Khairul Anuar Safiullah is a trainer with a passion for fully experiential learnings. He exercises competence in leadership, mindset change, sales, communication, presentation skills, customer service, team building, creativity, problem solving, personal effectiveness and image management.
Hi folks! I hope your goals are now in place and you are somewhat able to keep your commitment in achieving your goals. In this article, let’s look at taking ownership of your goals. In the local Manglish language, it’s termed as “die-die must achieve those goals!”. That’s the kind of attitude we are talking about here. How do we inculcate that ownership into our goals?
Taking ownership of something means standing up and announcing that you are responsible towards achieving an objective.
Understanding ownership
First of all, what is taking ownership? Taking ownership is a simple yet very powerful concept. It presents a huge opportunity that most people miss.
Taking ownership of something means standing up and announcing that you are responsible towards achieving an objective. It means that you are accountable for the results produced, the tasks needed to get it done and doing whatever it takes to create the results you desire, including the stuff that is exciting to do and not so exciting to do. Taking ownership requires you to have an enthusiastic and active commitment. It means the success or failure of your goals rests entirely on you.
First tenet
The first tenet in taking ownership is ‘If it’s to be, it’s up to me’. Be responsible in taking the necessary actions and be accountable for the results of those actions. This will also require
proper management of expectation where focus is on managing what we can control and letting go of what we cannot control. Therefore, most of the actions we make must involve elements of whether we can control the outcome or not.
Second tenet
The second tenet is ‘100 percent possible 100 percent of the time’. The belief that what we aim for will happen is crucial in creating enthusiasm and drive in taking action. It gives a sense of purpose and hope. “Ok Coach,” you say. “I won’t fail, right?” you say. I am not saying there is no possibility of failure or setbacks in the actions that you take. What I am saying is, if what you are doing is not giving you the results you want, do something differently.
Third tenet
The third tenet is ‘My actions are dictated by my vision, not my emotions’. Do we have to be emotionless? No!
We are humans. We feel emotions such as sadness, joy and frustration. We feel tired, we feel happy and we feel sleepy.
This is normal. It’s alright to be tired and it’s fine to be sad. It’s what you do with respect to the emotions that are important. When you are tired, rest. When you are sad, acknowledge it and cry if you need to. The big question is “For How Long?”. Just short enough and it’s long enough for you to come back and play the game 100 percent.
In essence, taking ownership is another level higher above commitment. It puts the responsibility and accountability of achieving that goal on your shoulders and your shoulders alone. If achieving the goal requires support from others, how do you influence and enroll other people to be in your corner when needed? It’s all up to you! Just go and do it!
