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Goals

“You cannot reach what you cannot see, goals must be achievable, attainable and applicable.”

Finally, it’s time to pull the pin, nothing trumps execution.  Without executing the plan by setting the goals everything becomes smoke and mirrors.  Too many will set goals with aspirations of grandeur without having the proper foundation to make a difference in the end.  What this means is when we set goals, there must be a method behind the madness.  Everything leading up to this moment has been precise, the vision and the plan are set in motion and are practical in all aspects, therefore there is no reason why establishing and completing goals should be any different.  Don’t sell yourself short in establishing goals so low they will require no labour or discomfort.  The reality is, at this point in our endeavour we need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.  This is especially true in setting and reaching goals.  Not only should they NOT be too easily reached, they must be able to be completed nonetheless.  

Goals – Achievable

Achievability, a word often used, but seldom fully understood.  It is defined as “the ability to be brought about or accomplished successfully.”   As mentioned in the opening section, “You cannot reach what you cannot see, goals must be achievable, attainable and applicable.”  Here we find our three point outline to establishing goals, which before they can be attainable and applicable, they must be achievable.  The latter two are pointless without the first one being accomplished.

We see it every New Year, people throw out a list of goals (aka resolutions) for the up coming twelve months.  Yet by the end of January, the new has worn off and the zeal of becoming the ‘new you’ has dimmed.  Most will now, settle for mediocrity and forget the list of changes desired.  The reason this occurs so often is because the goals may have been good goals, in theory, but the actual achievability was never considered.  This is a repeated process by hundreds of thousands of individuals around the world, the reality is things must change… we must change because if you make no changes you get the same results.

Think about it using the S.M.A.R.T. principle of goal setting (I am not advocating this system only using it as an example), many goals fit the qualification of S (specific), M (measurable) and T (time-bound).  Rarely do we find, even the worse goals fail to meet the criteria within these three.  Yet, the most overlooked and most severe of them all is the A (achievable).  Friend, goals worth setting are going to place you in the position of discomfort and this is okay.  Goals which place you in the position of delusion is not okay, as a matter of fact they are unhealthy as they set you up for failure.  There must be a visualisation of the victory, every NFL quarterback visualises the confetti falling upon their head whilst hoisting the Super Bowl trophy above their teammates shouting “we are the champions!”  The truth is there are only five active NFL QBs who have won a Super Bowl, 6 of which have been won by one person (Tom Brady).  This does not mean every Quarter Back in the league does not have aspirations or for that matter even the vision, plan and goal to win the championship at the start of the season.  When August rolls around, having a goal to win your division and the final championship is a great goal to have which will require loads of discomfort.  Now, if your team is 0-10 going into mid November, having a goal to be the NFL’s finest is pure delusion… and again, this is not okay, not in any reality.  

So, we must understand, proper goals, which are achievable and realistic will involve some struggle, some effort on our part and rightly so.  The nature of discomfort should not be avoided, as matter of fact, it should be pursued in many cases even if  the journey does not always go the way we want.  With that said, don’t be afraid to set big goals, remember you cannot reach what you cannot see; and don’t be frightful to face the obstacles needed to claim the victory, if it means clawing your way to the podium.  But, be realistic, set goals which are achievable based upon your vision and plan, once you reach them, simply re-set, place the baton further than before conquering the day in achieving another goal based upon the vision and plan you have established through the mindset of discipline. 

“Don’t sacrifice the permanent, upon the altar of the immediate!”