Let’s Start Scoring Some Goals

I am not a self-help Guru, nor a life coach with the keys to financial success (which is a shame, because who doesn’t want more money), but that doesn’t mean I’m a stranger to personal success.
As a child I often associated being successful with having a flash car, big house, and a powerful job, but over the years I have found this not to be true.
I have often met financially successful people, that in theory should be happy and content, but for some reason that was not the case.
Small things would seriously irritate them if they were not to their liking or high standards, the term ‘first world problems’ would not cross their minds, when receiving the wrong coffee order in the morning, that would negatively affect their mood for the remainder of the day.
The happiest, most content people I have ever met were the people that in modern standards should be the most miserable.
I have been fortunate enough to be able travel to different parts of the world, and meet some truly inspiring people.

It was on the streets of the Philippines where I was most humbled. I would see children running around playing in worn out old sandals, and dirty ripped clothes having great fun, without a care in the world. Large families of 5 or more, all living in a small one room bamboo shack, but all of them had in most part happiness in their daily lives. I’m not saying this was always the case but on the whole they were happy.
Now they might not be successful in the flash car, big house, and powerful job yardstick, but they were often happier and less stressed than a great deal of the people I had met that were.
Surly it’s more important to be happy and content being with the people you care most about in the world, than miserable, stressed out, unfulfilled, and possibly lonely with loads of money.
Although, I might not have the flash car, big house, and (perceived) powerful job, on the whole I am happy and content.
That being said, just because you are content doesn’t mean you should not have aspirations and goals.

We are at the time of year when people make there New Year’s resolutions like, lose weight, quit smoking, or write a book. Some people are successful, most resolutions fall by the way side.
Personally I think that making a New Year’s resolution is a missed opportunity to seriously change your life. Why limit yourself to one goal in life for the entire 365 days of the year (Just one Goal?).
Why not set 5 or 6 goals that would truly enhance your life?
It may be a cliché but imagine where you want to be next year (realistically), and set goals that will get you there, step by step.

Who’s to say what your goals are, everybody is different, but the goals can include things that encompass your hobbies, or personal life.
For example, most martial artists and gym goers, often get to a plateau in there training, a hurdle that they just can’t seem to pass. Some people persevere and over a long period of time overcome the plateau, but a large number become despondent with a lack of progress and give up.
If you are training in something and find yourself at the glass ceiling, why not set some smaller goals that will help you break through, i.e.
1. Exercise in the morning before work, or change your training regime
2. Read a book or books on the subject in order to better understand your training
3. Seek more qualified advice
With discipline and perseverance you will progress much sooner.
You can tackle your personal goals in much the same way.
Maybe you are lonely and would like companionship, in which case your goal might be to start a new friendship.
The positive steps you might take could be.
1. Make more of an effort to communicate with people
2. Join a club or group of people with like-minded interests
3. Socialize more
These are basic examples, but all it is, is creating smaller goals that will ultimately help you achieve bigger ones.
Once you have identified your goals, make a list in any order and stick it on the wall or somewhere you will notice it. If only just subconsciously it will reaffirm what you really want. You won’t achieve this overnight but gradually you will begin to accomplish them, and experience success in attaining your ultimate goal.
This is something I have tried and had elements of success with, not everything goes to plan, but on the whole it has helped me.
There were always times things didn’t go my way, but that was when I would remember the people I met traveling, that really had nothing of any monetary value, but were really happy and content, I would think ‘I’m healthy, I have somewhere to live, I can get food /water, and the people I care about are O.K., I need nothing more’, or ‘first world problems’.

Happy New Year.

By Louis Tandoh,
Chief Instructor of Family Martial Arts Gravesend.