Who Will Cry When You Die\?: Life Lessons From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari pdfdrive com

48.
Get Serious About Setting Goals
Many speakers and authors encourage you to set goals but most have never
explained why this is such a powerful discipline beyond saying something
like“something magical happens when you write down your goals on paper.” In
my opinion, setting clearly defined goals for all the areas of your life works for
three reasons. First, it restores a sense of focus in your world, a world that has
become complicated by too many options. In this age we live in, there are simply
far too many things to do at any given time. There are too many distractions that
compete for our attention. Goals clarify our desires and, in doing so, help us to
focus on only those activities that will lead us to what we want.
Setting clearly defined goals provides you with a framework for smarter
choices. If you know precisely where you are going, it becomes far easier to
select those activities that will get you there. Writing down your goals clarifies
your intentions (and the first step to realizing your vision is defining it). As
novelist Saul Bellow once observed, “A clear plan relieves you of the torment of
choice.” Or as author Glenn Bland wrote, “Goals and plans take the worry out of
living.” If you set goals, the actions you take will be based on your life’s mission
rather than on your day-to-day moods.
The second reason that goal-setting works is that it keeps you alert to
opportunities. The discipline almost magnetizes your mind to seek out new
opportunities, opportunities that you need to seize in order to create the personal,
professional and spiritual life you desire. And the third reason goal-setting works
is that clearly defined goals commit you to a course of action. They give you the
inspiration to act on your priorities and make things happen in your life rather
than waiting for opportunities to land in your lap (which rarely happens).
Selecting goals that engage and motivate you is one of the best ways to boost the
level of your personal commitment to life and increase the energy you bring to
your days. So set big goals. You are only as rich, whether materially or
spiritually, as your dreams. Or as advertising genius David Ogilvy put it, “Don’t
bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals.”

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