SETBACKS TO ACHIEVING GOALS
While there are probably no firm
statistics on the subject of why people fail to achieve goals, I think you’d
agree that majority of people do not or never achieve their goals and
objectives. In fact, the same reasons for this failure can also be the reasons
why many never really have any objectives
in the first place. Pause and ponder it!
in the first place. Pause and ponder it!
For instance, to set goals and objectives,
someone needs to have ambitions, but
not all people have ambitions; for the ones who have, many are not clearly
stated. Many people feel either content, resigned or are brainwashed to believe
that they have a fixed role in something from which there is no escape. They
have just done what they have done, and will do what they will do and repeat
the same all their lives; they tend not to question the status quo.
Now let us discuss the setbacks of
achieving goals and objectives. The reasons so many people live their lives
without ambitions and dreams, without drive and enthusiasm,
without plans and a definite direction. These reasons include:
- Education systems
The education systems of most
Western countries do not train young people to think for themselves.
These systems use social pressures to make graduates to go with the flow rather
than question the status quo. And, the politicians and their political parties
who govern these countries have no reason to upset the status quo. Reason is: they
don’t want a generation of students who are powerful and independent in the use
of their minds.
- Stereotypes
Look around you and observe the
lives of the vast majority of people from the student days to the early days of
a career: they just follow the paths of their parents and peers. If their
parents and friends are not independent achievers, then their chances are very
small. To even set personal objectives at all, whether formally written down or
loosely in their mind as dreams, would probably set them apart from the
majority. They struggle with breaking free from the norms all their youth days
and even through their early adult days, for some others. This is sad.
- Youthfulness
The best time to establish a pattern
of setting goals and reaching them is while young. Young people, of course, are
more easily distracted than their older counterparts. Whether it is through a
volatile love life or an excess of parties, other social activities and the internet;
achievement can easily take a back seat in their lives. Also, trying to step
outside the norm mostly attract peer pressure that sometimes, force them to
conform. The fact is, most people, irrespective of any age, cannot deal with
being different from everyone else because is one of the basic needs of man. So,
to set ambitious objectives and achieve them needs a firm degree of
independence, both in action and thought.
- Motivation
Frankly, it takes a lot of
self-motivation to set and achieve personal goals and that is not something
that is in plenty supply. For most people, motivation equates to money, but
money itself is not a competent motivator. Making money your motivator
will only give you scenic satisfaction that will fade like the flower. When you
achieve high goals, money will come on its accord; because good success
attracts wealth and fame. Begin to work on your self-motivation; begin to do
more.
- Laziness
It is true that people are lazy, and
cannot be motivated to work hard for themselves and set themselves apart. Most
especially, once in a job or career, they tend to slip into an auto pilot life,
pivoted around hope for a better paycheck, large mortgage, cars they cannot
really afford, a daily grind of commuting to a job where there is no independence
and can be fired at the drop of a hat. But, it's their life and they kept it
that way until forced to do otherwise. For others, they are not so busy but
have submitted themselves and their will to time wasters, doubters and
dream killers.
- Impatience
Achievement in most fields involves
set-backs along the way. Most people are impatient and unrealistic, and if success
is not a smooth path or instant, they just give up and retreat to their safe
shell; non-independent existence. They may never wake from their slumber, until
one day when they are heavily in debt, close to retirement and redundant with
no savings and nil investment. This is a common path for many parents
and grandparents; don’t follow their trail, think outside the box.
- Dream killers
Learn to ignore the people I refer
to as dream killers. They believe so much in the status quo despite they don’t
really know why it is so or if it can be changed. They are naysayers, doubters,
people of low self-esteem, people frustrated because they could not achieve
their own goals, people full of fear, people of no ambition, by-standers and
small minds. Learn to ignore them all and move on. Remember, whether you
give in to their advice or not, they will still criticize you, positively or
negative.
My friends, achieving worthwhile
goals which you really desire, and those that will bring you long term
financial freedom and wealth, requires vision, determination, ability to comeback
from setbacks, persistence, self-belief and confidence. It also means ignoring
bandwagon trails, time wasters, doubters and dream killers. For those who can
overcome these setbacks to achievement, life can eventually become very sweet
indeed.
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