I enjoyed playing darts when I was in college. The dartboard consists of areas with varying levels of points. Within each of those areas are even smaller targets that represent several multiples of the points listed. I realized one day if I actually aimed directly for the smaller area that I could often hit it. Before that, I just looked in the overall area and was pleased if I hit the smaller areas by chance. I started asking people what they aim for, and surprisingly, most people were not aiming for the smaller areas for higher points either. Whenever I suggested people start aiming for these higher valued areas, they inevitably started hitting it too. It was an exciting transformation of our game that seemed so obvious once we started to employ that focus.
We are just past the half-way mark for the year, and now is a good time to revisit goals we set at the beginning. I was recently reminded of a Zig Zigler quote after reaching an important milestone in my life, “You can’t hit a target you cannot see, and you cannot see a target you do not have.” It made me think back to how crystal clear I had drawn my life goal target. That refined and determined vision was likely the main reason for my success.
There are innumerable amounts of data and literature extolling the virtues of goal-setting. I am hoping this will serve as a reminder, to you and me, that most of the things that happen to us are the direct result of our focus or lack thereof. So, if you find yourself currently in a rut, now may be a great time to refocus on the things you’d like to see happen. Then, you can figure out how to hit your target.
As we all know, creating a goal can be challenging. You have to want it badly enough to work hard at it. Having a passion for the goal and a meaning to the journey is vitally important. But don’t get distracted by every detail of how it will be accomplished. Your passion will find solutions to overcoming the hurdles that are surely to come along the way.
I’ll end with a couple of my favorite quotes from Pualo Coelho’s, The Alchemist, “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” “…It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”