PMS and Setting Goals

by David Beavers 

Because I work with an organization comprised mostly of women, my title for this newsletter could be a little misleading. So, let me explain.

Over the last several years, I have been mentoring and coaching several men and women in the areas of personal development and goal-setting.  Once I was asked point blank, “How are you, David, at setting goals?”

I replied, “When it comes to setting goals, writing down my goals—I’m an animal. I’m really good at it. I truly love setting goals, and know from personal experience the spiritual, emotional and financial benefits of putting on paper my objectives for the coming year.”

But in the past twelve months, I discovered that my approach to goal-setting has been a bit off. In setting goals, I had always began with what I wanted to accomplish. Over the years, I have learned and taught this approach in setting goals:

  • Decide what you want
  • Put it on paper
  • Develop a plan
  • Make it your passion
  • Do it on purpose
Today, I know better.

It's better to begin with who I want to become
not what I want to accomplish.

This insight was a significant breakthrough for me: I’m responsible, not only for what happens—what I pursue—but also for who I become. The kind of person I become grows directly from the choices I make, the books I read, the people I hang with, what I look at on the Internet, and willingness to subject myself to the wisdom of others.

My Very Own PMS

Thus, began my quest to develop and write a one-page Personal Mission Statement—my very own PMS.

With the help of Tommy Newberry and his materials, most notably his best-selling book, Success is NOT an Accident, I plodded forward—writing my first, second and third drafts of a PMS. Today, I have a working, though not perfect, one-page PMS that I read every morning.

Setting goals remains a huge passion. Some of my goals have not changed. Others have become more defined. Less general, much more specific. As Roy Disney once said,  “When your values are clear, decisions are easier.”

Writing a PMS forced me to become crystal clear about my values, personal priorities and the relationships I treasure most. Today, I am more focused. Setting goals, combined with my PMS, makes it easier for me to eliminate from my life what might be considered good things, so that I might concentrate on the best things for my life.

So, the first step in setting goals is not deciding what we want, but  who we want to become. A PMS will help us get there.

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