Happy MT Week Monday: Goals
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” (Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564)
I love this quote because it speaks to achieving a goal. Many times we avoid setting goals for ourselves because of those voices in our heads that say “you can’t do that!” And yet, in taking that route in life, we only cheat ourselves.
Take a moment today, as we celebrate MT Week, and think about what your goals are for life. Related to your profession, perhaps it is achieving your CMT. Perhaps it is increasing your production, sending less to QA, or even achieving that perfect QA score. Perhaps it is seeking ways that you can advance in your job and profession. We all also have personal goals. What are they? Think of things you want to achieve. Maybe it’s taking that class you always wanted to take. Maybe it’s taking time to start a new hobby, something that actually gets you away from the computer. Then, I’ve heard some say “I really want to start a blog….some day.” Many times I hear MTs say “I’d love to have my CMT, but I don’t have enough experience, I don’t have enough confidence to take that test, what if I fail?” And my response usually is “what if you never try? How will that make you feel?”
We often talk about goals in our industry. Here’s a few “tips” when you set your own personal goals:
- Be specific. Just saying “I will increase my production this week” is not a specific goal. Saying “I will do 20 lines more every day this week” gets specific!
- Make “stretch goals.” By this, I mean goals that make you ”stretch” but are attainable. Using the above example, saying “I will double my production this week” probably isn’t realistic. But setting a specific number of lines every day, one that is a stretch from what you normally do and yet attainable if you focus and work hard, is a great way to do it.
- Always set a time frame for a goal. Goals that say “one of these days, I will….” don’t tend to get anyone much in the way of achievement because “one of these days” never comes. Goals that say “I will….in the next two weeks” set a time frame in which to work and achieve them!
- What if you don’t reach it? Then, continue to try, readjust your goal, and move on. Generally, if your goals are reasonable and specific, you WILL be able to do it!
- Celebrate your success! Plan NOW for what you will do when you reach that goal. Take some time to do something special for yourself to celebrate the fact that you did it!
So, as we celebrate the week of the medical transcriptionist, take a moment and think about your goals in life. What are they? How will you reach them? And what will life look like when you do?!
Have a great Monday and thank you for being a part of our community!
Related posts:
- Medical Transcription and Setting Goals
- Happy MT Week Saturday: Be a Linchpin
- Happy MT Week Wednesday: It’s all about Choices!
- Happy MT Week Tuesday: What is Holding You Back?
- Goals
Tagged with: Goals • medical transcription • Medical Transcriptionist Week
Filed under: Goals
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Setting goals is not one of my strong points. I’m almost positive it is because I’m afraid of failure and of asking for help. My husband recently told me, “I truly believe that life is simply about choices.” I fully understand where he is coming from. He, however, holds himself in very high esteem, where I on the other hand, have always had a very low self-esteem. I think this factors in on the choices, or lack thereof, that a person makes in life. Low self-esteem and fear of stepping out of my comfort zone and disappointing myself and those who are close to me prevents me from that first step. My husband could and will be my biggest supporter but cannot fathom how fear prevents me from moving forward and does not know how to help me begin because he does not have this issue. My two biggest desires right now are to start my career as an MT and to lose weight, but I am having the hardest time just taking those first few steps.
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Kathy Reply:
May 17th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Lisa, I think fear of failure is a big one for all of us. But then, you have to realize if you never try, you never succeed either! I, too, am one who believes life is about choices, and yet sometimes that’s a tough one because when “bad” things happen to us, we have to wonder about our choices. Have you ever read “The Traveler’s Gift”? It is an awesome book and I definitely recommend it as I believe it changed my life. I’ve started reading a book called “The Happiness Project” and am working that through on my personal blog as well, although I haven’t really started much yet. You might want to join us there as I hope we can create a few folks who would like to encourage each other along the way! And now, as for starting that career as an MT, I know you can do that one and here, cheering you on!
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I firmly believe in controlling what we can control and letting the rest go. At our hospital, as with all employers concerned with the bottom line, decisions are always being made regarding transcription, some beneficial to us MTs and some quite detrimental. This can be frustrating because line counts can be affected by the work we are asked to do. My highest priority (goal) is to sustain a line count that satisfies me, and if there is a change that adversely affects it, I must work harder and smarter – more expanders, more macros, more concentration, etc., for those entities are all in my power to handle. My favorite question is “Is there a better/faster/easier way to do this?” That’s one thing I love about being paid by production – I still feel as if I have input into what I can accomplish. Each change is just another challenge.
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