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Keep your eyes on the goal

“Obstacles are the things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.” – E. Joseph Cossman

When you’re excited, motivated, and focused on your goals, it’s easy to not let anything get in your way. But when you stop focusing on your WHY and start looking at bad things that are happening TO you (instead of FOR you), it’s easy to become discouraged.

The best way to remain focused on a goal is to write it down and look at it/think about it daily. If it is constantly in front of you, it will be harder to focus on anything else.

The next thing you should do is change your mindset to that of a victor, not a victim. Things don’t always go your way – there will always be obstacles. That’s what happens in life. But if you think of yourself as the hero of your own story, overcoming obstacles will just be the next part of the story – plus, it makes it more interesting! Think of how boring Harry Potter would have been if he didn’t have to defeat Voldemort, think of Frodo in the Lord of the Rings without having to overcome Sauron, or of the Rebel Alliance (good guys) without trying to overthrow the Galactic Empire in Star Wars. Without the possibility of defeat, it makes movies/books/life less interesting.

Lastly, practice gratitude to reframe your outlook when obstacles inevitably arise. There are always people out there less fortunate than you. You are capable of coming back stronger after defeat, of getting up after you get knocked down, and for that, you should be grateful. Practice being grateful and nothing can keep you down for long.

Systems and processes

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” – James Clear

It doesn’t matter how lofty your goals are if you don’t have systems in place to ensure you reach those goals. The goal gives you a direction to aim, which is a good start, but it does not get you to the finish line. After all, you need to know what you want to accomplish and where you want to go in order to take the right actions to get there. But knowing where you want to go is only part of the equation. It won’t actually get you there without putting together an action plan and then executing that plan. (Knowing and doing are different parts of the process, but both are necessary.)

Make sure that you have systems in place that move you forward every day. Figure out what the next most important action step is and work towards completing it. Once you accomplish that, figure out the next most important action step and repeat the process.

On your way to completing each step, beware of taking actions that can derail or sidetrack you. You want to move toward your goal in as straight of a line as possible, not winding/meandering your way there. Stay laser focused and do not let the shiny objects distract you.

Making adjustments

Anything that is important to you should be prepared for. Go into a situation/game with a plan of what you’ll do and say, how you might respond, etc. But if things aren’t going your way, do not be so rigid in your plans that you can’t make adjustments.

You should be cognizant of if something isn’t working because it takes time and maybe the ball just didn’t bounce your way at first OR maybe you just had the wrong plan going into the game. Be willing to accept either answer, but be honest with yourself as to why things may not be going your way. Be ok with setting your ego aside, admitting that your plan was wrong, and changing accordingly. Don’t double down on a bad decision.

Making an honest attempt

If I try, I have a chance. If I don’t try, I have no chance. There is no harm in trying and failing. At least you’re still setting yourself up to possibly succeed. But if you don’t try for fear of failing, you guarantee that you will not achieve your goal.

Be ok with taking chances and always strive to do your best. You should give your greatest effort in everything you do. If you are taking the time to do something, you might as well do it properly. Not only that, but how you do anything is how you do everything. Don’t fall into the habit of going through the motions and not giving it your all, otherwise that will become your new norm.

If you take chances and give 100% of your effort, you can rest easy at night. You can go to bed knowing that you gave it your all and not have any regrets. Again, the only you can control is your effort. If things don’t work out as planned, let it be because of forces outside of your control, not because you didn’t do something.