Sean Covey tells us, "Control your own destiny or someone else will."
When we have no goals, we are wander through life like a ship without a rudder. Effective people have goals, they are going somewhere. These goals can be related to finances, relationships, health, or whatever one deems important in life.
As we end one year and begin another, it is a good time to reflect on what we have achieved in the past year, and set goals for the new year. Whether or not we achieve the goals we set is less important than having goals. According to the Napoleon Hill Foundation, "When you are actively working toward a goal, there are no failures; there are only degrees of success."
In order for goals to be effective, however, there are certain elements that need to be in place.
First of all, we have to really want it, there has to be a burning desire to achieve a goal. It cannot be imposed on us, it has to come from within.
Secondly, we need to write down our goal. It needs to be specific and there needs to be a time frame. "By such and such a date, I accomplish this specific goal." It may be a target weight, or a specific amount of money, for example.
When the target date comes, we may say to ourselves: "That was easy. Now I am going to set a more challenging goal." We may also say: "That did not work out as I expected. Let's look at it again. If I am going to achieve my goal, what do I need to do differently?" We may also find that there is a reason why a goal was not achieved; often there is something far better coming our way than we dared imagine. Either way, there is constant growth.
Thirdly, we need to remember that persistence is an essential ingredient to success. It is important to post our goals in a place that we will see them and reread them regularly with a spirit of joy. Some experts say to read them aloud at least twice a day.
Earl Nightingale says, "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal." As you are imagining your goal, you are thinking about ways that it can be achieved, you are working toward it, and, despite inevitable setbacks, are actually on the way to achieving it. How can one not feel excited about that?
Because setting goals is an essential key to success, there are many excellent free goal setting guides which expound on the steps I have outlined. One very good one is available online from the Nightingale Conant Corporation.
Life is a beautiful journey and each of us has almost limitless potential. By setting goals that are meaningful to us, we achieve what is meaningful. We give wings to our wishes. Yes, it is a lot of hard work, but when we can look back and see what we have accomplished, we experience one of the greatest thrills of living.
