Goals are stepping stones to success

September 19, 2011 by JD · 2 Comments
Filed under: Act On Your Dream, Simple Truth, Success and Failure 

Have you ever spent much time out in the country, where there are no roads?

I have. As far back as I can remember, I liked seeing what was over the next hill or around the next bend in the river. So, I used to spend a lot of time exploring.

It wasn’t like I was in the Lewis and Clark expedition. I was always within a day’s hike of civilization (usually in the mountains of Georgia or North Carolina), so it wasn’t a wilderness, but it was unknown to me.

Sometimes, I’d wander hither and yon

When I was younger, I did a lot of hiking and exploring, frequently all by myself, with no set schedule, and no pre-conceived itinerary. I would set off walking and not know ahead of time where I would go, what I would see, or exactly when I would return.

I liked doing that.

It was a great time to get to know myself, to enjoy the beauty of nature, and just to be. Sometimes, I would stumble across a beautiful vista where I could see for miles. I would sit there and enjoy the view, think about whatever came to mind, and just exist in the moment.

I wasn’t actively doing anything, I was just being me.

I still do that, even though I can’t hike like I used to.

Other times, I’d set out with a destination in mind. I’d know ahead of time where I wanted to go and the trail I would follow to reach it.

It was quite a different experience when I just followed my nose, over mountains, across rivers and streams, in whichever direction interested me at that particular moment.

I enjoyed some great experiences. Some of them involved not knowing where I was or exactly how to get back. That was part of the adventure.

It was a long time before cell phones and GPS. I was experienced with navigating using maps and a compass, and I always carried a topographical map of the area I was exploring. I didn’t use it on the way out, but it was frequently helpful in finding my way back.

I always made it back, but sometimes it wasn’t easy.

Sometimes, I wanted to reach a particular destination

Other times, however, I had a plan for where I was going, how I was going to get there, what I was going to do, and how I’d get back home.

For example, I enjoyed hiking the Appalachian Trail and I’ve walked parts of it from the southern end in Georgia, through Tennessee and North Carolina, and on into Virginia. That was not a single trip. I’ve never been a thru-hiker, but I did enjoy walking sections of it and enjoying the views, the solitude, and the time to think.

Frequently, I would plan on how I would get back home, first. I’d make arrangements to drop my truck off at my destination, and then have someone give me a ride to where I would start hiking.

From that point, it was simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and following the trail. Sometimes the trail was obvious and well-marked. Other times it was just a little paint on a rock. But, if I walked from one marking to the next and the next and the next, and kept doing it, I would always arrive at my destination.

What does hiking have to do with success?

There are two approaches to life. Well, there are probably many more than that, but I’m going to mention two that pertain to what I’m writing about, today.

Some people drift from place to place, from job to job, from paycheck to paycheck, with no real plan for what they are going to do next. I’ve done some of that.

It’s like hiking with no plan, just experiencing life and going wherever it leads.

Some people plan their lives. They set goals and then work to achieve them, over time.

Why are goals important?

Here is a short movie about why it is important to set goals. When you click the image, it will show the movie in a new window.

Some people set long-term goals, others set short-term goals.

I don’t think I’ve ever set a five-year goal that has actually been achieved. Usually, along the way, I choose another direction that I prefer traveling.

Others, some of whom I know, set plans for 10 years and even longer, and achieve those plans.

Each of us is different and each of us approaches life as we choose. If we don’t choose, it means that we’ve chosen to drift and let the tides and circumstances propel us wherever they do.

Let’s think about success for a moment.

Most people want to be successful at something. I know I do.

Some people depend on luck to achieve the success they want.

Others really study what they want to achieve. They determine what needs to be done to bring it to fruition. Sometimes they want to achieve something that is difficult and complex, so that takes more study. Other times, we want to achieve something that is easier and simpler. That takes less study.

You already know all this, right?

So, now I’ll get to the point.

I have found that analyzing what I want to accomplish always leads to a set of tasks that must be performed. Sometimes there is a distinct order in which the tasks must be done. Other times it’s just a matter of doing all of them, in no particular order.

As an analogy, let’s say that we are standing on the edge of a swamp and we want to get to the other side as simply and as easily as possible. It is much harder to wade through the muck than it is to walk across stones that are conveniently placed to make it easy.

I consider each of those metaphorical stepping stones to be the goals that we must accomplish to achieve the results we want.

When I really learned about goal setting and planning my life — at least to a point — I was able to accomplish a lot more than I was when I just drifted along. And, since I enjoyed what I wanted to do, it was more enjoyable when I was making steady progress and getting ever closer to my goal.

I have a number of goals I intend to accomplish in the coming weeks and years. I have plans in place for many of them, even if I’m not quite sure how I’m going to eventually reach the final goals.

But, I know this…

If I have accurately analyzed what I want to do, and if I’ve properly identified the tasks that must be accomplished, then I now have a trail to follow — and that makes it much more likely that I will reach the destination I want. It does not guarantee my success, but it does increase the odds in my favor.

Now, I have multiple to-do lists, checklists, goals, and deadlines, and most of them I set for myself. I don’t know whether I’ll successfully complete all of them, but I do know that I’ll work steadily at each task, in the order I think is best, and I get a real feeling of satisfaction every time I cross something off one of my to-do lists, or place a checkmark next to an item on a checklist.

Some days I feel like I accomplish a lot and other days I feel like I’m getting nowhere, but if I can accomplish at least one task on my list, I’m making progress, and I like that feeling.

Some days, I don’t want to work, so I play or just do whatever I feel like doing, at that moment. Other days, I focus on a task and work until it’s completed.

If I focus and work on achieving my goals — most days — I have a much better likelihood of following those stepping stones that lead to success.

What about you?

Do you set goals? Do you have to-do lists?

Or, do you wing it?

Act on your dream!

JD

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What is your biggest goal?

May 11, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Success and Failure, TED Talks 

Stop! Don’t tell anyone! Keep it to yourself!

You don’t want to undercut your motivation to actually achieve that goal, do you?

I know, most people tell you to announce your goal so that you’ll be held accountable. Research says otherwise…

Derek Silvers presents research dating all the way back to the 1920s to show why telling others your goals may not be the best thing to do — if you actually want to achieve them.

So, what’s your biggest goal?

(grin)

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Handling interrupts when priorities change

October 28, 2009 by JD · 6 Comments
Filed under: Musings 

It’s been awhile since I’ve done any blogging, but I’m back and, hopefully, I’m going to have the time and energy to get lots done over the coming weeks.

I’m finally feeling better now that I’m past all my fall allergies. It’s amazing how much more I can get done when my head doesn’t feel like it’s going to explode!

So, what’s with the title of this blog post?

Sometimes life intervenes and we have to adjust our priorities to handle them. That’s why I’ve been mostly offline for the last week or two.

A few months ago, I received a notice from the NC government that they wanted to recoup all the money they spent last year for the few months Mom was in the nursing home before she died.

If that happens, I don’t know what I’m going to do. It looks like the only option will be to sell the house and land and find a new place to live.

The trouble is that I’ve been living here since the mid-1990s, ever since I was divorced.

I planned to stay for a few weeks and help Mom do some things around the house and property and then I was seriously considering moving back to Arizona.

That didn’t work out.

The longer I stayed here, the more I realized that Mom needed more help than I was aware of. That really got serious in 2002 following her cancer surgery. She was no longer able to care for herself and I made the decision to bring her back home and care for her.

So, I did that for over six years. She lived at home and I cared for her 24/7.

Last July, her health declined rapidly and there was no choice but to move her into the nursing home. I still don’t like it, but I had no choice.

She was there for a few months and died just before Thanksgiving, nearly a year ago.

Ever since, I’ve been trying to settle her estate and deal with lots of unexpected issues including some serious health problems of my own this year, a decline in my business income, increase in expenses, and one problem after another.

Sigh.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working around the clock to respond to a letter I received in early September from the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

I finally responded to that letter a couple of days ago and now we’ll see if they will give me a waiver on the thousands of dollars they want from Mom’s estate or if I’ll have to sell everything and leave.

If I had the money, I’d write a check and send it to them. I never wanted the state to pay for Mom’s care in a nursing home. In fact, I believe that I’ve saved the state of NC hundreds of thousands of dollars because I cared for Mom myself.

But, I don’t have the money.

During the years I cared for Mom, I fell farther and farther behind in my profession and I don’t think I’ll ever again be able to do professional computer consulting and database work. My health has declined to the point where I could not hold down a full-time job, even if I could find one around here.

So, I’ve done all I can do. Now, it’s just a matter of waiting to see what happens.

If they grant the waiver, I’ll be able to turn my full attention back to trying to earn a living. If not, I’ll disappear from all my online haunts for a few weeks while I throw out everything here and try to find a place to live and a way to pay for it.

If they insist on payment, maybe they’ll give me some kind of payment option and maybe they won’t.

I never expected that I’d ever be facing the possibility of the Sheriff selling Mom’s home on the courthouse steps, but that’s a distinct possibility in November.

Am I worried.

No. I’m scared.

But, it’s one of the things that life throws at us and we have to deal with them.

I’m hoping that 2010 will be a much better year than 2009. This has been the most difficult 12 months of my life and I’m hoping that things will turn around, soon.

I’m trying to keep a good attitude and continue to work, but it’s a struggle sometimes.

I hope your year is going better than mine!

All the best,

JD

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