On a recent cross country flight I looked out over the Rocky Mountains from 30,000 feet and saw hundreds of paths sort of heading towards the summits of the various peaks.

I write "sort of" because looking at these zigzagging paths made it very clear why they are called switchbacks. Those switchbacks occupied my thinking for most of the rest of the flight to Oakland and have been on my mind often since.

It occurred to me that those switchback paths are much like the paths we often take towards our largest, most important goals. We’re definitely on a path, but it doesn’t always seem direct or in a straight line. Through my reflection I have found five messages about goal setting – and goal attainment – in the switchback paths.

The need for a clearly defined goal. If you are on a mountain path, the goal is pretty clear. You are there because you want to get to the top. In your daily routine how often do you strive to make your goals that clear and obvious? From the 30,000 perspective you probably can see yourself progressing towards your goal, but sometimes on the path it’s hard to see. Keeping your goal clearly in front of you is critical to your attitude and aids in maintaining your persistence and belief.

Switchbacks allow you to get started. Have you ever faced a mountain of a goal and the steps towards it seemed hard, steep and full of risks? While boldness is important, often at the beginning of a journey, you just need to get started; to build some momentum and confidence. Taking a winding path may not be the most direct route, but it’s one of the best ways to insure a successful start, and finish.

Keep your head up. Not only do you need to clearly define your goal, but you must always keep it in sight as well. In any journey, whether walking or moving towards a goal, you must keep your head up – to be alert to dangers and diversions and to keep the goal in sight. Even if the switchbacks make it seem – even momentarily – if you are moving away from it.

Switchbacks allow for ongoing progress. I’ve hinted at this already, but it bears repeating – the path of the switchback allows for ongoing progress. The path allows for steady consistent progress – which is critical to reaching any goal of importance.

Watch for shortcuts. The well worn path is a valuable one to have, but there may be opportunities to skip a switchback. The serious hiker and goal achiever is always looking for a short cut – a path that might be a bit more difficult, but may cut significant time off of the journey. Yes, moving towards your goals is a journey, but you must always have the destination in mind. If someone dropped a rope from a helicopter, and your goal was to get to the top of the mountain, be willing to grab on! We must keep moving forward, but always be looking for the big opportunity to shorten our path and reach our goals more quickly.

Obviously, this is written from the perspective of reaching individual goals, and hopefully that perspective has been valuable. However, thinking of these five points is just as important (if not more important) for you as a leader or as part of a team that is trying to reach important and perhaps big goals.

Keeping your focus and enthusiasm for goals as an individual is hard, but keeping a team or organization on track and excited often presents an even larger challenge. Keep these lessons in mind and put them to use for yourself or your team and they will aid you on your path.