All opinions are always 100% honest and my own. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also participate in: CJ Affiliate; eBay Partner Network; Rakuten Affiliate Network; ShareASale; Walmart Affiliate Program; independent affiliate networks.
One day a farmer, wishing to teach his son the “art” of planting a field, sent him out it plant with a few words of advice.
“Son,” he said, “to make the rows nice and straight you need to fix your eye on something and follow it!”
That night as the farmer went out to inspect his son's work he saw rows going every which way. Asking his son why he didn't follow towards something, he replied, “I did, but the darn cow kept moving!”
As you begin the process of refining your goals for 2012, remember that real goals need to be defined and measurable. Having a fuzzy, uncertain, something-out-there kind of goal isn't likely to move you toward excellence. Lifestyle design is all about knowing exactly where you want to go and making definite steps to get there.
Keep your eye on the prize. And make sure the “prize” is something you will recognize when it's in your hands.
Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
When I was a kid my dad tried to teach me to learn tennis. He loved tennis. He would always say, “Barry, keep your eye on the ball! Keep your eye on the ball!”
It took a long time for that advice to sink in. It sounded obvious, but I found that when I really focused on the ball and made SURE I didn’t look down court, that I almost never missed the ball. It didn’t always go exactly where I wanted it to, but I could almost always hit it.
That advice is just what you’re talking about. Keep your eye on the prize.
And I was a champion tennis player in high school. 🙂
Short, sweet, and very enlightening. I love this picture, post/story.
There’s also a hidden lesson in there:
When directing someone, aim for as much clarity and as little assumption as possible, or they may get it very wrong. 😀
Absolutely right as when you know what exactly you want, you get it or work in that direction so much.
Alison,
Goal setting is great to keep one focused on getting a job done, achieve a new milestone, or even losing weight. A needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, and to be accomplished by a specific date. I agree with you that you do not want the goal to be a moving target. It should well defined. Once the goal is set one then needs to put together a set actions that will help achieve the goal.
Larry
I agree. Goals have to well defined and specific. That way you’ll really know if you have achieved it. The was a funny story by the way. I have sons and I have to be very specific with them when I let them do errands for me. 🙂
I think its very important to have a very focused goal that you zoomed in and work towards with blind faith….And I think the “blind faith” part is what most people have trouble with. They give up too easily when they don’t get the results….but sometimes these people are sooo close, and just need to hang in there to see the results!