I do, that’s who. And so do you. I spent a great deal of my life waking up each day and going through the motions. No real direction—just jumped on the hamster wheel and was happy when it stopped spinning at the end of each day. 
It really wasn’t until 2007, after being encouraged by my wife to go back to school and get my Bachelor’s Degree, that I really set my sights on something specific that would take some time to accomplish. After reaching that goal, I was hooked and quickly set another. In 2012, I achieved that goal by earning my Masters Degree.
When I look back at any real success I can claim, each revolves around a goal. Even if it wasn’t written down, the goal resulted from intentional actions that led me to the goal.
Think about weight-loss for a minute. I’ve struggled most of my life with weight. It really is more of a food problem in that I LOVE TO EAT! At my peak I weighed 231 pounds. That’s a lot of weight on a 5’11” frame. Back in 2010 with two young kids, I set the goal to lose some weight and get back in shape.
Sounds good doesn’t it? It’s now 2016 and I finally hit my goal and am probably in the best shape of my life. Since 2010 I’ve lost 60 pounds, I run 20-25 miles per week and do body weight exercises three days a week. It wasn’t, and isn’t easy. It really did take six years – not just to lose the weight, but to get off the roller coaster that would see me drop some weight only to put it back on again. Bad choices, lots of excuses, a foot injury requiring minor surgery that stopped me in my tracks, and downright laziness.
Even though I’ve been comfortably at my target weight for some time now I’ve learned that I need a new goal and intentional effort to keep the weight off. I log food and exercise daily. I weigh myself every day and hold myself accountable for my failures – yes, I still have them.
Regardless of your goals, you have to set an intentional path to achieve them. You can only do that by figuring out what the goal is, sharing it with someone else, and stepping through the pursuit of the goal each and every day.
What are your goals? Try writing them down, coming up with a step-by-step plan to achieve your goal, and then share it with someone that can help hold you accountable.
- Written Goals – help you clarify what the goal is and commit to accomplishing it.
- Planning – Identify the steps it takes to achieve your goal. Understand that most goals worth achieving take hard work and time to accomplish. Give yourself some credit each time you make progress. Remember, life is a marathon and not a sprint. You can’t successfully finish a marathon without running the first 5K, 10K and Half Marathon of your way to the finish line.
- Share your Goal – Research has shown that goals are much more likely to be successful if you tell someone else what you plan to do. Give the person you share the goal with permission to hold you accountable. Sometimes what you really need to continue on the road to your goal is a swift kick in the rear end.