When you play with fire, chances are you’re going to get burned. When you aspire to accomplish anything worthwhile, chances are you’re going to fail at least once before you succeed, if you ever do. If you want to achieve goals, you need to set them. But goals aren’t the only thing of importance. There’s more to the story.
I’ve been told (and fully believe in) the importance of setting goals, of writing them down. I stand by it in my program. I’ve also been told (and fully believe in) the importance of focusing on yourself and not measuring success based on an outcome. I also stand by this in my program.
Greg Hatcher, former wrestler and businessman, states, “Some people may say that focusing on your best and not a setting goal is a cop out. Who’s to say your best isn’t better than that goal? When you do this you have no limits.”
So what approach do we take? Do we set goals or do we focus on doing our best in everything we do?
I say both. My goals are my North Star. They lead me. Without them, I’d wake up every morning and sit down with a thousand thoughts and ideas in my head and have nowhere to go. Once those goals are set, I measure my success on how close I came to maximizing my personal potential in the pursuit of those goals, NOT just on the attainment of those goals.
I used to work in absolutes. Things were either one way or the other. I HAD to pick one approach or the other. But not everything is black and white. There is grey. There is also gray. You can be goal-based, journey-based or both. Find what makes sense to you and live it.
On a side note, thank you all for the support on my book. It’s been so neat to see, and it is very much appreciated. I hear it’s the hottest gift on the market this Christmas season. Thank you!
Spaniard
I don’t know that most people have the self-discipline to simply “do their best” regularly. That’s why coaches are so important…you think you’re doing your best and they get more out of you.
I believe that your “best” is never truly your best either. It may be the best you’ve got that day, but sometimes that’s not enough to meet your goals. That’s ok though… grow/get better and then do your best again the next day. It’s important for me to recognize my growth to prevent frustration, but also realize that I can probably find a way to be better next time.
A “life coach” sounds so foreign to many people, but a coach in sports is a normal thing. A peer can even do a great job of coaching you. All it takes is a good mind from a different perspective to make you see things in a unique way.