SMART goals "en route" to high achievement and success
Today, perhaps more than ever before, we tend to live our lives in terms of high achievement goal setting. And indeed, there is no denying it: when making our goals SMART (as many experts advise them to be) - Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Timely - goal setting is a very powerful practice. It creates clarity, gives structure to decision making and prioritizing, and acts as an accelerator for high achievement and success.The infamous To Do Lists
At the same time, however, most of us are all too familiar with that awkward and nagging feeling that comes with our seemingly-endless To Do Lists, following us around like dark little clouds. And before we know it, however SMART our goals, our desire for high achievement and success takes over in an unreasonable way and we find ourselves falling victim to what I would call "uninterrupted goal chasing": as soon as we get to tick off one box on our list, we immediately turn to accomplishing something else.Where the shoe pinches
This habit of uninterrupted goal chasing, however, conceals a distinct window of opportunity for excessive stress levels, overwork, exhaustion, underperformance and eventually even burn out - each and every one of these antitheses of high achievement. Because once acquired, we become so focused on getting jobs done and reaching goals that we completely and utterly overlook the importance of taking a step back and actually recognising accomplishments. And this is where the shoe pinches: lack of acknowledgement denies us the happiness that comes with a sense of accomplishment, and in the longer term has a way of seriously sabotaging our motivation to complete further tasks or goals.The toll
Here at the Arteel Group, over the years, we have learned all about this phenomenon. We are specialised in assisting companies build a positive culture and create a truly satisfied workforce, so when companies come to us for help, we get to have a realistic insight into the toll a lack of appreciation takes: on people's health and happiness, on their overall ability to cope with stress, on their performance and on their levels of productivity.To cut long stories short: when creativity, engagement, commitment, dedication and hard work aren't recognised and end up going unappreciated, the scale of undesirable results is not to be underestimated!
Filling the gap
Luckily, the opposite is equally true: when the time is taken to appropriately recognize, appreciate and reward hard work, it creates breathing space for people. It creates an opportunity for them to feel good about their achievements. And stimulating this sense of accomplishment helps boost their levels of self confidence and sends them off on an upward spiral: higher levels of self-esteem help squash negative thinking and feelings of doubt and fear, and as such enable a can-do attitude, in turn inspiring future success. Because if you succeeded in the past, and the time and effort was put in to recognising and rewarding you for doing so, you can vividly imagine the positive payoff from taking on new challenges. And the more moments of well-deserved appreciation you experience, the more your mind will associate ticking off boxes on your To Do List - NOT with the over-bearing feeling, detrimental effects and general underperformance that come with the habit of uninterrupted goal chasing - but rather with the feel-good feelings and energy that flow from high achievement and success.And the final score of that match between High Achievement vs. Underperformance? 1 - 0
Curious to find out how to put the Winner's Secret into practice? Interested in learning how to break habits of uninterrupted goal chasing?
Definitely stay tuned!
In one of our next blogs, I will happily share 5 ways in which you too can successfully start filling a Recognition, Appreciation & Reward gap!
Aria De Coster
