By: D. A. Slinkard
Can you believe how quickly this year is going by? I am blown away at the rapid speed as we approach 2020. It is a great time to reflect upon how your 2019 is going? Are you happy with what you are seeing? Dissatisfied? Have you taken the time to think about the direction in which your year and your life are heading? If not, I hope this is a subtle reminder to get your mind and thought process back where it should be.
When was the last time you visited your desires for or your goals you planned to accomplish in 2019? Has it been a few months? Have you given up on your goals? Are you aimlessly going about your day constantly reacting unsuccessfully to life? If so, now is your chance to hit that reset button and get the train back on the 2019 tracks to success. I have found in my own life that if I stop writing down my goals, I am more likely to get distracted from what I need to accomplish and find myself searching for ways to get back on track.
I am going to urge you starting today to take a notebook and begin writing your goals for what you want to achieve this year into this notebook. Too often we write our goals at the beginning of the year and the next time we think about them is when the next new year comes around. We think about our old goals and then want to make them new goals because we know we will definitely accomplish them this year. However, this is just a form of deception because we end up forgetting about the goals.
This is why we are going to start today writing our goals down in our notebook, and we are going to write them two times per day — once in the morning and once at night. Now you may be thinking this is too much, but if this is your thought process, just how truly serious were you about achieving your goals? Who do you think has more of a chance or an opportunity to achieve their goals — the person that writes them down once at the beginning of the year or the person that writes them down twice daily? It is a no-brainer and should alleviate any doubt you would have towards this system.
The issue comes in because writing your goals down twice per day takes some discipline. You are going to need to force yourself to do it; you are going to need to set aside some time each day to make sure you are writing those goals down, once in the morning and once in the evening. Once you make this into a habit, you will begin to look forward to writing in your notebook. The more attention you give your goals, the more energy will begin to flow toward your success. I compare it to a snowball — in the beginning the snowball is rather small, but as you build momentum, your snowball/success will begin to grow.
Your goals will change over time because when you accomplish one goal, it will be time to add another. Just think of all the things you can achieve; but it requires you to begin by writing them down. I will never forget the old Chinese proverb that says, “The Journey of 20,000 miles begins with one step.” Starting your goal-writing process today will be the first step in your journey, and to continue to achieve success, the focus becomes on just taking that next step. There will be times you will want to give up; you will want to focus in on the pain, the difficulties of achieving your success; but I am telling you do not focus on those distractions. You need to focus on taking just another step — step by step — and you will achieve your goals.
Too often in life we fail to accomplish our goals and fulfill our dreams because when they do get hard, when the times do get difficult, we focus our attention on the wrong things. I have been guilty of this many times; instead of thinking of the rewards at the end when I achieve my goal, I’ve thought about the temporary discomfort I experienced while striving to reach my goal. I believe not hitting the goal will cause more discomfort than any short-term obstacle could cause. Your turn…what goals will you write down?
By: D. A. Slinkard
