How To Commit To Your Goals

If your actions are half-hearted, then your results will be too

For true success, you must learn to commit to your goals. Many experts talk about the importance of goal setting, and they’re right, but without sufficient action to support your intentions, results will likely suffer. I can set a goal to lose twenty pounds, for example, but unless I have the self motivation and commitment to stop eating ice cream and start exercising, how likely are those dimensions to reduce?

This does not mean, of course, that it’s any less important to set goals for yourself. After all, if you don’t know where you want to go, however will you know if you get there? It is crucial to put in sufficient time to thoughtfully define your aspirations, as this makes it more likely that your goals will align with your true desires. Still, without a game plan, without activity, you’ll end up no further ahead than if you hadn’t set a goal at all. Remember the story of the old man who prayed every day for God to let him win the lottery. After years and years of these prayers, God finally spoke from the heavens to say, “My son, you must first BUY A TICKET!”

So, success is not just a matter of deciding what you want to achieve, but committing to your goal is the first step. After the goal is determined, you should then brainstorm and research to identify the ways might approach this goal. Next, evaluate the possible methods, make a decision about your direction and commit to a plan. Be very specific about the actions required to make your goal happen. Break it down into small, achievable steps to give yourself opportunities for multiple successes along the way. Once you’ve done all of this advance work, it is time to get to work to implement your plan. Action must follow your intention.

Remember, also, to evaluate as you work toward reaching your goal. Looking at your progress as you go can help you tweak and improve the process of getting to the desired goal. It would be a mistake to treat your plan as though it’s carved in stone, when additional knowledge and experience can help you improve. It’s not impossible that you’ll find sometimes that you’re not on the right path, or that maybe your true goal has adjusted. While this might seem disappointing at the time, it’s not such a bad thing to stay aware and refine your path as needed. Even when you find that your goal has changed, you’ll realize that you’ve learned in the process of pursuing it. This knowledge will help you refine future goals and plans in your ongoing journey of life.

Our lives happen in every passing minute of the day, and it’s wonderfully satisfying to meet goals and make things happen. Your journey will be more full and ultimately more successful if you make goal setting an active part of your life, followed by the commitment to make the goals happen. Decide what you want, figure out how to get there, and get started!