Specificity.

   When I heard about the purchase of Virgin American by Alaskan Airlines on Monday, my initial reaction wasn't one of happiness. As a big fan of Richard Branson's airline I worried, like others, that they would lose their identity. I worried that as the passenger I might not have the same great experience or customer service that I had come accustomed to. But I knew Alaskan did have a good reputation, so I was on social media exploring their pages. That is where I found the Instagram profile of a 15 year old boy who had posted on an Alaskan picture announcing the merger. He said, "Does that mean we get their planes?". So I clicked on his profile out of curiosity. I thought initially it was strange that someone would use the word "we". Like they were claiming ownership. Reminded me of when a sports team fan uses the word, wait do you play for the team? 
   But what I found when I clicked on this ambitious 15 year old's profile was very intriguing. The profile was filled with pictures of Alaskan Airline planes and regrams from their posts. But the headline is what stuck with me. It simply said "15yo Future Pilot for Alaskan Airlines". Wow, how specific was his goal? Pretty darn specific, right? He didn't simply aspire to be a pilot. He knew, he proclaimed, what he was going to do, who he was going to work for, and what planes he was going to fly. I thought, what crystal clear vision. Especially for a 15 year old. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I know, I didn't think I would be writing this blog right now!
   But the point of me telling you about this kid's instagram page is to demonstrate the need to be specific with your goals. I hear all the time, vague goals from patients and clients. “I want to lose weight.” Okay, that’s great. How much weight? By when? What are we going to do to achieve that? “I want to be healthier.” Why? What for? What does that mean?  What is motivating you? What steps have you already taken and what steps are we going to take moving forward? Be very specific when setting your goals. Write them down. Revisit them daily. How else are you going to get there? Set a destination and start drawing a map. Have the specificity of an enlightened 15 year old future pilot.