Setting Goals and Kicking Butt

There is no difference between wanting and having except that having means that you have taken action. Having means that we have done something to attain what we want. It is not always easy to take action or everyone would do it. If everyone did it they may be a little happier but some would still not make it to their objective. This is where we get ourselves into trouble even after we have taken the action. Results from action do not come overnight or even over the course of several years at times. Sometimes the objective will not be reached at all. This can be a disincentive to taking the action at all if we set our long-term goals only and don’t have short-term goals.

Short term goals such as selling or financing (X) dollars in real estate in a quarter are short-term goals that should be simple and attainable. If the goal is too complicated or too far out of reach the results can be to give up and not continue on the path of making goals. This is where we are all guilty to some degree. We lose focus because something happens outside of our control and we emotionally throw in the towel.

This emotional reaction is not new and the person that does it is not alone. We have all done it. From Presidents and CEO’s to teachers that can’t get through to a child that is not reaching their potential, we have all fallen victim to being discouraged. It is the person that changes the direction and creates a new goal based on their current situation that is most likely to hit their short-term goals. And short-term goals add up to some longer term goals that at times take sacrifice, diligence and a work ethic that many people don’t possess. This is not bad. There are garbage-men that are completely happy with their situation in life. They get off work early. They don’t deal with too much management, they are paid pretty well and they are outside most of the day. All that sounds pretty good if you don’t add the picking up trash cans to the equation.

This is where we have to make our own goals and not strive to reach another’s goals because we lack our own.

Make goals short-term, simple and attainable. Make long-term goals simple and defined with a timeline and they are far more likely to be reached.