Category Archives: Goals

Don’t Waste Your Life Dreaming

24 July 2009

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"winter's coming." by *whimsical @ FlickrThis website is devoted to following your dreams, chasing after your ambitions, and changing your life for the better.  The content of my articles is intended to inspire people, to help them focus inward on their desires, to reflect on where their path has led them & where they want to go from here.  Inspiration & introspection are only a fraction of what it takes to actually accomplish your goals.  It is not enough to be inspired.  It is not enough to admit your mistakes.  It is not enough to dream about a better life.

None of this will bring you any closer to accomplishing anything.  Yes, inspiration and dreaming are powerful motivators but they change nothing if you never push beyond them.  You can’t just dream about being successful.  It isn’t enough to daydream about laying on the beach in the south of Spain.  You cannot wish your body into becoming slim & fit.  Dreams require action in order to become reality.

One of my goals is to run a marathon.  I have never ran more than a few miles at one time in my entire life.  I have ran a mile or two once in a while but could I possibly complete a 26-mile marathon?  In my mind I feel anyone has the ability to do anything, it just takes dedication & a willingness to work towards that goal.  It is much easier to sit on my couch in front of the television & watch people run than it is for me to find the desire to pick myself up and go for a run.  The sweat and pain that comes with pushing our physical limitations can be unpleasant but I find my motivation in knowing that if I am willing to endure, someday I will run in a marathon & I will finish.

My friend Noah has been training for an upcoming mini-marathon for a little over a month.  In this time he has gone from being unable to run more than a mile to running more than 10 miles.  That is impressive!  It shows exactly how much a person can accomplish if they are motivated & willing to harness that energy.  I joined him today & ran further than I ever have before, six miles.  It isn’t marathon distance, but it is a beginning.  Even after running all of that distance, at the very end we both pushed ourselves to finish the last 100 yards in a sprint.  We were both sweating & exhausted but it was worth the effort.  I was filled with a sense of pride for having pushed myself to finish.

I know that without his encouragement I wouldn’t have gotten out of bed early to go for a run.  Hearing him talk about how much he has improved over the course of a month has made me realize that it takes effort, lots of it, to become a better person.  Whether you are training for a marathon or trying to get out of debt, it takes effort.  You have to make sacrifices at first.  You might feel like giving up, but as you wipe the sweat from your brow & look at how far you’ve come since the beginning, you dig deep within yourself to find the energy to push as hard as you can to the finish line.

Effort is what separates those who dream from those who are living a dream.  A dream is nothing more than a dream if you don’t chase after it.  A goal means nothing if you don’t strive to accomplish it.  Dream your dream, find your inspiration & make it a reality.

✓ Goal #94) Climb Mount Saint Helens

8 July 2009

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I set up camp at Climber’s Bivouac, a small base camp at the foot of the mountain, and began cooking spaghetti on the campfire when a stranger wandered into my campsite looking for conversation. He spent the better part of the next hour telling old war stories of his time in the mountains and assured me I’d see him the next morning on the summit. Then he wandered off into the darkness.

With the campfire slowly fading, I decided to get some rest before my early start in the morning. It wouldn’t be a comfortable night. I should’ve expected it to be cold since the tent was staked into a pile of snow. I spent most of the night shivering, trying to stay warm. Sleep was a luxury. When the sun finally cast its warm rays across the tent it was time to get up, eat breakfast and get on my way.

The climb started with an easy hike through the woods, and it didn’t take long before I reached the tree line where I was welcomed by a huge mountain … one which I’d soon be climbing. I trudged across the snow field and began my ascent.

I hiked across snow and ice, rocks and boulders and dusty ash trails for about six hours before  finally making it to the summit of Mount Saint Helens. All of the work was definitely worth the reward of sitting at the top of the crater rim looking out at Mount Rainier in the distance. I stayed at the summit for about half an hour before beginning my descent. I could’ve stayed there for days.

I scrambled down the boulder fields and as I neared the bottom of the mountain, there was a snow chute from previous hikers. I slid the rest of the way down the mountain on my butt. It was a much more efficient way to travel … not to mention a lot of fun!

It was a challenge to reach the summit.

My legs were practically screaming “I hate you!” with each step. But no matter how much it hurt, I had to keep going. I’d already come this far and I knew how glad I’d be once I reached the top. I think it’s like anything you hope to accomplish in life … the closer you are, the harder you push to make it happen.

Whatever your mountain may be, no matter the challenges and difficulties that lie ahead, keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you’ll arrive at your destination.

One step at a time.

Create a List

25 March 2009

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"Bucket List" by er3465 @ FlickrHaving a visible reminder of want you out of life is a great way to motivate yourself.  The easiest way to do this is by creating a list of your goals and keeping it in a place where you will see it on a regular basis.  Maybe you could post it on the bathroom mirror or on the refrigerator next to the kids’ art masterpiece.  Chose a location which is highly visible and convenient for you.

In a corporate world this list may be called a Rolling Action Item List.  At home it may be called a “To Do” List.  Your list can be long term goals or even short term goals.  I find that when I make a list of all of the things I need to get done during the weekend that I am more likely to accomplish those things if I have written them down.  If I don’t have a reminder of what my priorities are, I tend to ignore my responsibilities and don’t accomplish what I need to.

Here are some tips for making the most out of your list:

Be Specific. When creating a list of your goals, either short term or long term, it is important that they be specific.  Having a goal to “Boost My Emergency Fund” is a great goal, but it is much too vague.  A better way of wording this goal is “Increase my Emergency Fund balance to $5,000.”  Now you have a specific number you can work towards.

Set a Time Limit. Having a time limit gives you a deadline to work against.  It is important that you set a reasonable time limit.  You don’t want to limit yourself too much because the challenge may cause you to give up if it is too hard to achieve your goal, but you also don’t want to set the deadline too far into the future.  If your deadline is too far away you won’t be motivated to work towards the goal and eventually you will just stop working towards the goal.  Consider a reasonable time limit that will be challenging but not impossible.

You can take your goal of “Increasing my Emergency Fund to $5,000” and turn it into “Increase my Emergency Fund to $5,000 by December 31, 2009.  Now you have a clear picture about how much and how long it is going to take.

Make Your Goals Actionable. By following both of the steps above when creating your list you now know exactly what you want to do and how long it is going to take in order to get it done.  By knowing this information you can create a plan to successfully complete your goal.  You need to break your goal into smaller steps.  You can eat an entire elephant one bite at a time.  If your goal is long term such as biking the west coast, your first actionable step would be to begin researching what sort of bicycle you would need.  After you have that information you need to get a bike.  Then you need to practice riding, increasing your distance each time until you have reached your desired daily distance.

For the example of the emergency fund, if you already have $1,000 saved then you only need $4,000 more in 9 months.  That is $445 a month.  That is a pretty steep goal.  Maybe we can break it down even further to $112 a week.  That is still pretty tough.  What about $15 a day?  That seems more manageable.  I am sure that there are ways of reducing our spending by $15 a day without cramping our styles too much.  It just takes a little creativity.

A list is one of the easiest ways of motivating yourself towards accomplishing your goals.  I always keep a notepad and pen handy so that I can write down my thoughts and goals.  I recommend that you do the same and follow the steps I outlined above in order to make your scribbles become a reality.  Just remember, a list isn’t going to do all of the work for you, it is just the beginning and the rest is up to you.