 Recently a great friend of mine, Olivia, and I presented to a group of year 10 girls about goal setting and life in general. Before we gave the presentation we had an in-depth discussion about our own lives and our philosophies on planning.
Essentially we are both close to 30 and are successful in our own right. We have done many different things, travelled all over the world, and taken opportunities as they have arrived. The key difference is that I was shown how to set goals very early in life (by a very ambitious father) and Olivia never picked up the goal setting thing and simply flowed with the river of opportunities presented to her.
 As a 7-year-old girl I set my first goal: to buy a horse. It took me over three years to achieve it and many of my Saturdays during that time were spent sweeping factory floors and cleaning bathrooms. I learnt the value of money and I also learnt to have pride in what I did, be it a clean floor or a sparkling toilet. A job well done is still a job well done!
In high school I was determined to get into Commerce at Uni, Olivia really didn’t know what she wanted so Commerce sounded like a good option. I then had plans to work in a family business until I could afford to travel, Olivia found a job and met Brad there; Brad wanted to travel, so Olivia went along with his plans.
Olivia and I didn’t meet until the year 2002 when we were both living and working in Aviemore, a wee town in the Scottish Highlands. Even then we didn’t strike up a great relationship, it wasn’t until she and Brad came to live in Jindabyne that we started to appreciate each other’s company. Olivia and I (and her then boyfriend, Brad) all moved into a share house at Appin. It was there that we really built our relationship and grew a very healthy respect for each other.
Over the years we have fundamentally had very different philosophies on planning our lives. I’m very structured, organised and goal focused, and Olivia has been very easy going and flexible and is happy to work with whatever comes up.
 Previously, when I’ve spoken to students about life, and goal setting in particular, I have encouraged them to think about what they want and to go out and get it. However, after speaking to Olivia I’ve realised there is another way. Olivia’s life has worked out fantastically regardless of her ‘go with the flow’ type approach, and when I thought about it later I was able to come up with a rationale as to why.
Olivia is a wonderful person, she has very solid values and is certain of herself and what will or won’t work for her. Even with her relaxed approach she has been very disciplined in her analysis of the opportunities that have come her way and has thought them through and how they would fit with her life and her core purpose. In that way Olivia has always made great decisions.
So, in the future I will be more open to people who resist setting concrete goals and those who adopt a more relaxed approach to life. I have a new respect for people who have faith in their future, regardless of their planning choices.
Very often it’s the faith, values, self-discipline and confidence that build a person’s success, not simply a goal that’s written on paper.
To check out workshops available and what’s scheduled for the rest of the year, go to www.advancedcoachingsolutions.com.au/Workshops.html | 
