Living the Significant Life (16 page)

There may be a better way than reverse goal-setting and consistent focused action to get a step-by-step map of what to do, but we haven’t discovered (or developed) it yet. It’s powerful stuff.

Goal-setting is okay. Goal-getting is fantastic! We highly recommend it to everyone.

Rewards

When we’re working toward a goal, one of the things we do to keep the whole process going and flowing is to give ourselves a reward every time we complete a subgoal. This is one element that’s missing from most goal-setting and goal-getting systems—your rewards
along the way.
Some long-term goals take years to accomplish, so getting rewards for completing successful steps along the way is important for maintaining your passion and your focus.

Every time you develop a specific goal, make it part of the structure that you will grant yourself a reward upon successful completion of each subgoal as well as of the ultimate goal. Very important: make your reward something you would not normally do or give yourself. For instance, if you go out to dinner often, don’t make that your reward. However, if you generally stay home for meals, the reward of going out to eat may be just right. New clothes, trips with the family—there are hundreds of special favors you can do for yourself that make the whole business of working on your goals more fun.

Appreciation and recognition are two of the most common human values, so reward yourself whenever you do a good job, no matter how easy or small the accomplishment.

Use this worksheet to establish your first goal and get started toward making it happen.