Is Goal Setting An Art? Part 3 - Leaving the Comfort Zone

In order to assist me in achieving my goals, I have a dream board: a board with pictures of all the things I would like in my life, the people I would like to meet (yes, George Clooney, I'm coming for you!), charities I would like to support and other bits and pieces I draw inspiration from.  This has extended beyond just the board and now takes over a wall.  The wall also has my list of affirmations...and my son's baseball competition draw! 

I surround myself with these as reminders of the 'why'.  I believe it is one thing to know the 'what' - what am I wanting to achieve?  Understanding my 'why' keeps that fire in my belly alight.  I do all of this for one summed-up reason: options.  Options can give you the choice of many things from time to money.  Having options to me means having freedom to choose.

Having made that profound statement, I was journaling recently about my goals for 2014 and came to realize (why I hadn't before I don't know) that to achieve my goals next year, and I mean really achieve them, will mean leaving a comfort zone that I have known for 25 years.  The security of an industry that I have worked in for a quarter of a century! Put simply, I just don't have a passion for it. I do it and do it well.  Gosh who wouldn't after that long? The first 10 years were great.  After that, I knew I wanted out, I just didn't know where I wanted to go.  More importantly, I didn't know what I was passionate about.  Now I do. The industry has served me well and vice-versa.  It is not that it is time to move on.  That time, as I said, was actually a long time to go.  It is just that now, the comfort of staying there is outweighed by my own desires to go forth and finally achieve what I have been wanting for a long time: to work for myself, in businesses I enjoy, that give me the life that I want for our family.  A life with options.

May the new year bring you many things, all good of course!  I look forward to sharing the journey with you all as we set sail into 2014, leaving the comfort zone of 2013.  For some, it will be great to close the chapter on the year and embark on a fresh start, for others like me, it means getting down to business and turning what's been on paper into my way of life.  Happy New Year everyone!