Have You Met Your Goals’ Prerequisites?

You have a goal but you can’t seem to get started.

Some would call this resistance and they could be right, but maybe something else is going on.

Maybe there are other things requiring your attention right now, some aspects of your life you’ve been neglecting?

These things could be your goal’s prerequisites, requirements you’ll have to meet before you can move forward on your vision.

Let me share something from my own experience.

Not so long ago I completed a marvelous course in creative career coaching offered by the brilliant Valerie Young of ChangingCourse.com.

I learned a great deal about analyzing opportunities, turning passions into profitable income streams, marketing on a shoestring budget, and helping others to describe what they’d like their life to look like and how to create such a life for themselves. It was truly marvelous stuff, but despite a great deal of excitement and a flurry of ideas, I didn’t do much with what I had learned.

It certainly wasn’t Valerie’s fault. She’d provided me and my fellow classmates with a wealth of information and ample opportunities to put our newly acquired knowledge to work. But there I was, going nowhere.

I actually conducted a few creative career consultations with a handful of clients and they all seemed very pleased, but I knew something was wrong. I was trying to help people plan their next moves, but I had no idea about my own.

I had no idea because I had no clue who I was. I hadn’t taken the time to work through the very process Valerie taught me so much about.

I didn’t really know what I wanted my life to look like. I just knew that it had to look different than the one I was living.

I was broke, unhappy, and unhealthy. It’s hard to coach people when you’re falling apart.

I hadn’t met my goals’ prerequisites. In fact, I wasn’t even sure what my goals really were. I had a lot of things to work on.

Since those days, much has changed. I’m forty pounds lighter, a great deal more financially secure, and infinitely more happy. My relationships with my wife and children are richer and stronger. I’m writing and learning to be mildly creative. Life is better.

So, I ask you, “What’s holding you back?” Is it resistance, or are there other things begging for your attention?

How’s your health? How are your finances? How’s your marriage? How are your kids doing?

Maybe you’re going through a crisis. Deal with it. Your goal will still be there when you’ve got a handle on things, and you’ll find it much easier to pursue.

Maybe there’s a conversation you need to have, a letter you need to write, some counseling you need to seek.

Get out your notebook and pen and write about it. Focus your creative energy on solving any problems that could be holding you back.

See it all as part of the process of reaching your goal.

Once you’ve met your prerequisites, you’ll be better prepared to take the next course.

Let Yourself Go Mild. Subscribe to the Mildly Creative Blogcast.

Tagged as: Adventures in Being Human