Some designers love goal setting, and thrive on setting the bar high and attaining them. They also love to bask in the glow of their creative and financial accomplishments. Other designers have great difficulty in setting goals, and hold many fears around making a commitment to their business and personal success. They want to make an impact and share their creativity with the world, but struggle with the fear of failure.
The result? Their business sputters along and continues to produce low income and even lower self-satisfaction.
Staying in this uncomfortable place is like running your business by accident, and many accept it… whatever happens or whatever job or client might walk through the door is “just the way it is.”
When you think about it, this mindset is irresponsible. By staying in this space, you are living your life and running your business by default.
So why are some of us good at getting a lot of things done but not so good at setting clear and meaningful goals? Because there is an emotional side to the goal setting process, and the emotions you feel need to be addressed before you aim at your target and set your goals.
I am going to share with you my mindset strategies to help you get crystal clear about the emotional side of goal setting.
Mindset Strategy #1 – Get Rid of the Guilt.
When you feel like you have let another person down, or not lived up to their expectations, you feel guilty. Similarly, it is possible that the goals that you set for yourself are exaggerated and distorted. These unrealistic goals always create guilt because you cannot possibly live up to them.
How often do you feel like you should have “done more?” I hear that one all the time. If you feel like you can’t make new goals because you haven’t fulfilled the old ones, stop and ask yourself…
What if those are really not my goals? Whose goals are they?
What if feeling guilty was no longer important to me?
Oddly enough, freeing yourself from the pressure to perform lets you do much more than you ever thought possible.
Mindset Strategy #2 – You Can’t Fail.
The fear of failing is created by your imagination. The fear feels very real to you, but really, it has no more power that what you give it.
For example, let’s say your goal is to do a million dollar house this year. The opportunity comes along, you are hired, you create a great interior design, and the clients love it, but then something personal happens in the client’s family and they stop the job. You don’t get to purchase the fabrics and furniture, or finish the job.
Is this a failure? Think about it in this way…
Did your client love your work? Did you learn about and connect with many new, and perhaps, high-end vendors? Did you get over the fear of taking on a really big job? Can you use what you learned on the next job? Will the next big job be way easier?
What if the concept of failure didn’t exist? What else would you be free to do?
Mindset Strategy #3 – You Are Good Enough.
The fear that you should somehow be different or better than you are, in order to target a certain goal, is in your imagination. However, we all know that the way you become a more accomplished designer is by taking on jobs that cause you to stretch a bit.
For instance, if your goal is to be published in a regional magazine, but your client never let you finish the job. Is that really a problem?
Not really. You know that often, the work that you see published is not top quality. And you also know that what people see in the photo isn’t exactly what is there, and you have permission to bring anything you need to make a great photo.
So if you are feeling like you can’t set new goals because you are not good enough yet, try this on…
What if being better is a lifelong personal, inside game?
What if the pledge to be better just means that each job you do will up the ante five percent, and because of this standard you are becoming the most amazing and phenomenally good designer?
Finally, there are times when someone sets a goal and does not reach it. This can happen and it is not a tragedy, however, if you are a person who rarely reaches their goals then it is likely that you are feeling out of integrity with yourself. It is vitally important to honor your word with yourself. If you say you are going to do something, go do it.
If you are having trouble with this concept you are probably trying subconsciously to protect yourself in some way. Unfortunately, the result of this behavior is that you will destroy your trust in yourself, your confidence, your feelings of self worth and the ability to make good judgments.
To restore your personal integrity and confidence, try writing this affirmation. Post it on your vanity and say it every day.
My goal is to _____________________, and by honoring my agreement with myself I am honoring my worth.
To learn more and build your goals for 2013 be sure to sign up for my FREE CALL.
Five Secrets to Having an Outrageous 2013: How to Avoid Overwhelm and Enjoying Amazing Results. (Not to mention the interesting creative jobs, nice clients and big paydays.)
Monday, January 14, 2013 at 4:00 pm PST, 5:00pm MST, 6:00pm CST, 7:00 pm EST.
