Molly Cain, writer for Forbes, published an article a few years ago entitled "6 Ways To Achieve Any Goal" (read the full thing here). That's a pretty lofty thing to claim, Ms. Cain. I'm impressed, but admittedly doubtful. But I'm willing to test your case and keep my dearest readers updated on how it works out. I'll explain more why in a second.
You should listen to this song on repeat as you read the rest of the post:
Time to let y'all in on the goal: BYUI's college of Business and Communication is hosting a study abroad to Europe! The Experience Europe tour will be visiting Italy, France, Austria, England, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Let me enlighten you about some items on the itinerary so that you may understand WHY this is going to be an incredible adventure:
England - London Temple, BBC tours, Harry Potter studio tours,
Netherlands - The Hague, Holland Fishing Village
Paris - Eiffel Tower; Lourve, d'Orsay, and Rodin Museums; Notre Dame; Versailles; Concorde
Frankfurt - Stock exchange and ECB
Salzburg - Dachau Concentration Camp, Eagles Nest, Salt Mines, BMW plant
Zurich - Maestrani Chocolate company, Neuschwanstein castle
Verona - Expo 2015 will be in Italy while we're there and we get to go! How cool! (See here)
Venice - Grand Canal, Palazzo Ducale, St. Mary of the Friars, Italian Riviera
And I didn't even list everything, y'all.
So now you know my goal - Get accepted to go on the Experience Europe tour. They take about 30, and so far 70-ish people have applied. 70 very qualified people with more experience, education, and connections that yours truly. We'll see how this goes.
Step One: Look at it
In addition to just writing a goal down, the article says to have a VISUAL representation of your achieved goal where you can see it.
How convenient! I was already going this. My computer and phone backgrounds rotate between different locations and sights on the tour such as the Italian Riviera:
Step Two: Tell People
Hence why this blog post exists. Posting this makes me feel anxious and vulnerable, which is precisely why I feel the need to do it. (Watch this for more info. I've watched it like 23,093 times.)
My sister and brother-in-law helped a lot by editing my letter of intent and getting me interested in study abroad tours in the first place. I also told my parents. That's another story.
Step Three: Break it up
Cain references the classic "baby steps" theory. #DrMarvin. The concept is simple: breaking up a large goal into smaller, achievable goals, as to not feel overwhelmed. My achieved sub-goals:
- Research the tour
- Make a plan to pay for the tour
- Write the letter of intent
- Tell parents/family/close friends
- Fill out the application
- Turn in above application and letter
- Have several panic attacks
- Interview with the tour director (eep!)
- Have the occasional emotional breakdown
- Stop having panic attacks and emotional breakdowns
- Raise enough money to go on the tour
- Convince key people that my going on the tour is actually a great idea
- Learn French
- Learn German I'm kind of kidding about these three....
- Learn Italian
- Take the required online classes needed if accepted on the tour
- GET ACCEPTED
Step Four: Set a Date
Two things:
Number One - Guys should be asking ME on dates.
Number Two - I believe this is a more effective tool if your goal is to loose n pounds by a certain date or train for a marathon on a particular day, but I can't really control when I find out the end result of the goal. All I know is that I'll find out "before the middle of February". It's this kind of vague information that gives me emotional breakdowns that leave me rocking back and forth in the corner while humming "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart." SO I just wait. And hope for dates.
Step Five: Be Realistic
I chuckled out loud when I read this and realized that THIS was how Ms. Cain got away with her lofty claim. No matter what, if a subject DIDN'T achieve their goal, it could automatically be attributed to its unrealistic nature. Perfect. Sneaky, but perfect.
"There are some goals that are too out-of-this-world." That's what Cain says. She advises cutting back and instead of making a goal to loose 100 pounds by next month, may be just 10 pounds.
Newsflash: I can't only *kind of* get accepted to the tour. It's all or nothing.
It'd be like saying "getting pregnant is too lofty of an undertaking... Just get a little bit pregnant."
No, no. This baby I'm going to have is called Experience Europe 2015. And I can't wait for delivery date... in "the middle of February"... (mocking tone implied).
Step Six: Commit to Yourself
According to the article, we should have the mindset that "it's ME who needs to spend extra hours at the gym." "It's ME who should work overtime to finish by that deadline" It's all up to me.
This WAS true when I was writing the letter, filling out the application and talking for hours to many people as I tried to figure out how to market myself as a great candidate. But NOW, it's up to the department chairs of the tour to decide who gets the "Thanks for applying, good luck with your life" email and who gets the "Pack your bags!" email.
In the meantime, I'll prepare as if I'm already accepted, i.e. save every extra penny, work every extra hour, pray, pray, and pray again.
I'll keep y'all updated on how these six steps ended up working out.
As always, thanks for reading.
PS - don't hate me for not posting in a long time. School, work, and church callings have encompassed every spare minute in the past little while.
