Simple question: Do you know what you are trying to achieve (in your education or just in life in general) - and why? Really think about that question. It's more important that anything. If you don't understand what you're trying to achieve or why you're trying to achieve it then you have absolutely no hope of getting there. Why? Well where are you trying to get to anyway? You haven't even defined it remember! So step one is to create a goal want to achieve and a goal you actually understand.
Once you have established the "what" and the "why", you can move to the next step - the "who". As in, who do you need to be to make sure that goal happens? What sort of actions do you need to take? How will you know if you are really on track or if you are just kidding yourself? Are you becoming the person you need to become to achieve the goal? Or are you just hoping that you can be exactly as you are now and still achieve the goal?
Let's look at this another way. If you take no action each day how will your goal be achieved? If you don't take any steps to improve yourself, how will your goal be achieved? Can you goal happen by you continuing exactly the way you are? If not, what are you going to do about it? What improvements do you need to make?
Achieving a goal is a process not an event. The problem is that people don't like processes - we like events! You see, we like to get an A+ on our Maths test, but we don't want to do the study and homework required (i.e. the process) to get the A+, we just want the event - the great score! We like the idea of looking fit and healthy but we don't like part where we have to eat well and exercise constantly. Do we? It all makes sense when you understand that we don't like the process - we just like the events.
Getting good grades is hard work. Being fit and healthy is hard work. Being a great musician is hard work. The process of achievement always weeds out the weak - and unfortunately it doesn't always reward the strong.
Passing school is hard and getting good grades is even harder. But the rewards (i.e. events) along the way, such as getting a positive report card, serve to reinforce the desire and attitude required to go through the process to see the ultimate event happen. It's survival of the fittest. When events don't happen, or the event seems too far away and out of each, the process becomes too much to handle.
So what does this mean to us in terms of goal setting and goal achievement? Given that we now know that we don't like processes and we do like events, it makes a lot of sense that we may enjoy setting goals such as "I want an A average in all of my subjects" but we don't like doing the hard work to make sure that the goals actually happen. The process is hard and can be boring and tedious. We want the event (A average for every subject) not the hard work!
By focusing on the process (and not just the event) and how the process is going to occur you are far more likely to achieve your goal. By asking yourself who you need to become to achieve your goal (like "Who do I need to become to achieve an A average for Science?") you are demonstrating that you understand how a goal is actually achieved - and questioning how you are going to make it through the process. So, who do you need to become to achieve the goals you want to achieve?
Achieving goals doesn't happen by chance. You must understand what the goal is and why it is important - and then you must make the decision to go through the process in order to reach the event. If you focus on the event (which is what we are inclined to do) you will find it very difficult to get through the process. If you focus only on the event, the process won't happen and the goal won't be achieved. What will you decide?
Once you have established the "what" and the "why", you can move to the next step - the "who". As in, who do you need to be to make sure that goal happens? What sort of actions do you need to take? How will you know if you are really on track or if you are just kidding yourself? Are you becoming the person you need to become to achieve the goal? Or are you just hoping that you can be exactly as you are now and still achieve the goal?
Let's look at this another way. If you take no action each day how will your goal be achieved? If you don't take any steps to improve yourself, how will your goal be achieved? Can you goal happen by you continuing exactly the way you are? If not, what are you going to do about it? What improvements do you need to make?
Achieving a goal is a process not an event. The problem is that people don't like processes - we like events! You see, we like to get an A+ on our Maths test, but we don't want to do the study and homework required (i.e. the process) to get the A+, we just want the event - the great score! We like the idea of looking fit and healthy but we don't like part where we have to eat well and exercise constantly. Do we? It all makes sense when you understand that we don't like the process - we just like the events.
Getting good grades is hard work. Being fit and healthy is hard work. Being a great musician is hard work. The process of achievement always weeds out the weak - and unfortunately it doesn't always reward the strong.
Passing school is hard and getting good grades is even harder. But the rewards (i.e. events) along the way, such as getting a positive report card, serve to reinforce the desire and attitude required to go through the process to see the ultimate event happen. It's survival of the fittest. When events don't happen, or the event seems too far away and out of each, the process becomes too much to handle.
So what does this mean to us in terms of goal setting and goal achievement? Given that we now know that we don't like processes and we do like events, it makes a lot of sense that we may enjoy setting goals such as "I want an A average in all of my subjects" but we don't like doing the hard work to make sure that the goals actually happen. The process is hard and can be boring and tedious. We want the event (A average for every subject) not the hard work!
By focusing on the process (and not just the event) and how the process is going to occur you are far more likely to achieve your goal. By asking yourself who you need to become to achieve your goal (like "Who do I need to become to achieve an A average for Science?") you are demonstrating that you understand how a goal is actually achieved - and questioning how you are going to make it through the process. So, who do you need to become to achieve the goals you want to achieve?
Achieving goals doesn't happen by chance. You must understand what the goal is and why it is important - and then you must make the decision to go through the process in order to reach the event. If you focus on the event (which is what we are inclined to do) you will find it very difficult to get through the process. If you focus only on the event, the process won't happen and the goal won't be achieved. What will you decide?
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