On Goal Setting and the New Year
The emphasis of this article is to go over the simple practice of goal setting. This is something I believe in a lot. However this might be a little different than what you expected in terms of what I recommend.
If you have never done a traditional goal setting exercise where you make your big dream future goal or goals and then your step by step timeline goals of decades, 5 year, 3 year, 1 year, 6 months, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, and yes some people hourly, then you will have to stay tuned for another article or do your own research there.
I have always hit the mark when it comes to goals and that is what I want to talk about. Does that mean I have achieved everything I have ever set out to achieve? No, but then again yes I actually have. Now before you stop reading thinking I’m some arrogant bag of dicks, let me explain. Everything that I really let settle into my bones and focused on without even thinking about it came into being. Most things that I wrote down over the years and thought about in a wishlist like manner somethings happen, and sometimes not.
I see nothing wrong with listing your desires, but I do have a problem with thinking you desire something. You need to want it from within, not from external motivation from others. As I have gotten older and objectively look back most of my failures in regards to achievement had more to do with the wrong motivation system as compared to lack of ability or potential. I want to share with you a little of my advice on how to achieve what you want from life.
Make your goal, Your Goal! Even if your goal is to help others, make sure the motivation is from within because that is what you really want no because you think that is what other people want you to want.
If your goals don’t motivate you then they aren’t real goals. Real goals will light a fire and the momentum you create towards them each day is like adding twigs, then logs, and eventually trees and the whole forest. You need to create momentum each day by taking direct action that gets you closer to your goal.
Don’t make too many goals and make sure they don’t contradict one another. I see this as the major problem with the wishlist mentality. As great as some of the things might seem on the list, if you don’t really want it or don’t acknowledge what it will take to get it, some things on the list may be in direct opposition to other things on the list. Wanting to win a jiu jitsu tournament and also a beer drinking competition may be at odds.
Internalize your goal. You can write down your goals to get a picture but you shouldn’t need to read them daily. You should instead take a minute or two when you wake up and before you go to bed and focus on what you want to achieve. This is also a powerful practice whenever you are about to take a potentially negative action towards your goals. I personally meditate every morning and most evenings. I take a minute after each meditation session in the morning to express gratitude for everything I am thankful for and then set my mind to what I want to achieve with my life, fully acknowledging that today may be my last day on earth. In the evening I do a shorter meditation and finish with a recap of what I did well and what I can improve, still expressing gratitude for all of my good fortune and remind myself that I may not wake so leave no pressing issue undone.
Find your own path to success. I take in information from a large body of sources. Being connected to so much information allows unprecedented growth and expansion for all of us. Sometimes we spend too much time trying to be just like those we look up to or whom we see as better than us. I think the key to real confidence is knowing that you don’t know it all, but believe that you will find the answers along the way as long as you take action with the right intention and not in a self absorbed egotistical state. There are many ways to achieve success. Do learn from others, but never silence your sense of intuition. Hone that little voice inside your head and make it your ally and not your enemy.
I really wish all of you the best that life has to offer over this next year. I hope I can help you and at least 1,000 others become their best selves in 2021. Set the goal today and also take direct action towards that goal today. Build the momentum and go beyond what you ever thought possible. Then you won’t wait for a day once per year to make goals, you will make goals and achieve goals every day that add up to creating the person you know you are deep down inside. I hope I can help you on your journey.
Yours truly,
Erik Owings
