Achieving Personal Goals

The following may be the greatest single piece of wisdom I’ve heard about goals and achievement. I think it’s the key to why some people reach the finish line, and others don’t make it.

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” – Henry David Thoreau

Why not invest some time and energy in creating pathways in your mind that represent productive beliefs about yourself and the world you live in?

4. Expectations

Expectations, or “Where is your aim?”, is the idea that where you aim has a direct affect on where you land.

Sadly, due to (a) flawed beliefs and (b) bad attitudes, we too frequently set our expectations waaay below where we should. It’s also true that the higher we aim, the harder we’re likely to have to work to get there and the greater the chance of failing, and that can deter some of us. But for the most part, we don’t aim high enough simply because we don’t believe we can get there and we’re not prepared or willing to deal with defeat or frustration if we have to.

By paying attention to where we set our expectations, what we ask of ourselves as we set our goals and aspirations, we have the opportunity to lay the foundation that will produce results that are worthy of our efforts and allow us to reach our potential.

A couple of thoughts on the subject of expectations:

“Our circumstances answer to our expectations and the demand of our natures.” – Henry David Thoreau
“If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.” – Thomas Alva Edison
“High expectations are the key to everything.” – Sam Walton

Don’t be afraid to approach your life with high expectations. Don’t you deserve it?