For the past few days I was out of town, participating in a marathon. I actually finished (!), however I realized that I am not as young as I used to be. I used to be able to participate in hard-core physical activities for hours on end and have no repercussions. My feet today, however, are screaming in pain and I am barely able to walk. Bummer.
The best part is that this was one of many goals that I have set for the year and I accomplished it. I have found over the years that having a list of goals to accomplish has not only provided direction for my life but has also greatly increased the chances that I would be successful in the things I want to accomplish.
With a list of goals, I can plan out my year, or at least the high points, and the list also serves as motivation to actually get the things done that I want to achieve. One of the best things about having written goals is that there seems to be more accountability than just having a number of good ideas in your mind. There have been many times when there was a particular activity/event coming up and I would literally have to pull myself out of bed on the morning of said activity and drag myself to where ever it was I needed to be. If I didn't have a concrete goal set in writing, there is no way that I would have gone to the trouble to attend said event/activity/class. Afterwards, though, I am always happy that I made the effort to achieve the goal no matter how lazy I was before the fact.
If there are things you want to accomplish, no matter how large, small, or improbable, write them down, set a time frame, and get busy working towards your goals.
On a side note, don't worry about the money when it comes to goals. If people looked at only what they knew they could afford/achieve they would not reach very high. As many philosophers have noted, once you set your mind of something, the universe has a way of making things happen.
Where your attention goes the energy flows. This is a basic principle of the universe.
ReplyDeleteWithout concrete goals people tend to fritter away their time without accomplishing much at all. But good goals will put a person on the path toward success in many areas of life that at first may seem unrelated to the particular goal desired.
For example, your goal of being physically fit enough to run a complete marathon (26 miles 285 yards) likely caused you to eat nutritious foods, get plenty of sleep and take care of your body in many other ways, self discipline, tenacity. And of course you feel really good about yourself and ready to successfully take on new challenges.