When you’re in business and you don’t know where you are going, the path can be scary. Looking ahead often reveals nothing but a tangled thicket, with brambles at every turn. But when you know where you’re going, the path ahead suddenly starts to look different.
The walls that formerly looked like obstacles shrink. What formerly looked like an impenetrable thicket worthy of Brer Rabbit becomes a warren of passageways and possibilities.
Not knowing what’s next instills a feeling of inadequacy and anxiety. What’s the most effective way to avoid these feelings? Set goals.
List your wants, needs and ideas. Chart a path. Figure out where you are and where you want to be.
Notice how I’ve not said, “Make a plan.” Don’t plans fail? Aren’t plans made to be changed? I’ve heard that somewhere before. That’s why I say set goals instead.
Yes, plans do not always go as planned! But when you set a goal, you decide how to achieve it. You are at Point A and you want to get to Point B. There could be a multitude of paths between Point A and Point B and you could find yourself on any of them at any given time, depending on what decisions you make along the way. There is no right or wrong way to get to Point B. And if you’re focused on a goal of arriving at Point B instead of following a plan, it hardly matters.
If you really want to achieve the goal, you will. Nothing will stand in your way, and if something does stand in your way, you’ll find a new path around it.