Mayday Mayday Mayday – Do Your Goals Need Help?

As May 1st rolls around, May Day is an ancient celebration. That’s all well and good, but is it more that case that your goals need a distress call..?

The May Day celebrations go so far back it’s hard to actually pin down the how when and why they started, but many cultures across the world have it as a time of celebration. I think that makes it a good time to celebrate what we have, to appreciate the abundance and opportunities we have all around us, mostly taken for granted.

Take a couple of seconds to think about all the things you can be grateful for, it’s a great way of putting things into perspective.

When it comes to your goals, if you are taking action and moving along a road of steps towards a defined goal, then that’s also reason for celebration. That puts you in control of your life, and it also puts you in the minority, because most people drift along buffeted by circumstance.

So, all could be well in your world, and that’s a good thing. There’s a lot of negativity around in today’s world, and sometimes the positive just gets lost in the noise.

If all is not well, however, maybe you need to send out a Mayday Mayday Mayday call…

Coined by a radio operator at Britain’s Croydon Airport back in 1923, the call went on to replace SOS as the internationally recognised distress call – mainly for craft in the air or on the sea, but it became so established that it’s often used in emergencies on land too.

Is your goal achievement in distress, do you need help on that front? It could be that the biggest help can be given by yourself!

We’re now a third of way through the year. 4 months have gone, 4 months you could have spent taking action towards the goals, or 4 months you could have spent doing nothing except wishing your goals would happen.

If the year hasn’t gone the way you planned it so far, then did you start it by setting goals? Not the wishy washy jokey New Year Resolutions, but genuine goals? Then once you defined the goals, did you work out the steps needed to make them happen? Then once you’d worked out the plan, did you take action on step number 1?

If not, then that’s why you are where you are now, with your goals no closer to happening than they were 4 months ago. Why not decide to answer your own distress call?

Make the decision that it’s time to do something about turning your goals into reality. Define them. Work out the plan. Take action on the first step.

It’s a choice. You can decide to carry on doing nothing, in which case, you’ll be sending out yet more mayday mayday mayday calls for your goal achievement in another 4 months, in another 6 months, in another year!

Or, you can decide to grasp the opportunity I mentioned earlier, to celebrate the chances you have that many around the world don’t have. You can use the well established formula for goal achievement and decide that by next May Day you’ll be able to look back on real progress.

It really is up to you – I know which one sounds better to me, how about you?

Do let me know what you think, I love the feedback!
‘Til Next Time,
Health & happiness,
Gordon
P.S. I write more about the goal achievement formula in my book ‘Transform Your Life in 21 Days!’

Do leave a comment!

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12 Comments

  • I just learnt something new about May … Thank you. Such an important message. Most of us find it so difficult to acknowledge when we are dong well or to ask for help when we need it. I have found over the years that both are equally important, not only for us but also for those around us. when we acknowledge, celebrate and ask, we give others the unspoken permission to do the same. Thank you for the reminder to do both.

    • Thanks Kama,
      I like the point you make about the unspoken permission we give to others – it’s surprising how many people will follow a lead if it is set. There doesn’t have to be any selling an idea or cajoling, people can simply see it in action and then decide to do it themselves,
      cheers,
      Gordon

  • Hello Gordon,
    Thank you for this post. And Happy May Day to you! I have never heard of May Day celebrations until this very morning when I caught the tail end of a NPR report on the radio. Your tip: “Define them. Work out the plan. Take action on the first step.” Great approach 🙂 I would add one other thought: “Progress over Perfection”. -Peace & Blessings!, Phyllis

    • Hi Phyllis,
      Oh yes, ‘progress over perfection is a great tip to add! So many people get caught in a trap of over planning, and never get round to actually taking action!
      Thanks for stopping by,
      cheers,
      Gordon

    • Thanks Irene,
      I get benefit from reading other peoples nudges, so appreciate the feedback o my own!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • Dropping by from Facebook/UBC group – thanks for an excellent and insightful post! My goal achievement has definitely been in distress for awhile, mostly due to a lifelong (at least during my adult life) struggle with procrastination. I think half the battle is recognizing it has been a stronghold and now confronting it and pulling it down!

    • Oh I’ve suffered from procrastination myself over the years, it’s terribly easy to fall into. Goals, plans, targets, they all help to ‘force’ you into taking action, and I find once started the momentum can build on itself.
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • It’s hard for me to believe that four months have already passed. It’s very helpful to visit posts such as these to remind us of how just much time has passed and to get ourselves back on target. I say thank you! I needed this.

    • Thanks Benson,
      It is hard to believe indeed, and it will be 6 months before we know it, then 9, which is why targets and plans are so crucial,
      cheers,
      Gordon

  • I like the concept of checking on progress on 1st May. There is still a lot of the year left to get things achieved but enough gone by to know if we have strayed from our intentions. Very timely for me, thank you.