Are you Goal Oriented Like me?

Are you so fixated on a goal that you’re missing the journey? The journey is where we experience life, where we build relationships, and where we learn. Learn more in this week’s blog.

 If you’re anything like I am, you’re very goal-oriented. We need to be to accomplish a big goal like becoming debt free. But sometimes being too fixated on a goal can be detrimental to us, our family, and even the goal itself. Because if we focus exclusively on the goal, we miss everything else that’s going on around us. That can cost us relationships, family and our health.

We absolutely need goals—big ones! But setting a goal also requires stepping into a journey to get there. In fact, to a great extent, a goal determines the journey we’ll take. You can’t set a goal and pursue it without also embarking on a journey.

The Journey

Consider this:

The journey is where we experience life.

The journey is what shapes our character.

The journey is where we engage with people.

The journey is where we experience adventure.

The goal is vitally important. This goes without saying. But so is the journey. Without the journey, we cannot attain the goal. But we don’t recognize this when we focus exclusively on our goal. For this reason, we need to consciously step into the journey as well.

How to Get the Most from the Journey

1. Discipline yourself to be fully present in the journey. We’re driven. We’re so focused on what’s next that we miss what’s going on around us. All we can think about is the goal or task before us. We’re oblivious to people, conversations and circumstances that at the time seem trivial. But all too often, the “noise” around us is far more relevant to our goal than we can possibly imagine. 

When we truly live in the present, we experience chance encounters that may be life-changing. Perhaps you’ve experienced such an encounter and know exactly what I’m talking about. Living in the moment, we also see things that we would have otherwise missed—to our loss. We learn things that we could not have learned in any other way. Often, by being fully present, we make astounding discoveries that help us refine and eventually achieve our goal to a greater extent than we originally thought possible.

2. Reign in your expectations. What I mean by this is that when we focus so singularly on a goal, we want everything to go our way. We expect everything to fall neatly into place to assist us in pursuit of our goal. But life seldom works that way. The problem is, our unreasonable expectations tend to discourage us, frustrate us, and cause friction in our relationships.

When we allow our focused pursuit of a goal to dictate our expectations, we will be disappointed along the way. Contrary to our deepest desires, we are not in control of everything that goes on around us. And this leads us to the next tip…

3. Embrace hardships. When we encounter hardships in pursuit of a goal, we invariably view them as unwanted obstacles. Our gut reaction is to remove them or bypass them as quickly as possible. Instead, accept them as challenges and opportunities for growth and learning. There’s no better teacher than an obstacle or challenge.

4. Make up your mind to enjoy the journey. Think of the journey in terms of a road-trip. Let’s say you’re on your way from point A to point B and you have to pass through South Dakota. You can choose to either:

1. Glue your hands to the steering wheel, stay awake drinking Red Bull, don’t stop for restroom breaks, set the cruise control for 10 miles over the speed limit, and chant, “I can hardly wait to get through this boring state!”

OR…

2. You can listen to your favorite tunes, carry on meaningful conversations with your passengers, and make fun stops along the way at Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, and the renowned Wall Drug!

Choice A may get you to your destination quicker, but at what cost? It’ll take you two days to recover from that intense marathon! Choice B will take a bit longer, but you’ll build memories, deepen relationships and make the journey more pleasurable. And who knows, you might even forge some lasting memories along the way.

You are on a journey to be debt free. We’re goal-oriented, but we don’t want to miss what happens on the journey as we push toward that amazing goal. And by the way, while you’re enjoying the journey, don’t lose sight of your goal!

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You’ll be amazed how free you feel without debt! And just imagine the things you could do if you had no debt!

Anything you tolerate becomes normal to you. When you stop tolerating debt, you increase your ability to function without it.  You can get yourself debt free. It will take you some time, but the end is worth it!- Dan Heiland

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God Bless your week!