GOALS ARE NOT ENOUGH

They need your help. In and of themselves goals are merely a destination you’ve identified. Just because you have defined a goal does not mean you will reach the destination. Anyone can write down or otherwise articulate a goal. Witness the embarrassing charade surrounding New Year’s Resolutions every year.

Goals are inert and only come to life when you understand the underlying fuel required for goal success. The goal is a car. The gas that drives it has three main ingredients: resilience, sacrifice, and perspective. I don’t care about your focus: school, work, diet and exercise, or some other area of life. Without the right fuel, the car is going nowhere. 

Resilience is your ability to take a punch. Every path forward towards any worthy goal is filled with challenges, setbacks, and mistakes. That’s normal. What matters is how you react to this reality. You must make the choice to learn and grow. You might fall and hit the floor when the punch lands, fine – but resilience is the inner fire that makes you get back up, think about it, and keep moving forward. That was only round one and now it’s time for round two.

Sacrifice refers to the stuff you want to do but can’t do because you’ve got things to do. This one kills most people. What do you mean I can’t go out to socialize with my friends? What do you mean I can’t attend every single one of my son’s baseball games? What do you mean I must have a job I don’t like for a few years as a stepping-stone to the job I really want? The successful don’t complain about sacrifice. They think long-term, they think about milestones, and they think actively about required sacrifices.

Finally, we have perspective. Perspective is about constructing a glass half full no matter what the circumstances. It’s what you need when you first realize the work you have taken on is radically more difficult than expected. When you realize the size and difficulty of the task in front of you, you feel momentarily crushed – then, you seek perspective. You remember that a mountain is conquered one step at a time. You focus on the fact that others have done this before you. It can be done! Finally, you remember all of the huge challenges you’ve faced and survived in the past. Then you realize you can do this. Build the right perspective and attitude and effort will follow.

With resilience, sacrifice, and perspective you become committed. Goal + commitment = success. Defining clear and challenging goals is vital, but that’s only the beginning. You have to expect and embrace the hard work time and time again before you occasionally bask in the glory of achievement.

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