Ten Year Peer
“Someday” is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. - Tim Ferriss
Time is a funny thing. It can move at the speed of light or drag by. Most often, it passes quietly and stealthily without us ever taking notice. We are pretty good about setting goals at the beginning of each new year, but without follow through and adjustments along the way, those intentions are too often left to die.
The good news is that time can work in our favor, even motivate us to take action, create urgency, and monitor our progress towards our goals. The key is intentionality.
Check your mindset
At the beginning of your career, it is easy to dream about ‘someday.’ You set a goal, maybe several. You have energy and drive to accomplish them. That passion burns bright and is contagious. You have big plans for your life, career, and business. Over time and the trials of life, that initial excitement wears off if there is no discipline and intention in keeping it going. You are left with the choice to forsake your dreams or refocus, reaffirm your commitment to them and take steps to make them a reality or let them slip by with the passing of time.
As a rookie cop I knew I wanted to accomplish certain goals. I wanted to be an instructor, SWAT, and Detective. Some of the people around me were of the mindset that I could sit back, relax…I had plenty of time to accomplish them. But as I observed, I began to notice there were officers that never advanced beyond patrolmen despite having aspirations. Some of them were right where they wanted to be. But others talked about how they HAD wanted to go into K-9 or HAD wanted to make Detective or Sergeant. All their dreams were spoken of in the past tense.
Without a vision and plan, their goals faded into a daily grind and eventual disappointment. Here they were, years later in the same place: burned out, with no forward momentum, a negative outlook, and opportunity lost. I decided early on that I would not follow their same path. I committed to be intentional and make progress that I could measure weekly and monthly toward my goal of becoming a Detective, a Sergeant, and instructor of multiple disciplines.
Birds of a feather
It can be eye opening to realize that the people you surround yourself with have influence on you. Just like the officers I served with, they can encourage you to slow down or provide encouragement and accountability to help you reach your goals.
You are the average of the 5 people you are around the most.
If you apply this to your work, it can be easy to settle. This mindset is the death knell to your dreams. Looking at your peers in order to judge your own performance will leave you with a false sense of accomplishment.
Instead, look at your peers who have 10 more years of experience and ask, “Do I want to be where they are?” Their choices will give you a glimpse into what your future might be, if you follow their same path.
A junior accountant started with a small firm. Excited and a little overwhelmed, she quickly learned tax strategy and how to interpret financial statements to help her clients make good business decisions. She was enjoying the impact she had on small businesses. She had a choice. Did she want to do this for the rest of her career, or did she want to advance? Maybe sit for her CPA or go back to school for her MBA?
The person in the office next to hers had been with the firm a little over 10 years. Burned out, still making roughly the same amount, and with no credentials to his name beyond his Bachelor's degree, he was more inclined to complain about his work than take steps necessary to advance. He was making fair wages for fair work, but had given up on vision and settled.
The junior accountant watched the more senior accountant closely. What do you think she decided to do?
Success is not spoon fed.
Settling will rob you of your dreams. Accomplishing your dreams requires you to be committed to your path. Remember that fire you felt when you first decided on your goals? Now is the time to let discipline sustain you on that journey. Stepping out from the status quo can be done by intentionally setting and taking simple, but powerful steps.
Set your goals - Transfer your “pie in the sky” dreams to realistic, actionable steps. Start with your 10-year objective and work backwards. Where do you need to be in 5 years, 3 years, 1 year to be in a position to accomplish your larger goal? Breaking larger goals into smaller pieces allows you to track your progress and take the next step. Make your goals specific and focused, not broad generalities.
Write them down - There is something that shifts in our brains when we write things down. It instantly becomes more real and actionable. It also allows us to be reminded of what we’ve set out to do. The highest statistical way to achieve your dreams is to write them down and calendar them out. This is an important part of keeping up with measuring your success. So go ahead and set that reminder for your long term goal check in now.
Check in with yourself - That one year goal is not going to accomplish itself. It needs to be broken down as well. Choose a weekly and monthly time that you can look at your progress and re-adjust. Put it on your calendar now and make them visible for a constant reminder. What has worked well for you? What needs to be tweaked? What progress have you made? Don’t allow a whole year to pass you by without having made progress toward your goal. Pretty soon, you’ll be 10 years in and sitting in the same spot you are today. When I am working with a team or leader I make sure to awkwardly stand there and watch as they actually follow through and put the Check In date on their calendar.
Share your goal - We all need accountability partners. Without someone to cheer us on and help us remain accountable, we tend to leave goals to die. Let’s face it, accomplishing your goal will take work, hard work. With a partner to help you stay on track, you’ll be more likely to see it through. Make sure you have 2 or 3 people that you can trust to honestly hold you accountable to moving forward…remember that statement about you being the average of who you surround yourself with?
Setting, monitoring, and disciplining yourself to document your vision and map out the path to goals is what sets you apart from the masses who talk of their dreams in the past tense. If you don’t have goals, you are giving up on your dreams. It takes consistent discipline, intention, and adjustment along the way. You and I both know, the effort is worth it.
