Congratulations! You Scored A GOAL!

Goals, goals, goals!

Let’s think about this for a second folks. Without goals, how can we look forward to something? How can we feel that immense great feeling once we have achieved it? How can we feel like “YEAH I DID IT?”

I mean once you reach your goals, you feel like Rocky Balboa running up the Philadelphia steps and raising your arms in victory.

The talented actor Denzel Washington said: “Dreams without goals are just dreams and they ultimately fuel disappointment.”

What are goals? Goals are something you want to achieve and accomplish in the future. A desired result.

Goals give our lives so much meaning and purpose. They give you focus and direction and a clear path to where you are heading. They give you motivation and you start to develop progress and movement. Whatever you want to do in your life, you have to set some goals.

The first question you want to ask yourself is: what do you want to do?

What is it you want to accomplish? Where do you see yourself in your life?

This is called your VISION. Once you have a clear idea of what you want to do, then here comes the GOALS.

Start with a short-term goal. A short-term goal is something you want to reach in a short time like a week, a month or under a year. You can’t just start from the beginning and jump to the end. There is gradual progress to get there. But consistency, hard work, self-discipline, passion, and an optimistic outlook will get you there. Short term goals, in my humble opinion, are like stepping-stones that ultimately lead you to your long-term goals, which are your vision of where you want to be.

Some people avoid goals because of their fear of failing. You will fail and fail big, but that does not make you a failure.

Failing and success are your best friends, because to succeed we must go in loops and U-turns and heavy traffic. These are lessons of learning and growing that fuel success. This is what failing teaches us.

On the other hand, failure is when you give up too easily and decide not to try again. Remember, success is not an easy one-way ticket to paradise. Reaching your goals and subsequent goals will always have
some type of obstacles in the way.

If you are afraid to reach your goals, remember that fear is useless unless it drives you. Use your imagination for a second.

Let’s say you are on one side, and in the middle is a big, scary monster named MR. FEAR. At the other end of the side is your GOAL. If you are afraid, then you will be stagnant and come up with things like: what
if this happens or what if that happens.

If you are afraid and give it a try you are approaching the middle and then you start to get anxious the closer you get to MR. FEAR, then you go back to the starting line.

 Now here is the kicker. In reality, you are standing on one side, and the other side is your goal, which is realistically attainable. But guess what? In the middle, nothing is there. MR. FEAR is not really there . . . so you are free to GO FOR IT. You are creating the monster MR. FEAR in your mind and if MR. FEAR is not challenged, you will remain at the start for a long time.

After goals, then comes the STRATEGIC PLANNING. 

Having a vision and a goal is great, but without a plan you lose direction. Planning is basically writing down what you are going to do to reach your goals for the short term and long term. It is like a coach for a football team going to the drawing board and showing the players the plan they need to follow in order to win.

Now the most important part of reaching your goals is MASSIVE ACTION. The reason this is the most important is because without action, you will not reach your desired destination. It is that simple.
When you have a clear vision, an attainable goal, and a great plan and you put in the work, then you are on your way to SUCCESS!

Let’s look at the five rules for setting a goal (THE SMART GOALS RULE):

Specific Goals- You must have a goal that is specific. A specific goal gives you a clear direction of where you are heading. For example, maybe you want to run a marathon, or maybe you want to become a
happier person, or maybe you want to lose 10 pounds etc.

Measurable Goals- Basically, keep precise track of small achievements along the way that leads you to your bigger goals. I suggest you keep a journal on hand to track these small achievements

Attainable Goals- Reaching an attainable goal is what you should aspire to do, but don’t make it too easy for yourself. The point is to work hard for your goals that are attainable. The feeling in the end, once you reach it that way, will be more gratification for you…It is about raising the bar and your level of expectations that will make it worth it in the end.

Relevant Goals- Goals need to be important to the journey you are heading toward. How important is this goal to you? The reward and celebration at the end should motivate you enough to reach your goals. It should keep you on track and help you keep making good progress to reach it. If you feel that the goal is not important, then I strongly believe you are wasting your precious time, and you should try something else. You must feel that passion and excitement about getting there.

Time-bound Goals– Setting a deadline gives you more initiative to take action and work hard. It gives you a certain amount of time to achieve it, and you will not procrastinate. But remember not to stress yourself out. Work hard but simultaneously have fun!

Well, there you have it, my friend, this is the moment that will shape your destiny.

This is the moment you must say to yourself: “I CAN DO THIS! I WILL DO THIS! I MUST DO THIS!

And one day you will stand on top of that mountain and scream loud for all to hear: “I DID IT”!