Why do we often fail to achieve our objectives?
Mona has a dream. She lives in front of a tall mountain and her dream is to climb it. The issue is that Mona has a disease that makes her legs very weak.
So, for years, Mona would not even allow herself to look at the mountain or think about it. She was scared to be too disappointed if she tried and failed.
One day, she realizes that she will only live once and decides to climb it. She wants to minimize the risks of failing because with her fragile health, her life is at stake and she could die.
She makes some research and reads about SMART objectives to make your dreams come true. The same day she makes her plan. One of her objectives is to be able to walk up the 50 floors of her building by the end of the year in order to get daily exercising. Here is her plan (if you are not fit, ask for medical advice first, this plan may not suit you):
- SMALL & SPECIFIC: walk up the stairs of the building instead of taking the elevator.
- MEASURABLE: 5 floors once a day the first week, then increase each week by one floor until I can walk up 50 floors.
- ACHIEVABLE: I know I can walk up 5 floors I did it before.
- RESOURCED: I have access to my building’s staircase.
- TIME BOUND: every day and increase each week by one floor.
The first 3 days, she finds it hard but she is very motivated so she keeps on.
After one week, her legs are so sore, she can barely walk. She realizes that she made a mistake, she can to walk up 5 floors but not every day. She gives herself a 3-day break to recover and she starts again with only 1 floor a day. This time she chooses an objective even easier to achieve than she thinks she can make it.
However, even with an easy objective, she has a lot of pressure at work and in the evening, she is really tempted to take the elevator…
One evening she gives up and takes the elevator. She calls her best friend and tells her about it. Her best friend reminds her of her dream and motivates her to start again the next day. With her friend’s support, she goes back to walking up the stairs every day.
Each month she books an appointment with herself to review her progress and for each additional 5 floors that she can climb, she gives herself a small reward like eating her favourite cake or buying a small inexpensive symbolic gift.
Still, some days are harder than others. For these days, she has her special tricks, like a playlist of her favourite songs that give her a lot of energy while walking up!
Day after day, she finds it easier and easier. She is so used to walking up the stairs that she does not even think about it anymore. It just became part of her normal daily life.
After one year and careful preparation, she is ready. She starts to climb early morning and after a few hours of walk, she is up! She made her dream come true and is so proud of herself!
And you, what do you do to make your dreams come true and achieve your objectives?
Read here more about the 10 best practices to make your dreams come true.
