The Truth Within a Goal

Goals

I went through a period in my life where I did not believe in goals.

I felt that they left people wishing for something, but never acting.

I understand better now that this is not a failing of goals.

It is a failing of the individual.

If we spend too much time living in the future.

Dwelling on the goal.

Wishing and waiting for that “better life”

Then we don’t put enough focus and energy into actions necessary to reach the goal.

Build a clear vision of the goal.

Contrive a plan to get there.

Structure your life around core principles that guide your daily decisions.

Then live in the now.

Apply your energy today.

Be in the moment.

The future does not exist.

Until you build it in this moment.

Do you have a goal?

Life is going to happen.

The difference between winners and losers is who has the discipline to stay the course.

Your past has developed your principles.

Those principles drive your actions in the now.

Those actions now allow you to react and navigate the real world.

Navigation is what we do in the present moment to find a path to the goal.

Everything revolves around what you do right here, right now.

Make a mistake?

Course correct.

Don’t look back and dwell – or you will go further off track.

A series of those little mistake are all filtered out by time.

As long as you make corrections when they are identified.

We have to look up and check in on the goal from time to time.

But we can’t obsess over it.

If we only watch the horizon chasing the goal

we will get hung up on the near obstacles.

Believe in the goal, and know that it will change as you get closer.

Learn from the past and then leave it behind.

Discipline in the present.

What is your goal?

The Highest Priority

Priorit exclamation

Priorities can be a funny thing

They can help serve as guiding principles in our lives. Or they can cripple us and direct decisions the wrong way.

We can get paralyzed when things don’t fit nicely within the priorities that we have defined.

We get hung up on which choice to take right now, and so we do nothing, or we take the easier choice and claim it is a priority.

The problem is that there are multiple parallel threads in our lives that are competing for our thoughts, our time, and our emotions.

We simplify our decisions by holding firmly to one thread.

Far too often at the expense of another.

Remember, that you have a life, and a body, and a mind.

You have to take care of all of them.

Your life is your family, friends, job, charities, hobbies.

Your mind is your inner self, your spirit, your soul, your experience of now.

Your body is your physical being, your heart, muscles, bones, and tendons.

These are all weaved together to create who you are.

Are any of your threads coming unraveled?

Have you neglected any of them for too long?

Priority #1 is taking care of yourself.

Otherwise, you will fail at everything else.

Priority #1 is keeping the fabric of your existence strong and tightly knit.

Take some time today to look at your life.

Are you taking care of yourself?

If you let your body go, your mind will follow.

How much more could you accomplish if you felt better?

How much more could you do if you had more energy?

Take an hour today to get to the gym.

Take 15 minutes tomorrow to do some yoga at home before work.

Take care of your body.

Strengthen your fabric.

There Will Always Be Something

To Happiness

Are you chasing a dream?

Telling yourself that “I will be happy when I…”

Maybe you just want to lose 10 pounds

Or get that promotion.

Or gain muscle.

Or improve your blood test numbers.

Or look good enough that the cute guy at the corner coffee shop will notice you.

There will always be a Thing.

A Thing that you are waiting for.

A Thing that you think will make you happy.

So the motivation will fade.

Maybe it will take too long to get the Thing.

You will get the Thing and you won’t be as happy as you thought.

Or you will find a new Thing.

So you will slip back into your old ways.

Successful people learn to enjoy the process.

Love the process and be happy now.

Love the process and get more than that one Thing.

There are so many more Things!

You really can have them all.

Just learn to work.

Work Today.

Work Tomorrow.

Work Next Week.

Find a place where you enjoy the people, the atmosphere, and the work.

Then get yourself there consistently.

It is a law of nature that you must do difficult things to gain strength and power. As with working out, after a while you make the connection between doing difficult things and the benefits you get from doing them, and you come to look forward to doing these difficult things.

Principles by Ray Dalio

Do the difficult things, to get the Things.