Setting goals is a funny thing.
That illuminating speck at the end of a long and winding tunnel.
From saving every single dime you collect to buy that 900HP devilish-red painted motorcycle to finally being able to join your more adventurous kids on their 3-week hiking trip to Mount Everest’s Base Camp, goals are a destination.
We aim for those happy moments when we reach that personal goal. It is so ingrained in our thoughts and minds that it must be the most elating moment we will ever face.
Or does it?
The trouble with goals is that it is indeed a destination. It is never the Valhalla for happiness. A dream we venture towards to drink ale with the Gods and celebrate this victory of achievement. Goals work their magic as they point us in the right direction, however, they never are the guiding light.
Goals are the creators of our values. They clarify what we want to achieve. Depending on the size of the goal. Saving US$50,000.00 for that chopper of a lifetime or dropping 50 kilogrammes of pure body fat to conquer the high altitude of the Nepalese Mountain ranges, it takes accountability and consistency to reach the proverbial House of Pure Sweetness.
It is all meaningless if you do not consider actioning all your habits.
How teeny tiny they may be and how unaware you may be of them, they can just play plain nasty and guide you off-track.
Based on my own experience, the meaning of having a goal in your life isn’t the goal. It is all around the habits you must adopt to achieve your goal.
How nasty the change even may be.
Check-in with yourself whether your goals are definitely still on your radar. Why waste some well-earned habits when the result does not serve you?
Kitting out your wardrobe with the appropriate gear to hit the roads is a waste when you suddenly are falling head over heels in love with that 1930s Sportster.
Or when you realise halfway, it would be good for your offspring to get away on their own climbing and navigating high altitudes while gaining some independence.
It does not matter what the reason is why your goal suddenly is that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Or what goal you set. It is highly personal.
A goal will always be there, no matter how you look at it. If your habits segway you off the road to the true north on your compass, do not keep your eyes fixated on the needle. You will not see the obstacles – or opportunities – to get there.
Focus on the voyage that focuses on changing habits that lead to the land where X marks the spot. Because habits define your behaviour more than you can ever imagine.
Because what’s next?
Upgrading your goal sounds like a cool plan.
You then have the tools to upscale and elevate, creating more dopamine and stymieing negative habits that may resurface.
Choices lead to behaviours, behaviours become habits, and habits ultimately dictate success. Or failure when choosing consciously tools that do not get you that two-wheeled monster or that certificate of Nepalese ascent.
Habit changes have been the answer to creating lasting health results.
One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals. | Michael Korda
