Dreaming, Doing, and Goal-Setting
Jul 01, 2025
Here we are with half of the year behind us. First of all, how the heck did that happen? Time flies faster than Kacey the Siberian scarfs down her food, and she’s an epic eater!
Are you a person who sets goals with timelines attached to them, and if so, are you working on a goal right now? Goal-setting is a good practice, with this caveat: there’s a saying that a goal without a timeline is just a dream, and while that might feel like a smack between the eyes, there is truth in it.
Let’s take New Year’s resolutions. No, I’m not going to ask you if you made one and whether or not you’ve succeeded – this isn’t that kind of conversation. We’ll talk in generalities here and you can plug in the specifics for yourself if you’d like.
The most common resolution is to be more physically fit. That sounds like a great goal, right, until you dig a little deeper into it and realize there’s no meat in a resolution like that. It’s a good intention, at best.
When you have a goal you’d like to achieve, write it down. Then write down the answers to these questions:
- How will I know that I’ve achieved this goal?
- When would I like to celebrate this achievement?
- What are the tools I need to acquire to facilitate this achievement?
- Who are the people I need to partner with to facilitate this achievement?
- How will I celebrate the smaller accomplishments that lead to the achievement of this goal?
If your goal is sort of nebulous like the goal of being more physically fit, then coming up with intermediate milestones and a measurable goal are vital. You can’t know something until you’ve defined it. Next, devise an achievable timeline with a specific date marked on your calendar. If you need a gym membership or running shoes or a set of hand weights, put them on your shopping list. If you need a coach or doctor, identify them and get started working with them.
The most important part of achieving your goal is celebrating yourself and your efforts along the way. Your celebration might look like getting a new pair of shoes or indulging in your favorite dessert or hitting the road for a weekend away. Take your goal, create a timeline for smaller stepping-stone goals to be achieved, and decide how you’ll celebrate each little milestone. Rewarding yourself for the small achievements is just as important as hitting the big goal. As a matter of fact, if you don’t celebrate along the way, you’ll be less likely to actually achieve your goal.
It's very much like Kacey and me when we’re training a new skill or refining one she already knows – as we work together, she gets rewarded for staying engaged with me and trying to do what I’m asking her to do. Kacey loves to work, and she really loves to get training treats while we work. The training treats are her intermediate celebration on the way to achieving our goals together.
This works for people just like it does for dogs. Now, half the year is gone. Got any resolutions you want to revisit?
Wags,
Sandy Weaver
The Voice of Wagaliciousness
#success #leader #lawofattraction #dogtraining #conformation
