Recently, I was reviewing my entrepreneurial progress over the past few years and picked up on an interesting phenomenon. As I scanned one my lists of goals (we’ve established in a previous post that I love lists), I could hear the mental, self-satisfied, “check, check, check” slow to a grumbly, “Uuuugh” when I hit on an unachieved goal.

What bothered me about this goal wasn’t that I hadn’t achieved it, my goals shift and evolve all the time as I refine my vision and new opportunities arise. What was so distasteful about coming across this goal was that it is still on my list today. Rather than being a resonant step to fulfilling my dream, held out in front of me as an inspiring milestone by which to gauge my progress, it has become a millstone around my neck that I drag along as I grow my business. For the record, millstones are heavy, intractable objects that when carried around necks, can bring forward motion to a grinding halt.

Bing! That’s when the insight came. This particular item isn’t a goal at all; it’s a should – a millstone masquerading as a milestone. There’s a saboteur voice in my head telling me that I should want this, I should do this, I should . . . blah blah blah. The truth is, it doesn’t resonate with me and I don’t want to put energy into accomplishing it. Now that I have more clarity, I have a choice. I have decided to take this off my list for the time being and stop letting it weigh me down.

What about you?

What goals have you been dragging around?

What is exciting and resonant about this goal for you?

Is this a milestone or a millstone?

Now that you know, what will you choose?

What action will you take to reflect your new commitment?

Postscript. Sometimes reviewing unachieved goals leads to renewed commitment. One of my goals has been to keep up a blog. I reconnected to what is fulfilling for me in writing a blog and was inspired to write one immediately . . . check!