On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, how do you rate your career satisfaction? What about your personal life — how would you rate that on a scale of 1 to 10? Are you OK if you rank an area of your life a 7, 8, or 9 out of 10?
I recently asked this question to a high-performing C-suite executive who had signed up for my 8-week leadership coaching program, and his answer was surprising. He scored both professional and personal satisfaction as 10 out of 10. As I pushed him to look closer and explain more, he confessed, “You know what — I’m achieving all my business and personal goals because they are really easy to hit. I’m not really challenging myself, or my team. I’m not even sure if I’m setting the right goals.”
Wow. Have you ever done this? Are you achieving all of your goals in business and life because you’ve lowered your standards or are not really challenging yourself? Be honest — take a good, long look…
I’ve done it. I’ve set — and achieved — goals that were easy to do. This lead me to becoming successfully miserable, stuck in a proverbial “success trap”. Once I had the courage, and insight, to really look at the goals I was setting for myself, I realized I was setting the wrong goals.
And if you are setting (and achieving) the wrong goals, your business, leadership, and life will suffer. So here are some simple action steps to take to help you make better decisions on the business and personal goals you set. And if you don’t have concrete goals, now is the perfect time to create them:
Get Into Action Now: Take 60-seconds to answer the following questions. Jot down the first thing that jumps into your mind — quicker is better in this case:
- My most important business/professional goal is:
- My most important personal goal is:
- Accomplishing these two goals will create this in my life:
If you struggled to answer any of these questions, or, after you’ve answered the questions you’re not JUMPING up an down with motivation to get into relevant action, then perhaps you are setting the wrong goals. Get trusted allies, mentors, and friends to help you discern the right goals for you. (Here is a LINK to recent article I wrote about building a strong team around you to help with action steps like this.)
If you have any questions on the action steps listed here, post a comment below or hit me up on Twitter @mpveltri . I’ll be sure to get back to you right away. And if you would like more information on my 8-Week Leadership Coaching Program, please take a look at this page on my keynote speaker website: https://michaelveltri.com/business-transformation-consulting