Visualising your goals…

“If I could have seen France, I would have made it”

Francis Chadwick: long distance swimmer

 Francis Chadwick was the first woman to swim English Channel in both directions. Her first attempt failed after spending 14 hours in the water. The attempt was made in thick fog and ironically she was only 3 miles from France when she abandoned her attempted crossing. Her comments on finding out how close she was to her goal was:

“If I could have seen France, I would have made it”

There are few better examples of the importance of setting goals and visualising those goals. Last month I was trekking in the McDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs in Central Australia. Not only was it an amazing visual experience but it was also a time to reflect and enjoy the company of interesting people, as well as the physical challenge. Each day we set out to walk the 18 to 20 kilometres in a harsh desert environment. This meant setting goals for the day.

On our second day we got up at 5.30 am and trekked 8 kilometres through a gorge over rocky and steep terrain onto open spinifex covered slopes to the summit of Mt Sonder. This mountain was the highest point on the Larapinta Trail with 180 degree views over 100 kilometres of the surrounding country.

At times it was physically quite difficult however it was made easier as we had a goal. We could see the mountain in front of us. Unlike Francis Chadwick’s first attempt at swimming the English Channel we could see our goal and kept going. The magnificent views were one of the rewards for our efforts.

Everybody should have goals whether it’s to obtain a degree, be financially independent, buy your first house or start a business.

Without clear goals you are less likely to achieve your potential or anything else for that matter. Too few of us set goals in life or in our work. Importantly, by not having written goals we are even less likely to achieve our potential.

The alleged quote from Lewis Carroll’s book Alice in Wonderland explains the situation clearly:

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there”

However, I have found that although writing down goals is important it is critical that you also have a plan with milestones to help you meet your goals. In climbing Mt Sonder, we had various milestones to reach certain locations by set times to ensure we climbed it in the time planned and to complete our descent before the heat of the afternoon set in.

In concluding one often overlooked part of goal setting is to visualise your goal. I have found that visualising what the completed goal is a powerful motivator. In selling our business I visualised what it would be like to finally be rewarded for all that hard work

……….a bit like climbing Mt Sonder where we visualised the spectacular  views and enjoying a well-earned rest. To be able to see the mountain helped with the visualising the goal. Francis Chadwick in her second and successful attempt at swimming the English Channel, could see the English shore.

Can you visualise what the completion of your goals looks like?