A to Z Well-being (personal philosophy): Objectives

Objective (n) – something sought or aimed for; a target, goal, or aim.

            When I was in my 20’s, I had a major medical situation that totally blind-sided me.  I was in university, had just gotten married, was expecting our first child and had planned on joining the military full-time (a dream I had since a boy) once my education was complete.  The news of my medical condition destroyed any hope of pursuing that goal.  It also destroyed me psychologically.  Because I was so set on proving to everyone I could still do the job, I refused to acknowledge that dream was over.  And as I drew closer to my leaving the military, I became bitter and hurtfully angry.  That single-mindedness robbed me of seeing the opportunities that had availed themselves the 10 years previous.  My academic studies suffered, my relationship with my family was terrible, and I missed out on opportunities that had been there waiting for me to snap them up.  I failed to see that the objectives I had set for myself at the beginning of my 20’s were no longer achievable because the circumstances had changed.  I didn't take time to re-orient myself to the situation and was caught up in the flow.

Setting goals is the only way to ensure that we get what (or where) we want.  All too often we find ourselves going with the flow, waiting for “everything to work out”. Well, as the saying goes “Only dead fish go with the flow”.  By setting out goals for ourselves, we are able to set milestones for ourselves.  I don’t play for the end game from the beginning (anymore), but rather focus on gaining ground.  When trying to lose weight, most people fail because they want to start at a gym on Monday and be in that ‘little black dress’ Saturday night.  When they don’t see the results they were expecting, they quit feeling like a failure and fall back into the habits that caused them to want to change in the first place.

An objective can be short-term (within 12 months), mid-term (1-3 years) and long-term (5-10 years). Each of these, in turn, is broken into goals (or phases).Each phase is a step to complete your objective.  And, ideally, the long-term goals are supported by the mid-term goals, and the mid-term by the short term.

When I set my short term objectives I classify them Physical, Financial, and Psychological.
Last year, I set two objectives for each:

1) Physical:

i) Complete a half marathon;

ii) Get a Spartan Race Trifecta (complete one of each class of Spartan Race), and

                        iii) Take up a Martial Art or Combative

            2) Financial:

                        i) Increase my primary income source by at least $1500, and

                        ii) Complete the ’52 Week Money challenge’.

            3) Psychological:

                        i) Take time to meditate.

Did I achieve all my goals? Nope!  I failed, and I failed spectacularly.  I got both my half-marathon (it rained the entire time) and Spartan Race Trifecta, was half way through the Money Challenge when I had to tap that keg and did not increase my annual income (other than pre-negotiated increases), take up a martial art or meditate.  To put it another way, if all my objectives were weighted equally and life were a report card, I wouldn't even get an ‘F’.

I did gain something more insightful, even after failing to achieve all my objectives.  By setting these objectives, I was required to apply for more opportunities; and given the burdensome nature of my organizations hiring practices, I was still able to finish the year averaging one screening exam (or interview) 11 out of the last 12 weeks of the year. 

At the beginning of this year, I set objectives (some carried over, some new) that I aim to achieve.

Short-term is pretty easy – mostly finish what I started last year:

            1) Complete the ’52 Week Money Challenge';

            2) Take up a martial art;

            3) Take time to meditate;

            4) Try my hand at gardening, and

            5) Read, and really digest, the Bible

My mid-term goals are:

            1) Eliminate all consumer debt from my and my family’s life, and

            2) Teach my kids better money habits than I had as a young adult.

My long-term goals are still:

           1) Become free and clear of debt, and

           2) Be solvent enough to get an affordable mortgage and own my own house again.

If you set goals for yourself and never allow yourself waiver in your determination, you will succeed. And always remember:

“It’s okay to falter, but it is never okay to quit.”

What are your objectives?