You Have ‘Em

Whether you have them written down or not, you have goals. I bet there is something you are aspiring toward.

How do you know if you are making meaningful or even incremental progress toward your goals? How do you identify what next action is necessary to continue making progress toward your goals?

It’s A Long Time

Because many goals take a long time to achieve, it can be difficult to know you are taking appropriate action this week or even today.

When making goals, it can be difficult and many times unrealistic (or even impossible) to identify all the steps required to achieve any one goal. All that you really need to determine is ‘what’s the next step?’ And, of all of the goals, which one do I need to focus on right now?

Red – Yellow – Green

Green

Green indicates that you are right on target to achieve your goal. You may not have achieved your goal yet, but have confidence that you are going to achieve that goal.

Yellow

I argue that no goal is ever really yellow. It’s either yellow trending green or yellow trending red.

Yellow → Green

Yellow trending green may be “on the fence” but you are making good progress that will have it back to green. You have confidence that this goal will likely end up being green.

Yellow → Red

Yellow trending red although “on the fence” is at risk of not achieving your goal. Unless action is taken right now, there is a good chance this goal will end up being red.

Red

Red indicates that your goal is at high risk for not achieving your goal (or you know that you will not achieve your goal).

Another Way To Check Your Progress

Ask yourself, “What is the percent chance I will achieve this goal?” If the number is high, you may not need to put as much focus on a goal that has a low percent chance of being achieved.

For those goals that need attention, simply identify the next action that will create incremental progress toward your goal. It doesn’t have to be a BIG action. What is just one small step or action you can take toward your goal? Commit to a small action you can accomplish either today or tomorrow to move closer to “green”.

Your Challenge

• What is the status of your goals?
• What one action can you take to get any “at risk” goals moving toward green?
• Add your commitment to the comment below.