Winning the war with greased pigs and squirrels…

Steve Roskamp
Jul 21, 2017 · 4 min read

Goals can be elusive. Well, not goals themselves. I’m extremely gifted at setting goals. If I could find a way of getting compensated based on all the goals I’ve set in my life, I’d be a rich man. The elusive part is achieving those goals. Being successful in achieving goals — that’s the hard part. For me at least it feels like trying to catch the greased pig at the small-town county fair. It usually doesn’t end well, and I end up a bit muddy.

I believe my experience is not all that uncommon. For most of us trying to make significant changes in our lives, or successfully accomplishing a goal, is not an easy task. We begin with good intentions, yet the demands of day-to-day life push us towards an equilibrium of sameness — the “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle of life.

At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, stepping out of that cycle is hard. I may sit myself down, fully motivated to map out a path to make some changes. I’ll explore the tools I think I need to make those changes. I have access to an unlimited number of blogs, writings, web sites, and other sources of “wisdom” that encourage me in my quest for productive change. I feel armed and ready to make this thing happen.

And then reality hits. I realize that making a change in one area of my life will likely necessitate that something in another area of my life needs to change as well. If I want to develop a better quiet time in the morning, I’ll need to get up earlier. If I get up earlier, I may need to go to bed earlier. The changes start to chain together, and I begin to feel overwhelmed. I start to rethink my goal. And my life stays the same.

A few summers ago I came across this profound piece of wisdom: “If nothing changes, nothing changes.” I often recognize into this in my quest for meaningful change and in my attempts to accomplish a goal. I’m not really prepared for change. I’m not sure I want to give up a lesser thing in the pursuit of something better. And so I begin to make excuses. I’m also extremely gifted at that. I can identify 87 reasons why the path I’ve chosen is not the correct one any longer. Better yet, the goal I’ve identified was not an appropriate or necessary goal in the first place. What was I thinking?

As I wrestle with these beliefs — or more honestly self-deceptions — I look for other things to distract me. I get “squirreled” by the newest shiny bauble or idea that attracts my attention.

I’ve gone through this cycle too many times to count. I like to get things done and enjoy the positive feelings of accomplishing a goal. I’m energized by challenges and like to take on new tasks that expand my skill set or allow me to use old skills in innovative ways. Yet there have been times when I feel stuck or unable to accomplish something that I’ve wanted to for a while. This may be a new personal habit, a discipline that I know would benefit me, or some change in my schedule or lifestyle.

I have found one question that has helped me capture the pig and stop chasing the squirrel. My breakthroughs have come when I step back and ask myself one simple question and then committed myself to the follow through. It’s a question I first came across more than a couple of decades ago in the writings of Steven Covey. It has stuck with me, and I’ve used it on more than one occasion. I believe asking yourself this question and committing to action on the answer can reboot your focus and jumpstart your movement toward that long-elusive goal.

The question is this:

What’s one thing, that if I did it consistently well of the next 30 days, would have a significant impact on my life? (Or move me toward the successful accomplishment of my goal)

Take your time with this question. Think about that thing that has eluded you for months, maybe even years. What behavior might move you down the path toward accomplishing that goal?

What habit do you just know would be beneficial for you to develop? Identify just one — don’t overwhelm yourself with too many choices. If you are someone who has a long list of things to work on, narrow it down. Pick your top two or three, then select just one. I’ll say it again — just one. One focus, for thirty days. One month. At the end of the month, you can choose. You make find it didn’t have the impact you thought it would, and you can change. Or you may find you want to keep the same focus. But give it a month. Make that choice.

Doing this can help in multiple areas of your life: fitness, weight loss, meditative times, work behaviors. One focus, one behavior. There’s an old adage that describes how to eat an elephant — one bite at a time. Don’t overwhelm yourself with multiple goals. Stop chasing the squirrel. Keep it simple, and keep it focused. You’ll up your chances of success, and before you know it, you’ll have captured that greased pig you’ve been chasing for a while.

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Steve Roskamp

Written by

Talent Development Specialist @ Uncommon Solutions in Denver, Colorado — A people guy in a tech world

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