Goals and visions are important in order to achieve something, it is said. But you have to Job Search and career planning always be the big goals? Or is it more helpful to use goals as guidelines?

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Set goal and achieve: Meet Obama!

A few days ago I was chatting with an acquaintance. He told me that he wanted to meet Barack Obama. And then added: "But of course I know that that's not possible.." I thought: Great pipe dream... but why not? After all, you need goals in order to achieve something. Or not? I had that Objective not at all, by the way, and I haven't even dreamed of it. And yet, quite surprisingly, I managed to get the same one Conference with Obama.

But that's not why I think the example of Barack Obama is good for several reasons when it comes to personal success and dreams: Firstly, as the first black US President, Obama himself was a good example of how to achieve high goals - the embodiment of the American way, so to speak of Life.

The fear of the unknown

And then of course such a meeting with him is an absolutely insane goal. At first glance. At second glance, there are definitely opportunities: A job or internship with a foreign correspondent in Washington, for example - in the aforementioned case, corresponding previous experience is available. And already the goal moves a little bit closer. That is also the difference between dreams and and concrete goals.

Actually have just Young Professionals, but also many “more experienced” people looking for a job Anxiety before tackling such goals. Because they often have to leave familiar paths and dare to do something unknown - something that maybe nobody in their environment has done before or that seems so unattainable to them that they don't even dare to tackle it.

Healthy Realism?

Because the human Brain is designed in such a way that we like to stick to the familiar and tried and tested, but fear new things. What we don't know, we prefer to let go, partly out of convenience, partly out of fear. The psychological mechanisms with which we talk ourselves into this are, however, manifold.

There is, for example, the common prejudice of healthy realism. So reported Training and best of HR - Berufebilder.de® author Tom Diesbrock of a client who had a decidedly negative self-image—that of Customer himself classified as realistic. And Diesbrock writes: “I've come to terms with the word realistic Problem, because it will be in my Eyes often twisted used abused!”

Is the glass half full or half empty?

In fact, especially in Germany, one is usually realistic when one assesses a matter negatively. Even if this negative assessment is unrealistically exaggerated. In contrast, one applies positive Point of view fast as a pipe dream – like wanting to meet Barack Obama.

Therefore, many job seekers only embrace the opportunities offered to them, rather than just thinking about what they want - and perhaps finding opportunities they have not even considered.

Realism versus goals

This alleged “realism” is anything but conducive to reaching the goal: Because who quickly devalues ​​his goals as unrealistic and therefore unreachable, obstructs one thing above all: the perspective on the way there, on the many small goals, the step can be solved step by step.

Because in the Psychology Above all, one thing applies: If your problem seems unsolvable, break it down into many small individual problems. The same goes for goals.

Goals as a guard rail

I have a suitable example for healthy ones Objective I also have: A colleague started a Twitter experiment. So she initially set herself the goal of reaching 5000 followers in a few months. Sarcastic comment from her Twitter coach "It always has to be the really big goals, right?" But she proved to be a true realist when it came to achieving her goals:

“For me, goals are like guard rails. How are you supposed to achieve 'big' if you think small? I like my guard rails, but I also deviate from them when things turn out differently. "