The Secret to Achieving Big Goals

We all want to achieve goals, right? Of course, achieving a goal is a basic and universal human need. I just wrote two blogs about the power having a vision has to move us from managing to leading. It’s important to have a vision and goals we can anticipate and work towards so we can achieve something meaningful. However, focusing so much on the goal that we lose perspective about the journey can be a source of frustration and unhappiness. 

Danielle, a woman with whom I worked, was committed to self-improvement. Well read in many self-help books, she was a wonderful goal-setter. She always set self-improvement goals, and focused tirelessly to achieve them. She also believed that in reaching her personal goal she would achieve happiness at last. But this isn’t so.

Why? It’s our very attachment to the goal that can prevent many of us from achieving long-term, lasting change. It’s about sustaining the gain. Even if we achieve our goal, we cannot stay there without commitment and discipline. For instance, I can hit my weight goal—and be there for 2 days—before I start gaining again. I have to keep a sustainable eating plan and go to the gym.

Whether it’s weight loss or achieving greater credibility, most of us want to see results right away. It’s easy to lose enthusiasm for change when reaping the rewards seem so far down the road. Unfortunately, we humans crave instant gratification and the prospect of prolonged trying can be a turnoff.

Instead, try focusing on the effort, rather than goals. In this way, we can notice the journey to the goal and distract ourselves from being results-obsessed. We are no longer measuring whether we attained the goal to feel rewarded. We set ourselves free to appreciate the process of change and our role in making it happen. We are now taking our mind off frustration with roadblocks to achievement (including our own) and how long it takes to make visible progress—because we’re enjoying the daily journey towards our vision.

So, as you take each step during the day along your path to making changes, remember: 

True personal change takes time—it's a marathon, not a sprint. 
Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out. This sustained journey can be fun as we put our minds in the present, while keeping our vision in mind.
If we make the effort, we will improve. If we don’t, we won’t.

Danielle shifted her attention from her journey towards her goal. She found herself much happier! When we commit to a goal, we know that our vision, commitment, motivation, support system, patience and self-discipline are allies along the way. Enjoy the path each and every day! This helps us sustain what we achieve.

-Andrea Zintz, Career Coach, President, Strategic Leadership Resources