You’ve likely heard the concept of a gateway drug; that seemingly innocuous drug someone tries once, gets hooked and then graduates on to ever more dangerous drugs to which they become powerfully addicted. Yikes! Definitely better NOT to take the first step in that direction.
I like to take that gateway concept and apply it to goal setting. A gateway goal is a goal that has the power of ushering in success beyond the achievement of that goal. It’s a goal that, once you achieve it, leads to the achievement of other goals.
For example, I always had a bunch of goals which I never seemed able to achieve.
In conversations with my friend Andrew he used to talk to me about my not loving myself enough. I was quite resistant initially but when I finally allowed myself to hear him, I realized that’s where I needed to focus.
It wasn’t easy and it didn’t come fast, but one day I had that moment of clarity when I knew I’d gotten there. I remember everything about that moment. It was like the skies parting and a chorus of hallelujahs. Yay me! I’d gotten to that place of self-love that Andrew wished for me.
That was amazing, but it’s how it shifted everything else for me, that was truly amazing. I was able to release extra pounds, I ended a relationship that wasn’t right for me, I left an organization that felt suffocating, I asked for help around the house, I improved a challenging work relationship with someone and exited a relationship with another.
How were all these things possible? And not just possible, but much easier than they’d been before?
Because I had achieved my gateway goal!
Try this ONE thing
What is that ONE goal for you that, if you achieved it, would pave the way for other goals to be met. This is your gateway goal, and once you figure it out, goal getting will become so much easier.
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