Setting Goals: How To Reach For And Achieve What You Want in Life

“Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.”

-E. Joseph Cossman

Some of us have heard the saying, “We have seen the enemy and he is us.” - Walt Perry wrote that in the comic strip, "Pogo". Sometimes we have a way of shooting ourselves in the foot. We have a hard time taking responsibility for ourselves. Sometimes we don't realize we are doing it. Sometimes it is hard to recognize it and get rid of it. The first thing we have to in setting goals is to be able to understand that we need to prioritize what is important enough to us and get motivated. If you are having problems with that, read my blog on getting motivated. It's called, Writing-Let's Get It On Paper. Once your ready to get motivated then you can begin to set your goals.

Only take on one goal at a time. Start smart, you don't want to get overwhelmed and give up before you finish. Start with something small, just a part of what you are doing. Let's say you are trying to write a book. Just the thought of writing a book overwhelms you so you don't even try. But if you were to break it down into much smaller pieces, and work on them one at a time, then you could do it. That's how you start accomplishing your goals. Break what you are trying to do into the smallest pieces you can, then start working on it. There is a book called, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” written by Bill Hogan that talks about how corporations manage it. Imagine if someone walked up to you after you volunteered to help an organization and said, “you are in charge of setting up the whole parade with are having on the 21^st.” You would tell them they are crazy. But, if they said,”you are in charge of keeping people on the sidewalk and out of the parade on this section of sidewalk, (measuring out a six foot section of sidewalk). You would probably say,”no problem.” Make sure to break down your goals into small things that you can do to get started.

The biggest problem I had with starting to write, (my blogs), was finding the perfect time to write. I tried getting up early, (before the sun), staying up late, (the 2 AM slot), and nothing seemed to work. I also tried it with the TV on, (I thought the noise would inspire me), perfect silence, (hard to do), and listening to music. The frustration kept mounting and that lead to me trying to procrastinate.

But, I didn't give up. I kept trying until I realized that my perfect time and place was around noontime, sitting in my favorite chair with the fan running, (background noise), and a cup of coffee, (stamina). You have to find what works for you. Just keep trying different settings until you find the place that you can be the most productive. Also, if it is a goal that doesn't need a place then set up a system that works for you. A new routine, or saying it to yourself over and over again, (to memorize something), or a new set of guidelines, (like when you will balance the checkbook, (daily instead of weekly).

The number one rule for starting anything is: have everything you need to begin. Ever tried to paint a room and get everything ready, (laying drop cloths, taping windows and doors, buying rollers and brushes), then realizing you have nothing to open the can of paint with. How frustrating! Makes you want to quit doesn't it? Don't give up! You will succeed if you keep trying. Again, make a list of everything you need and get it before you get started.

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

-Pablo Picasso

The second rule of starting something is not to try to do too much at once. Learn to pace yourself. Start small and work your way up to doing more. It's like trying to lose weigh. You decide you want to lose 10 pounds. That may not sound like much but you don't want to lose it over a three month period, you want to lose it in a week! That would be an unrealistic goal. If you wanted to lose 10 pounds over three months time that would be reasonable. If you start small you will be better able to reach that goal you have set for yourself.

They say doing something 29 times makes it a habit. You can't expect to complete your goal if you only try to do it sporadically. You need to try to fit it into your life as much as possible. Try to stay repetitive until you do it with out thinking so much about. Please don't be one of these people that spend more time thinking about something then doing it. Once you do that then celebrate! You are on your way to reaching your goals. Once you have mastered all the pieces in your goal, you will soon realized you have attained what you set out to do. Congratulations! Don't settle, reach out and set another goal!

“Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.”

-Shaquille O'Neal

I have written just a simple way to start working on setting goals. There are many ways to reach your goals. Maybe you have something that has worked for you or someone you know. I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading and be on the lookout for the next blog in the series.