Step 3: Give Yourself Permission to be D.U.M.B.
It’s Time To Get Moving
Your third step when navigating through changing waters is to chart your course. Yep, it’s time to set some goals. What things will you need to do in order to make that vision a reality, to be that person you want to be? You may have heard of setting S.M.A.R.T. goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Oriented. That makes sense, right? The more specific we can get, the more likely we are to get the results we’re looking for. As a special education teacher, I wrote thousands of S.M.A.R.T goals for my students so that I could hone my efforts toward a specific outcome. It helped me measure my student’s progress as well as my efficacy as a teacher. But, before we get all S.M.A.R.T. about it, I’d like you to try something different.
Give Yourself Permission to be D.U.M.B.
Notice that’s an acronym, not an insult. When we are designing a broader canvas, a.k.a your life, we need to get excited about it! So before you tape your S.M.A.R.T goals on the refrigerator, take some advice from NY Times best selling author, high performance coach and motivational speaker Brendon Burchard and make sure your goals are D.U.M.B.: Dream Driven, Uplifting, Method Based, and Behavior Driven.
I’ve attached a link to his youtube video where he explains this in more detail, but I’ll give you a quick example here. Let’s say you know you want to retire, so one of your goals is to downsize. Your S.M.A.R.T. goal might read like this:
I will downsize to a two bedroom beachfront condo in a gated community in south Florida with a monthly payment of no more than $4,000 within the next 12 months.
Your D.U.M.B. goal may read like this:
I will create a lifestyle that frees me from all of the “stuff” of life so I can spend my time traveling to exotic places, enjoying the surf and sand, and sharing breathtaking sunsets from my patio with family and friends.
Which one will get you off the couch? I’m thinking it’s the D.U.M.B. one.
Tune in to Brendon’s video to hear more about setting D.U.M.B. goals and I’ll see you for Step 4 next week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54aFTZ9POw4
Suzanne Leon is a certified Transition Coach who helps her clients navigate challenging life changes. Through retirement coaching, Suzanne helps her clients envision and create a lifestyle that allows them to savor the freedom they’ve been working for, while continuing to grow, serve and stay connected to others in their families and communities. Visit her website to find out more about her personalized services.