By Robin Buttler

It was only two weeks ago that the blog we posted stated how important it is to not become overwhelmed by your goals. We specified that goals should be challenging, and yet inspiring.  We also touched on the importance of small wins and an actual quote from that blog was, “Setting personal goals doesn’t have to be a big deal. Start small; make progress. It’s getting started that’s important.” Wow, is that ever important and obvious.  You can’t make progress on anything in life without getting things started.   

We don’t mind identifying goals, and accepting the reality that if that goal isn’t confidently identified and some plans made to turn it around, it’s not going to happen.  We can see the opportunities that will bring it to a better place, and we can identify the obstacles in the way and consider what it may take to remove that from our path. What the obvious reason seems to be for things not progressing is the level of willingness involved in doing the WORK that may actually be involved.  

Sometimes a goal being accomplished comes down to how willing we are to do what is really required for the result we’re seeking.  Let’s look at this acronym for WORK:

W- willingness

O- opportunity

R- readiness

K- knock it out

Work involves willingness, as we’ve been touching on.  Being diligent in refusing to give up or tossing your dreams aside requires work.  Consistent decisions to keep taking the steps that may be uncomfortable, mentally or emotionally difficult, even physically challenging add to the success of the goal being accomplished.  Willingness.

Opportunity identifying is a challenging, yet rewarding part of the work that goes into stepping forward.  We don’t want to try what we've done before if we know it hasn’t brought the best results with our last effort.  We have to take the time to work through what would or would NOT work in this current situation. Process through it until the opportunities are identified.  Opportunity.

Readiness is where you want to arrive once you’ve determined you’re willing to step forward with the opportunities you’ve unveiled.  We can talk all day about what we CAN do, but saying we’re ready, and getting into that posture is powerful.  The only thing left to do to get things going is for someone (maybe even yourself) to say, “On your mark, get set, GO!” And there you go, out of the gate, using wisdom around the curves and celebrating small wins, but then putting the pedal to the metal and thumbing your nose at the obstacles as you leave them in your dust!!  Readiness.

Lastly, KNOCK IT OUT! You’ve confirmed your willingness, identified opportunities, readied yourself to see it through and now you’re knocking it out, one step (or leap) at a time.  You’re knocking out every doubt, every time restraint, every NON-well wisher, and you’re knocking out your own inhibitions. KNOCK IT OUT of the park!! A home run, a win that used to be unexpected is now becoming your new reality!  YOU WIN! Knock it out.

Was there work involved in getting you to this new stance? Of course. You didn’t just saunter through the temptation to quit. You didn’t just put one foot in occasionally while leaving the other one out for a quick escape if needed. NO, you kept the goal and the dream in front of you, and you didn’t stop until it came true! When you wanted to doubt, you arrested that thought and replaced it with encouragement and positive belief in yourself.

Of course you have to work, but at your pace and in your own timing.  At the end, your investment will pay off with a dream that’s now come true.