Simple question: Do you know what you are trying to achieve (in your education or just in life in general) - and why? Really think about that question. It's more important that anything. If you don't understand what you're trying to achieve or why you're trying to achieve it then you have absolutely no hope of getting there. Why? Well where are you trying to get to anyway? You haven't even defined it remember! So step one is to create a goal want to achieve and a goal you actually understand.
Once you have created a goal you want to achieve and understand you can move to the next level. The next level asks you to ponder the following questions: who do you need to become in order to achieve your goals? What do you need to do in order to achieve your goals? Are you being brutally honest about whether you are working diligently towards your goal or are you really just hoping that by some miracle your goal will be achieved?
Let's look at this another way. What actions do you take each and every day in order to progress your skills and attitude to the point where your goal can become a reality? Are you taking any actions? Or are you just doing what you normally do but hoping that because you "set a goal" that something amazing will happen?
Achieving a goal is a process not an event. The problem is that people don't like processes - we like events! You see, we like to get an A+ on our Maths test, but we don't want to do the study and homework required (i.e. the process) to get the A+, we just want the event - the great score! We like the idea of looking fit and healthy but we don't like part where we have to eat well and exercise constantly. Do we? It all makes sense when you understand that we don't like the process - we just like the events.
Getting good grades is hard work. Being fit and healthy is hard work. Being a great musician is hard work. The process of achievement always weeds out the weak - and unfortunately it doesn't always reward the strong.
The process of passing school is hard, the process of being an A+ student is even harder. However, the events along the way, such as getting a good grade on a test, or getting a good report card, or getting into the College of your choice, are the enjoyable "events" (i.e. the rewards) for going through the process.
So what does this mean to us in terms of goal setting and goal achievement? Given that we now know that we don't like processes and we do like events, it makes a lot of sense that we may enjoy setting goals such as "I want an A average in all of my subjects" but we don't like doing the hard work to make sure that the goals actually happen. The process is hard and can be boring and tedious. We want the event (A average for every subject) not the hard work!
So, if you are going to set a goal, you really need to understand what process you are going to have to go through to achieve it and make sure you are committed to it. The event is secondary; the process is what you are really committing yourself to. You must ask yourself, "What actions will I have to take every day to go through the process? Who will I need to be to go through the process?" If you can't answer that, you won't be able to achieve the goal you have set.
Goal achievement isn't a result or magic or miracles (although many of us just wish it was that simple). It actually just comes back to understanding what you want, why you want it and who you need to be to make it happen. Once you have all that in mind, the process will take over and the event will take care of itself. But if you follow the trend and focus on the event, you can be sure you will struggle to reach it. Don't let that be you. Good luck!
Once you have created a goal you want to achieve and understand you can move to the next level. The next level asks you to ponder the following questions: who do you need to become in order to achieve your goals? What do you need to do in order to achieve your goals? Are you being brutally honest about whether you are working diligently towards your goal or are you really just hoping that by some miracle your goal will be achieved?
Let's look at this another way. What actions do you take each and every day in order to progress your skills and attitude to the point where your goal can become a reality? Are you taking any actions? Or are you just doing what you normally do but hoping that because you "set a goal" that something amazing will happen?
Achieving a goal is a process not an event. The problem is that people don't like processes - we like events! You see, we like to get an A+ on our Maths test, but we don't want to do the study and homework required (i.e. the process) to get the A+, we just want the event - the great score! We like the idea of looking fit and healthy but we don't like part where we have to eat well and exercise constantly. Do we? It all makes sense when you understand that we don't like the process - we just like the events.
Getting good grades is hard work. Being fit and healthy is hard work. Being a great musician is hard work. The process of achievement always weeds out the weak - and unfortunately it doesn't always reward the strong.
The process of passing school is hard, the process of being an A+ student is even harder. However, the events along the way, such as getting a good grade on a test, or getting a good report card, or getting into the College of your choice, are the enjoyable "events" (i.e. the rewards) for going through the process.
So what does this mean to us in terms of goal setting and goal achievement? Given that we now know that we don't like processes and we do like events, it makes a lot of sense that we may enjoy setting goals such as "I want an A average in all of my subjects" but we don't like doing the hard work to make sure that the goals actually happen. The process is hard and can be boring and tedious. We want the event (A average for every subject) not the hard work!
So, if you are going to set a goal, you really need to understand what process you are going to have to go through to achieve it and make sure you are committed to it. The event is secondary; the process is what you are really committing yourself to. You must ask yourself, "What actions will I have to take every day to go through the process? Who will I need to be to go through the process?" If you can't answer that, you won't be able to achieve the goal you have set.
Goal achievement isn't a result or magic or miracles (although many of us just wish it was that simple). It actually just comes back to understanding what you want, why you want it and who you need to be to make it happen. Once you have all that in mind, the process will take over and the event will take care of itself. But if you follow the trend and focus on the event, you can be sure you will struggle to reach it. Don't let that be you. Good luck!
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