Goal setting is a powerful process for planning your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality. The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. At the same time if they’re the right goals you’ll almost immediately see your life in the present begin to dramatically improve.
That’s what makes the right goals. They’re not only aimed at bringing about something you really want in the distant future but they make the present so much better. After all the ‘here and now’ is surely just as important as your future happiness. You can’t put life on hold in the hope that your future will be better.
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. Buddha
Too often when people are pursuing their long term goals they are forced to put their present life on hold. All their time and effort is spent working on bring about their goals at the cost of enjoying life in the present.
All they think about is the benefits they’ll receive in a year, five years, ten years. Because of this they struggle on day by day activities they don’t enjoy just so they can reach a target some day in the distant future. Well this isn’t the right way of doing things, and the approach to goal setting needs to be changed.
Goals should not just be inspiring, giving you hope for the future but also make your life right now far better. They should not make you feel unhappy; giving you a persistent feeling that there are always something “more” you could be doing.
How many of you have made this mistake when pursuing goals before. You want to spend more time with your children doing amazing things, so work incredibly long hours to build up savings that will be enough one day to allow you plenty of free time. You spent every minute you could in the office or travelling away for business and never really got to spend much time with your kids. Before you knew it they’d grown up and had their own lives, with little time for you.
Let me try to make this clear. Your long term goals are crucial for your future, they’re the driving force to creating a life of purpose, but the present moment is what gives our lives meaning. At the end of the day, all we are is a collection of those special, memorable moments. So no matter how important your goals are, and how long in the future you plan for them to happen, they must contribute to you having wonderful moments now.
You need to ensure that your long term goals add to the present, and still make you successful in the long-run. Long-term end goals give our lives direction. Everything you do, from the day-to-day to your yearly plans, should be moving you toward your goals but it’s of equal importance is for them to actually enhance the value of the present moment.
If the work needed to achieve your goals decreases the value of your present then you need to change your goals. If your direction isn’t enhancing the present moment, chances are the direction you’re headed isn’t the right one for you. The process of achieving your goals should always enhance the present.
“How you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top.” Yvon Choinard
The key to getting your long term goals right, contributing an improved life in the here and now is to give yourself a broad, balanced coverage of all the important areas in your life.
- Career
- Financial
- Education
- Family
- Relationships
- Health
- Mindset and Behaviour
- Pleasure
- Public Service
Setting long term goals in the areas most important to you separates what’s important from what’s irrelevant, or a distraction. Concentrating on the things you deem will deliver you a dream life in the future will make the path you take perfect so deliver many great moments. It’s about balancing your goals, and choosing ones that get you to do great things now.
Once you have determined your goals ask yourself ‘Does this goal improve my day-to-day life?’
Goals can be great tools to help you cultivate a perfect path, but they’re only effective in a smuch as they help you to experience an incredibly awesome present. If they don’t improve the present, they’re probably not very good goals. You must choose goals that make you feel good right now, that will also be able to deliver your dream future.
I want your goals to help you feel great, and wake up excited every morning. When you do it tells you that you’re on the right course.
The right goals will fill you with desire and motivation but bring immediate happiness and enjoyment. I love to write, dream of being a best selling author, so this goal brings me immediate happiness. All my goals improve my life right here, right now.
How can you shift your goals, or shift your perspective on your goals, so that they’re improving your present-day reality? To be happy both now and in the future your goals should enhance the present.
photo credit: TODAY IS….. #Hipstamatic #Photography via photopin (license)
