Don't you just hate clichés like the one illustrated in the headline of this article? I know I do. But love them or hate them, most of us must admit that such adages and clichés are often grounded in truth, and this one is no different.
Many people view goals in a one-dimensional manner: you either succeed or you fail. It's understandable why people view goals in such a black and white manner, because as humans we tend to be very results-oriented, and it's this single-minded tenacity and critique that has allowed us to develop from cavemen around a campfire to modernized individuals living in a world with satellites, computers and medical miracles.
But this strength can also be a weakness when you close your mind to the big picture and instead focus purely on the end result. For example, let's say I wanted to develop a secondary income stream to help pay some extra bills. I decide that since Internet marketing is a relatively "cheap" way to enter the business world, I'll develop a website that offers dog training books to dog owners via an affiliate program.
Three months go by and my site receives little traffic, and the traffic it does receive is so unfocused that my sales conversion is horrible. Did I fail? In a black and white world, absolutely - I'm not making any money, thus I failed. But let's look at the big picture a little closer, shall we?
During those three months while it's true that did not make any money, here's what I did do:
The above example uses a business-oriented website, but surely you can see how this would apply for any task or goal. If after a week of dieting you lost no weight, you know you've done something wrong and should tweak your formula. If after a month of studying a foreign language you still don't have any of the basics down, you know you're too distracted or undedicated at your current pace and thus need to up the ante a bit. No matter what your goal may be, failure is never the end of the road – it's a lesson that will lead to future success.
Copyright 2005 Goals and Motivation.com
Competition, Jealousy And Goals
Naturally some of us are more competitive than others, but the vast majority of us have a good degree of competition hardwired into us. If you think you are not competitive in the least, ask yourself: have you ever felt a twinge of desire, jealousy or envy when looking at another person's accomplishments or lifestyle? If you said yes, you are competitive – otherwise you wouldn't care what others have.
Breaking Goals Down To The Basics
One of the primary reasons why people fail to execute their goals is they set forth unrealistic or overly complex goals. Most of us have the tendency to look at the finish line without paying much consideration to the distance between the end point and us. Here are a couple examples to illustrate this point:
Be Selfish With Your Goals
All too often good-intentioned people set forth goals designed to satiate others rather than themselves. While the intent is honorable, the results will likely lead to failure. Why? As the somewhat provocative title of this article indicates, you need to be selfish with your goals and select ones that mean something to you.
