In my last post, I illustrated how my written goals came to fruition. However, in all honesty, it’s not so black-and-white. You can’t just write it down and expect it to happen. There’s more to it, so please read on.
Often times, we tend to gravitate towards easy solutions. Remember that pseudo-spiritual film The Secret? The theme was “focus on what you want, feel it, and you’ll get it”. Damn, so simple! It was like the 5-minute Abtronic for goal setting. And yet, I’ve met heaps of people who bought into The Secret, watched it to death, but have yet to manifest anything.
I confess I was caught up in the film too, until I delved further into the original concepts on which the film was based on, read other books, and learned more about attracting what you want in life. It was there that I learned that manifesting what you desire goes far beyond getting stuff or cheap accolades.
The truth is there’s more. First, you really have to want it. Let me emphasize that some more. I mean you want it badly, almost to the point where it’s life or death. Otherwise, if it’s just a mediocre situation, you will put up with it. Humans have a high tolerance for mediocrity and dissatisfaction. If you can’t stand your partner, but don’t think you can do better, you’ll settle. If your job is boring beyond belief but it pays decent, then it’s OK to give up the next 30 years of your life in cubicle hell. You may also find yourself justifying your situation with excuses such as bills to pay (they will always be there), you’re still learning from the job (you’re not), or it’s a good work environment (doesn’t beat the beach on the weekdays).
It’s not unless it’s really bad do we do something about it. If your spouse is abusive, you’ll leave. If your job is an absolute nightmare or a danger to your health, you’ll quit. So you must get into the mindset of urgency. Condense those potentially wasted years ahead of you, those years of limitless opportunities that could be squandered, those years living a completely different life… Condense them into this one present moment and feel that frustration. It’s not worth settling, right?
You could settle, but you’ll wonder “what if” for the rest of your life. Remember, on your death bed, the only regrets you have will be the risks you didn’t take, not the ones you did take.
So the last point on urgency emphasizes my most important point – you have to take action. Again, I am not a special person – I only take action. Over the past years, many people have come to me for advice, face-to-face, asking how they can make big changes in their lives. I’ve had many heart-to-heart talks, but sadly, only a handful of people, have accomplished anything fruitful. The only difference in these individuals is that they took some action. Most people give up before the battle has begun. They might take action eventually, but not on their own accord. They’ll act only when everyone else is already doing it, but unfortunately by then, they’ve fallen behind.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, taking action is a concept I really take to heart, so I need to emphasize it some more (like I didn’t bold it enough already): TAKE ACTION TAKE ACTION TAKE ACTION TAKE ACTION!!!!
My final tidbit for today. If your goals are too big, then you’ll be overwhelmed, paralyze yourself, and end up doing nothing. Break them down into smaller chunks. Outsource them if you have to (check out elance).
Here’s a snapshot of some tiny goals:
- Write this post
- Add a Facebook like button to my posts
- Rent and set up lighting for my dance studio
- Outsource a tiny programming task to India
So break down your goals, however small they need be for you to take that first, single step.
Big things can happen, and will happen. In October, I returned to Toronto in search of pursuing four great projects, armed with a strong idea of what they should be like, but without the proper resources. Fast forward to today. One of the projects, the female dance series for my dance videos, was completed two months ago. Two other creative projects were completed this past week. The other two projects are at the 50% mark. Stay tuned on my blog for the release of one of the secret projects 🙂
Also, one of my readers asked me to post up a copy of the goal setting worksheets I mentioned in my last post. If you’re reading this post from an email subscription and can’t see the images, click here to go to the post.
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