. It’s easy to do the things that I don’t want to do, and it is hard to do the things that I do want to do, because I don’t know really why I want to do them and where it’s going to take me. If you are stuck or stagnant, if you are having a hard time getting moving and getting motivated, the first thing I would ask you is, do you have a goal?

[00:05:14] Not a goal that someone else gave you. Not the goal that Sam’s boss put in front of him to go work on new projects that he didn’t even care about. He wasn’t even interested in. I’m talking about a goal that you have sunk your, your teeth into. You’re excited about because it came from your own heart.

[00:05:32] It came from inside of yourself. It’s something that you genuinely want. It’s aligned with a vision of a life that is dream inspired. That’s unfiltered, that’s motivating, right? It’s belief stretching, it’s the kind of vision that gets you out of bed in the morning. The kind of goal that you can get excited every day as you make progress towards it.

[00:05:56] So as Sam and I were talking, it became evident he had no goal, he had no vision. And so while he was frustrated that he was falling into bad habits with his free time, the truth is it had nothing to do with being a person who can’t do hard things. Sam has done lots of hard things. He’s extremely intelligent.

[00:06:17] The problems that he had arrived at a place in his career where he lacked clarity on where he was going from here. Knowing what you don’t want will not take your life in a positive direction. You must know what you do want. So if you’re in a toxic situation, if you’re burned out, if you’re unhappy at work, or even if you’re just okay, good is the enemy of great.

[00:06:41] If things are just good for you, but you lack a clear and compelling goal, then you will find yourself. underperforming your full potential, not quite able to get yourself into those next tasks for development, staying safe in your comfort zone, not reaching out, getting those new relationships, that new mentor, networking with people at that next level.

[00:07:06] You’re going to stay in a place that’s safe and you’re going to stay there because you don’t know where to apply the energy. As Sam and I talked about earlier, Put a plan together for him said, all right, look, we’re going to do a really focused activity around digging into your values. And your vision, how do we understand the compass that guides your life, the core values that are leading you into the decisions that are most important and most fulfilling in your life, a purpose that drives you, and then looking into your future.

[00:07:39] A visioning exercise, a specific methodology to get past the crust of our mind. Those things that other people told us, and let’s go build a vision for you that is inspiring, that is aligned with your dreams, that you can wake up and get excited about. Sam went through those exercises, and he came back. We had another session.

[00:07:59] He said, Wow. I feel completely different, even though my situation has not changed that much yet. I’m still in the same job. I’m still under that same toxic boss. I’m still in a environment I’m unhappy with. I’m still being asked to do work I don’t want to do. But I now, for the first time in a long time, Know where I want to go, not just where I don’t want to be.

[00:08:26] Now we’re taking action. Now it’s getting easier for him to put those hard actions in place, to get out of his comfort zone and he’s excited to move forward. And so if you’re feeling that same way, Wow, I’m still procrastinating. I’m still not living up to my potential. I’m still stuck where I’m at. in something bad or maybe, like I said, something just okay.

[00:08:48] Okay can be the worst. Okay can be worse than bad. At least when something’s bad, like Sam, you do the things to take action. You reach out. You get the coach. You get the help. You take action to get out of that situation because you’re so unhappy. Good can be worse. That just okay situation. The one that you’re not really happy with.

[00:09:08] It’s not really what you want. But it’s good enough. It pays the bills. Nobody’s Barking at you. You’re not burning out. Beware of that good place. It’s the enemy of the great place, as Jim Collins taught us in his book, Good to Great. Get a goal. Get clear on your vision. So my challenge to you today is to ask yourself, for one, are you consistently showing up with energy and enthusiasm at your best, reaching your full potential, living into a life and a career that you truly love?

[00:09:38] And if not, Now, let’s be honest about that and ask yourself then, do I know what I’m aiming for? Do I have a clear goal? Do I have a vision that motivates me, that inspires me? Because without that, taking the action is always going to be met with resistance. If we want to geek out on this, that dopamine hit, things that we frankly get addicted to, like social media, are Substitutes for the true focus and intention of our nervous system and what dopamine was intended to do.

[00:10:15] You see, you get those little hits from all that entertainment and these time killing, time wasting behaviors. But the real source of dopamine in your life is intended to be that goal oriented, goal pursuing, progress making part of your life. That’s what having a goal does. It activates that circuitry that gets the dopamine pumping, that gets you excited, gets you out of bed in the morning, makes you feel great about where you’re headed in your life.

[00:10:44] So if you don’t overcome these time killing behaviors with a truly inspiring vision, It’s very difficult to break that addiction and get going on things that matter, but I’ll tell you this, a genuine pursuit of a vision that inspires you feels better than social media ever will, than any time killing behavior ever will.

[00:11:05] don’t be like Sam, don’t stay stuck in that place one day longer than you need to step up, create a goal, get a vision, align it with your values and let’s go. Now, if you don’t know how to do that, or you really feel lost, like Sam did, then let’s connect. Let’s get some help. That’s exactly what I do.

[00:11:25] That’s what we help all of our clients with. Jump into our programs, get some of the free resources we have, like our yearly playbook rhythm, all the different tools that we provide for free, go grab those, but make sure that you’re taking action. Don’t just listen to this, nod your head and say, wow, I can relate to that.

[00:11:41] I always do the things I don’t want to do. I procrastinate on the most important things and I’m not doing the things that I need to be doing. If you’re in that place, take action now to get out of it. Let’s have a conversation and see what you need to get moving. Once you have a clear goal, once you know exactly where you’re headed, if you’re still stuck, then it’s even more important that we talk.

[00:12:05] Because that tells me you don’t understand yourself. You don’t understand how powerful you are. You don’t understand how to use this mind and the tools that you have at your disposal to make incredible progress, and we can teach you that. Those are things they didn’t teach us in engineering school. But it starts, first and foremost, with getting out of a place of only looking at what you don’t want.

[00:12:25] And getting extremely clear on what you do. Give yourself that gift, the gift of a goal. Goal might be one of the most important words in the English language. Having a goal, having a vision, get clear on that. And if you need help, reach out and let’s connect. You can always click the link in the show notes and book time with our team.

[00:12:45] You can book a call through text message. Grab your phone, text the word lifestyle to five, five, four, four, four. We’d love to hear from you, and help you understand exactly what’s blocking you. And if it’s a clear goal, if it’s a decision that a crossroads in your life, if it’s a vision that inspires you, we can show you exactly how to create that no matter how stuck you feel.

[00:13:05] Let’s do this.