Are you aligned with your goals?

We have all have dreams. Some dreams come to fruition easily and others come under the bracket of Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of Outliers where 10,000 hours are required to create expertise. Then with a bit of luck you get to your Tipping Point and ‘Hey Presto’ you achieve your goal. The reality is we all ‘do it hard’ sometimes.  The goal post is always moving and we never seem to get to where we want to be. We can spend hours trying to understand what on earth it is we need to do in order to get to achieve the outcome we have set our hearts on.

At those times when progress feels stunted and you feel stuck – go through the following check-list to see whether you are fully aligned with your goal. Energy follows form, so if you are in any way misaligned with your goal it will be difficult to bring it to life.

1. Does your goal represent your truth?

Examine your heart’s desire, are you doing what you want to do? Or are you doing what you think will make you money, or what you think you should do?

This question does not undermine of your responsibilities or encourage you to throw caution to the wind. Procrastination, not doing certain tasks or doing nothing just tell their own story. However, if you doing everything you can and don’t see a result, think about how you spend your energy.  Your energy represents your life force – if it represented a $100 would you spend it in this particular way.

2. Does your goal fit with your self-image?

If your desired dream doesn’t fit with your self-image, you may be misaligned with your goal.  If the people who achieve your desired goal confront your self image, causing you to ‘Be’ something that is out of your comfort zone, then your feelings (about yourself) may be getting in the way of your goal.  Alternatively if you think of yourself as a victim that viewpoint may act in opposition to the image of you as a success.

3. Does your goal compromise one of your values?

In other words, in what way does your goal feel like a jail?  Unless the outcome of your goal can be fully integrated into your life, it may feel as if it is taking away the qualities that are important to you.  For instance if you achieve your ‘home-run’ and your goal becomes reality, what will it mean for you, will you loose your sense of ‘freedom’; time; will you spend all day speaking to people when you prefer to be alone; or will you become visible when you prefer privacy.

4. How do your goals and outcomes fit in with your family picture?

When I work with small business owners to help them grow their client numbers, the exploration of their own rules and boundaries often uncover family beliefs and rules that act like a glass ceiling to their personal achievements.

If you are struggling to achieve your goals, awareness of the rules that govern your self-image will help you to release any boundaries of limitation. In turn your awareness will enable you to create the connection to the outcomes you seek.

If you are ‘doing it hard’ think about whether you are in alignment with your goal.  This question is not about your desire for the goal, but more about whether your will and your drive fully aligned with the outcomes you want.

Think about the goals you set and write a list of all the things on your to-do list.

Lucille Henry PhD