I recently overheard a conversation about goals, goal setting and achieving goals. Someone asked about what his friend's goals were and whether he was able to achieve it.
This rather simple conversation got me thinking. We seem to take the word "GOAL" lightly. It seems to be an overused word. Everyone has goals.
Have you ever stopped to think, "What are goals for?"
We might say:
1. Goals are for us to achieve.
2. Goals are for us to get what we want in life.
3. Goals give us direction in life.
4. Goals will make us successful.
While these statements are true, I would like to offer my opinion about these statements.
Goals are good and gives us direction. However, without an action, goals remain a dream. It will continue to remain a dream for many years.
Even when action is taken, we tend to forget to enjoy the journey we took. Can you imagine this scenario:
1. Goal: Have $1,000,000 in cash by age 60
2. You take action, day in and day out.
3. Sometimes, the action you take gets you closer to your goal. Sometimes, the action doesn't yield the result you are after and you get frustrated. No matter what, you continue to work hard and plough on towards achieving your goals.
4. At age 60, you wake up at 7am in the morning and realise that you have achieved your goal. Whoooooopeeee!!!!!!
Really? You would probably be happy. You would also be wondering where did all these years go? You are already 60 years old. Yes, you have achieved, but you did not fully enjoy the journey. You did not savour the process of achieving one step at a time.
This is the part that is missing in goal setting and execution. We are so focused on reaching the end goal that we miss out the enjoyment of the journey. As the saying goes, "Take time out to smell the roses".
As we go through our lives and clearly set goals, remember to be conscious of your daily lives. Be aware, full aware of what you are doing NOW! Notice that you are breathing NOW! Be in the present. Enjoy what you are doing and know that you are doing the action for a purpose. You will feel amazingly at peace and motivated everytime you take action towards your goals, because you are living in the present, achieving every single minute and enjoying it!
So go ahead. Give yourself permission to "smell the roses" in your journey towards success.
Wishing you an enjoyable journey.
Bernard
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Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
All Rights Reserved
How to Rescue Failing Software Projects: Practical Proven Methods That Work
My book is finally available as an eBook, on Amazon Kindle and on Amazon. I wrote this book to share my experience in how to rescue failing software projects. When I was going through such a situation, I had no one to turn to. My hope is that the information in this book will be useful to those in similar situations. Although the information in the book pertains to software projects, I have come to realize that the techniques can be used in many other situations. I have personally used these techniques in business and technical projects.
You can read more about it here.
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Amazon Kindle version is available here at Amazon.com
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