Goal Setting
“Tool Box” cont.
►The next item in your “toolbox” is your Plan of Action. You must take your short/ mid-term, and long-term goals, and devise a clear, precise plan of how you wish to accomplish these tasks. You need to have steps in place that continually lead you forward in pursuit of the desired end result. These steps are smaller, specific tasks that relate very directly to the goal they are attached to.
Example. If a student wishes to promote to their next belt rank, they must learn the required material. To
order to do that they must:1. attend class; 2. practice at home; 3. know when testing is; 4. participate in the rank
testing. Now the goal is the next belt. The plan of action is to go to class, practice the things they are taught, know exactly how much time they have to learn the material and demonstrate everything at the time of testing.
►Finally, we come to Revision. We must continually review our Plan of Action.
The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought.
The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.
- Sun Tzu - The Art Of War
To be successful, one must plan ahead. But to be truly successful, the plan must not be static, and rigid. Instead, the plan must be pliable and flowing as circumstances change. Sun Tzu understood that any great leader of men must have a precise vision they wish to accomplish ahead of time, including the possibility that the situation would not go “according to plan”. The most successful leaders vigorously plan for all possible circumstances but are flexible enough to change a plan accordingly to adjust for events beyond their control.
You must continually study your plan of action and determine if a change is needed. The longer you let an event go on that is not “according to plan”, the farther off your path you will become. Be vigilant with your goals, and open to suggestions or changes in your action steps, as or when needed.
