When I was growing up, I could never understand the grade I was given on one of my English papers.
I’d have penned what I considered one of my best pieces and gotten an average mark. Other times, I’d rush my work and put in something I considered average and be rewarded with an above-average mark.
I guess that’s what I liked most about maths. The answers were either right or they were wrong. The method you used for arriving at the answers were either right or wrong.
Numbers remove the grey area and provide us with clarity and certainty. My uncle John puts it best: ‘There is only truth in numbers’.
If I haven’t heard that one a hundred times it must be a thousand!
Numbers are more conducive to success and achievement. We don’t necessarily have to be good at numbers, but we need to embrace the language of numbers to optimise our potential.
Numbers are measurable.
Consider this question: Am I healthy?
We have the option to respond with a simple yes or no, or we could provide specific numbers such as those from a cholesterol reading, blood pressure test, and resting heart rate. These numbers would definitively indicate our level of health and provide insight into whether we are healthy or unhealthy, and to what extent.
Our health is therefore a number.
Our financial health is also a number.
Our investment values and debts are numbers. The income our investments generate us are numbers.
And finally, our goals are numbers.
In my goals workbook, I talk about the S.M.A.R.T method of setting goals as one of the most effective ways to set and achieve goals.
S.M.A.R.T stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based.
Three of the five letters pertain to numbers.
The word specific means that something is capable of being achieved or not achieved, black or white. If we define our goals as a number, it becomes specific.
Measurable means that something is capable of being measured with a number. This would mean the goal itself, but also our progress to achieving the goal. Time-based means putting a timeframe on the goal you are seeking to achieve. Time is certainly a number.
I reiterate, we don’t need to be a numbers whizz.
But we do need to embrace the language of numbers to achieve our goals and dreams.
If you’re due to for a goals refresh, here is a link to my free goals workbook.
It may be worthwhile to verify if you have articulated your goals using numerical language.
