H. L. Hunt was labeled as being one of the richest entrepreneurs to ever live. He turned a small investment into a financial empire. Did he achieve this by chance? Not likely. Rarely do high achievers in life reach certain heights merely by chance. One of Hunt’s most famous quotes goes like this, “Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” Clearly Hunt believed in planning and prioritizing his goals.
As humans we tend to overcommit. Often there is so much that we wish to accomplish in both our personal and work lives. As a result we inadvertently align ourselves to an unrealistic set of expectations from a goal setting perspective. But, it is important to recognize that if we do not wish to overwhelm ourselves, we need to prioritize our desires.
No one can accomplish EVERY single thing they have set out to do all at once. If you seek to accomplish multiple goals at the same time, it is very necessary to prioritize and determine which goals are the most important and why. Doing so will help you focus on achieving what should be tackled first. This requires some self examination.
Try this exercise. Jot down all of your goals, then in considering each one listed, ask yourself these five questions?
(1) “Which goals are the easiest to achieve?“ By nature, we love instant gratification; the sooner we satisfy a desired goal and see results the more pleasure we experience. We get excited and amped!Thats why I think in prioritizing, setting some smaller goals first on the list is best practice. Putting together a balanced mix of small and larger goals will help you stay motivated and keep the momentum going as time progresses as well.
(2) “Which are most important to me?” You will work harder to achieve goals that are aligned to your values and things most important to you in life.
(3) “Which will improve my life the most?” You want to focus on achieving the goals in which the end result has the largest positive impact on your quality of life.
(4) “Is working towards this goal the best use of my time?” You want to focus your energy on goals that will add the most value and that produce a tangible return on investment.
(5) “How far will it “move the needle” forward and make way for the accomplishment of my long term goals?” Prioritized goals will not necessarily get you to the final destination, but it should be something that chips away at what must be done first to get you there. So maybe there is a interdependent relationship between the prioritized goal and the ultimate goal (“nirvana”).
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