How Important Are Your Goals

How Important Are Your Goals?

No matter what goals you are working toward in life, you must have a strong investment in achieving them. If your goals aren't important to you and you've got nothing to lose by quitting, you probably won’t summon enough motivation to get it done.

Occasionally it is possible to push yourself to do something even if it’s not that important to you, but most often that’s because you’re trying to avoid a negative consequence, not because you feel inspired about taking action. However, when we’re talking about powerful motivation to change your life, if you don’t have a strong vested interest in the end result, you just WON’T do it - period!

Think about the last time you set a goal, like losing weight or quitting smoking. If you were not absolutely 100% committed when you got started, you likely didn't stay with it very long. You may have been fired up at the beginning, like most people are when they set a goal. But as time went on you either encountered obstacles that slowed your momentum, or you just lost the passion and fire for the end result, so you quit.

Making positive changes in your life is no different. No matter how hard you work at the beginning, if the changes you’re trying to make aren’t crucially important to you, you just won’t have the determination to see them all the way through.

Before you begin working on any goal, first ask yourself how important the end result is to you. How badly do you want it? How hard are you willing to work for it? What will happen if you don’t make it? Will you be able to accept the consequences, or are they simply unthinkable? Be honest with yourself!

Your answers to these questions are what will determine your probability of success. If you want it THAT badly, if it’s THAT important to you, you will do whatever you have to do to achieve it.

If your goal isn’t that important and you’re thinking wishy-washy thoughts like, “Well, it would be nice to achieve that goal . . .” – Stop right there because “nice” won’t cut it! Choose another goal.

You need a goal that is truly important to you - and I mean VITALLY important. Once you set a goal with that level of importance attached to it, you will ultimately realize that you can’t NOT do it. Not doing it means staying where you are. Not doing it means resigning yourself to circumstances that don’t make you happy. Not doing it will be completely unacceptable to you. You will find that you simply cannot tolerate the thought of accepting anything less than your ultimate dream coming true.

And that’s when the magic happens! That’s when you blot out distractions, put your head down and get to work. That’s when you get to see what you’re really made of. When you reach that stage of thought, you have already won - you just need to bring it forth into tangible reality.

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead with there is no path and leave a trail.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Does my passion match my aspiration - Check by answering these questions

1. Do I feel strongly about the need for this?

2. Does the idea fit my long-held beliefs, values, and convictions?

3. Have I dreamed about something like this for a long time?

4. Do I think that this is vital for the future of people I care about?

5. Do I get excited when I think about it, and convey excitement when I talk about it?

6. Am I convinced that this can be accomplished?

7. Am I willing to put my credibility on the line to promise action on it?

8. Am I willing to spend time to sell it to others who might not understand or support it?

9. Can I make this the major focus of my activities?

10. Am I willing to devote personal time, above and beyond organizational time, to see that this happens?

11. Do I feel strongly enough to ignore negativity and fight for this?

12. Am I committed to seeing this through, over the long haul?

Passing the passion test is doesn't guarantee success, but without it, the journey can't even begin