But the harsh reality is that all of us have at some time in our life give up on some of our goals,
either because of
- changed circumstances,
- changed priorities, or
- changed mental focus.
While it's true that not all goals are achievable,
we can do our best to identify the reasons why our goals don't work, and take corrective steps to work on them.
1/ We didn't translate goals into daily actions.
Setting goals is itself is full of seriousness and emotions, the excitement it generates pushes up to the sky until we zoom back to nowhere. Where does the problem lie?
"There is only one way to eat an elephant - one bite at a time." - Desmond Tutu
Every goal can be daunting like an elephant.
- Running a marathon.
- Writing a book
- Running a startup.
We take our goals as a one-day achievement, we are too intent on a short-term pleasure that we want to achieve our goals as soon as possible.
The rush pushes us to frustration and misery, which ends up being burnout and demolishing the goal at all.
π‘ What can be done ?
Apply the rules of the First Principle. Breaking the goals into single pieces.
- To complete a book, write a single page every day.
- To run a marathon, run an hour every day.
If our goals are measurable, they are easier to follow through.
In research conducted by the American Psychological Association, the one crucial thing that comes between setting a goal and attaining it is monitoring its progress.
For e.g. If you see your monthly spending sheet and notice an increase in food spending, you cut down your expenses on it.
When we are in a state of indulgence, we tend to be in state of Deep focus.
That's absolutely necessary but we end up consuming more time than necessary, our brain might still want to continue but deep down is there any energy left?
Everyone loves gaming, when we begin to play games our perception of time becomes so fast that we feel so less time.
When we enjoy something we tend to release more dopamine, which is making us to do more.
βIf you dwell with a lame man, you will learn how to limp.β Itβs a pretty observable truth. We become like the people we spend the most time with. Thatβs why we have to be so careful about the influences we allow into our life.
π Is this in my Control?
What is in our control is primarily our thoughts, emotions, desires, choices, and actions (or at least certain aspects of them), and that everything else strictly speaking lies outside of our control - is consistent.