Creating Goals You Love To Work On

There is no point setting goals for yourself if you won’t also love the path you have to take to achieve them.

A goal that you project into the future, firstly, is at risk of always staying in the future, but secondly it tends to by definition be a goal that you don’t see yourself living now. It’s often also a goal that you perceive as a lot of work or sacrifice, and not necessarily enjoyable work or sacrifice.

So, what happens?

Not a hard guess really, is it?

For most people who do write goals and pat themselves on the back at taking such a proactive step towards their future, their lists of goals eventually become just another reason to feel disappointed and wonder why they don’t seem to have what it takes to change their lives.

If you really want to change your life, surely you want to change it now? All excuses and ‘yeah buts’ aside, tell me honestly – if you could wave a magic wand and automatically have the body, biz and life you dream of NOW, wouldn’t you want to do so?

The thing that’s going to truly transform you and make your dreams come true is the realisation that the actual work; even sacrifice of getting to your goals is the part to enjoy just as much as the eventual attainment of them. It’s also the only way to guarantee you really do get to where you want to go, and that you’re able to maintain or improve upon it.

discipline will only get you so far – here’s what you really need

You may be disciplined and stubborn enough to push yourself to work on something even if you don’t love doing it, but for most people such self-will has a time limit if they’re not also enjoying from the process.

This is a good thing; it’s self preservation at its best!

I don’t know about you, but I really am glad that I don’t have the determination to push myself to spend years of my life (let alone even months or weeks) on things that don’t by their very nature fulfill me.

Of course there is always the chance that you might start to enjoy a process once you get going with it.

I.e, it’s natural for people wanting to get in shape to at first feel pretty jacked off at giving up their favourite foods or having to get up early to workout, but it’s also natural that if they give it a fair chance they start to love the benefits of their new habits and soon the habits themselves become enjoyable; often to the point where they truly don’t want to return to their old lifestyle.

The key, I’ve found, is to start setting goals you’d love to work on from the moment you set them.

creating goals you love to work on

When you think about where you’re wanting to go in your life, it’s great to get excited about a mental visualisation of getting ‘there’; of how wonderful it’s going to be. That can be motivating enough to get the ball rolling.

But if you would like to actually start loving your life now, and certainly if you’d like to keep that ball rolling, it’s crucial that you find a way to enjoy the process.

Consider a big goal or dream that you’d like to achieve over the next 6-12 months.

Perhaps you have this idea of starting your own business; of seeing if you could turn your hand to blogging or selling something online. Escaping the grind and living the dream.

Maybe, it is the shape up thing for you. You have this pesky last 5kg you can’t seem to shake, or you could be carrying an extra 10 or 20 kg that you’d love to get rid of.

Your dream can be anything from creating a million-dollar empire to living in a clutter free home.

The ‘powers that be’ don’t care what your dream is. It’s all the same. Clearly, you can find evidence to show that people worse off than you have achieved goals bigger than what you’re contemplating.

So whether or not you accomplish and live your dreams will not be determined by how basic or how audacious they are.

It will be determined, quite simply, by your willingness to achieve them.

are you willing to dream big?

Willingness comes back to belief, to commitment, to making space and quitting things that aren’t in line with your dreams but when all is said and done it comes down to you, in a moment, choosing to forge ahead with the next step or to stay safely and comfortably where you already are.

Either way, you’re making a choice. Either way, you’re choosing to live each moment exactly the way you want it to be. And if you’re not satisfied then good! Admit it and do something about it.

But don’t for a second think you can pretend it’s because you can’t or don’t know how that you’re unable to live a better life.

A better life can begin in a moment. Not a moment next month, or next week or later today.

This very moment right now.

A moment in which you decide –

To no longer fill your life with things that you think have to be done

To find even one small way to create true joy each day

To nurture yourself

To take even the tiniest action toward a new you

To make the phone call, send the email, book the appointment

Or to cancel it

To ask for help, perhaps

To think about writing or re-writing your goals in such a way that they enhance your life NOW. Knowing that this is the only way they will ever one day be completed; also the only way you’ll truly continue to care about completing them

A moment in which you determine to never again set a goal that you don’t believe you can enjoy working toward.

A moment in which you decide that life really is now. And that you’re going to press play.

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