ALWAYS KEEP AN EXACT GOAL IN MIND

A reporter once asked golf legend Jack Nicklaus what the difference
was between his performances and those of others who might have about
the same ability as he had. He responded that he felt what
distinguished from other talented people was that he always had an
exact goal in mind for every shot he attempted.

What a great lesson that is for all of us, whether we're making a move
as insignificant as a golf shot(though we golfers believe our shots
are very significant), or something as weighty as a life choice
regarding a career or relationship.

It seems to me that a great deal of energy is wasted, and numerous
poor choices are made because the individual involved has not thought
out what he/she is trying to accomplish.

Take the person who is upset with a product or service and either
calls or goes in person to the supplying company. Beginning with a
desire to "give them a piece of my mind," the customer may have no
idea what the goal of the message? And, if there is a goal in mind, is
the behavior likely to accomplish that goal, or push the situation
further from it?

Even worse, clients often tell me that they knew a particular response
was not going to achieve the stated goal, yet they went ahead anyway.
Sabotaging, self-defeating behavior is not as un-common as we might
imagine, and failure to develop a hoped-for outcome in advance of
action is a primary source or such failures.

Because we have been conditioned over the years to respond in certain
ways, we may follow established patterns despite the fact that we
continue to achieve undesirable results. I've often said that the
American way is this: If you do something and it does not work, do it
harder. Does is not make more sense to consider a different approach
instead?

Let me tiptoe into a minefield topic related to the above. Ameri-can
society has been working for decades to stop drug abuse among its
citizens. Despite lipservice to prevention, the primary "weapon" in
the "war on drugs" has been threats of punishment, followed by
punishment itself. The outcome? There has been no significant change
in the drug-abuse behavior.

What, then, should we do? Because our society seems to believe that
any other approach would amount to sanctioning drug use, other
approaches are not tried. Instead, we attempt to devise more effective
ways to find the suppliers and punish them, cut off the supplies and
punish those who use the drugs that get past this "net."

The result is that our prisons are overflowing with those who have
been thereby convicted, leaving the question: What was the original
goal and how well-defined was it? Once we have answered those
questions, it naturally follows that we must ask: Is what we're doing
achieving that/those goal(s)?

Many other examples can be cited on the personal, family, and societal
levels of problems resulting from actions being taken with-out: 1)
adequately defining the goal in advance of the behavior; 2) connecting
the behavior to the goal; and, 3) assessing the degree to which the
behaior has achieved the agreed upon goal. Reversing the order of
those steps, or inadequately pursuing the steps, is sure to result in
failure to achieve the desired goals, as individuals, families, and as
a society.

Will Powers works as a licensed clinical psychologist in Santa
Maria. Address questions for his column to: 705 E. Main St.,
Santa Maria, CA 93454-4558