Visioning and Goal Setting--They are Not the Same Thing

Kitty J. Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT

Certified Life Strategies & Stress Management Coach/Career Transition Coach with CareerHMO

I am hosting a live, FREE Webinar on the topic of Visioning and Goal Setting TONIGHT! I know I invited you to consider joining me last week, but I know you are busy and you may have delayed registering. The link is at the bottom of this page. But before you go there, you may be wondering why I think it is so important that you attend this event. 

In case you didn't get around to reading the newsletter last week, here is why I think it is important that you consider joining me tonight.

Many of us had dreams as children. We thought we were going to be doing fabulous things when we grew up. As a consequence, few of us really took time to enjoy our childhoods. We were so eager to get on with it and be grown up, weren't we? I know I was! I thought I would never live long enough to see 16. Somehow that was a magical age. I would be happy when I hit 16. I would be allowed to drive. I would be allowed to date! I thought life would be grand if I could just get there, but the years between 6 and 16 seemed to drag on forever.

As a child, I dreamed of being a nurse. My mother was a nurse, and two of my favorite aunts were both nurses. I loved the crisp white uniforms. I loved the snappy little while caps that nurses used to wear. I didn't think about the real, day to day work of nursing...changing out bed pans or helping people recover from life threatening surgeries.

By the time I WAS finally 16 and in high school, the idea of becoming a nurse was losing some of its appeal. The clincher for me was chemistry. I struggled all through my junior year trying to figure out what the heck chemistry was about. I was lost. I struggled similarly with the advanced math class I was in. I started to think about the humiliation of not being able to pass chemistry in nursing school. I heard of girls flunking out and I was afraid that I would be among them if I continued to pursue that "dream."

Not wanting to be a nurse anymore, however, left me stuck with the question of what I DID want to do and or be...and I was clueless. I didn't really want to teach although several of my teachers encouraged me to teach their subjects which included business, Spanish and English. I hadn't even started to consider becoming a librarian yet because, frankly, the librarians in my high school weren't very friendly, and I don't recall having a "real" librarian in my elementary school. 

As a result, I went to a junior college for my freshman year feeling very much adrift and at loose ends. It wasn't until my assignment for work study in the library that I began to consider becoming a librarian as a career. Suddenly, however, as soon as that idea started to take shape, I had a vision and I created a plan.

Everything after that seemed to fall more or less into line. I chose another school where I could go to get a library science endorsement. Later, my first job was as the librarian for a small, rural school in Franklin County and my course was set. For the next 33 years, I was a teacher and librarian and I loved it. I always said that it was the best job in the building, and it was.

But as I reflect on how it all came about, it wasn't by grand design, and it wasn't as the result of my having any "vision" regarding being a teacher OR a librarian. I sort of "fell into" those fields more or less by default.

My love life suffered a similar fate. I never had any strong feelings about wanting to get married or have children. I always thought it would "just happen" if it was supposed to. As a result, I didn't marry until I was 48 years old, and even then, it was ill advised and poorly thought through. I thought it might be my "last chance" at happiness, however, and I was determined to take it...and I did. I have no regrets in that area, and that relationship taught me a lot about myself and about life, but I have to own that it wasn't one of my best ideas, now that I look back on it.

Having said all of that, the events and the experiences that I have had up until now have certainly shaped my life, but I have to admit that they were more or less the result of my allowing myself to be buffeted by the whims and coincidences that occurred in my life. Now, I am a fan of coincidences when they are dressed up as serendipities, but let's face it...living your life without a plan is perhaps not the best way to go about it.

I now have a plan, however, and it is to be the best personal development coach on the planet. I have created out of "nothing" a business that focuses on helping people who are in need:  in need of encouragement, in need of support, and in need of direction along with having someone to which to be accountable while they work on achieving their own dreams.

I have been in business for a mere 18 months, and while it has been a long and sometimes grueling experience, I believe that I am doing good work, and I know I am making a difference in the lives of people with whom I work. Just read my testimonials if you don't believe me. 

So, here I am offering YOU an opportunity to regroup and re-think where life is leading you. Perhaps you are on track to be exactly where you want to be in a year or 5 years or 15...perhaps not. If not, it may be time for a course correction.

Lewis Carroll said, "If you don't know where you are going, then any road will take you there."

Do YOU know where you are going? Have you given up on your DREAM for yourself because you have been buffeted by the circumstances that you have faced over the years?

If you would like to take a bit of time to consider what you still want for yourself moving forward, the Webinar that I have planned for you may be just the thing. I hope you will consider signing up and joining me. Share with your friends. The more the merrier. To register, click here.

Sign up and plan to join me tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST. I think you will be glad you did.

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If you or a friend or family member is looking for a job because they are out of work, between jobs, or underemployed, contact me for information about the “disruptive job search” methodology that is taught atCareerHMO, the “cure for chronic career pain.” I am now working as a career coach with CareerHMO and am looking for people who could benefit from the program and the fantastic resources that are available throughCareerHMO and its sister site, Careerealism.