I tried over a dozen times to quit smoking. I failed each time. The longest I survived without a smoke was 6 hours. Each time I tried to quit, I advertised my intent to the world. l felt I must publicly commit myself to a course of action.
For someone who has spent a lifetime in revenue-focused companies, this seemed like a logical thing to do; set an ambitious goal and go for it. Except that it didn’t work.
A little over a year ago I didn’t smoke in the evening, but I didn’t make a big deal out of it. Next day was a World Cup cricket match, an important one. I didn’t smoke. I kept it so quiet I didn’t even tell myself what I was attempting.
It was a month before I admitted to myself what I was up to. A little later I confessed to a few friends. Now it’s been over a year and two months, No big deal, no fancy goals, a day at a time. It’s working for me.
Yesterday’s post – on the importance of not setting goals – has provoked a response from some of my friends. Business needs goals, nothing can be accomplished without them, has been the refrain. I don’t agree. You need a broad sense of what you are up to. After that, focus on enjoying the journey… more can get done this way.
I would go with your observations on goal-setting, Rahul. A general game-plan, is what would be enough. The rest is about sticking to strategy and tactics, I guess. Come to think of it, when one really ‘achieves’ at the end of it all, one also stops to reflect, ‘did I really?’. Isn’t that true? I pray that God give you the strength to keep away from tobacco, for the rest of your life.