Success. Go get it.
The world around us is currently experiencing a time of disruption. So much is begging to be changed, and folks are getting fired up around various causes. Whether the issue is racism, investigating systems, dealing with health crises, or anything else, plans are being made for the achievement of certain goals and objectives with a view to having the world evolve.
Most of us are familiar with the concept of setting goals; human nature being what it is, we also love achieving goals. The thing is, the achievement of goals requires stamina, energy, focus. When any of these begins to deplete, there’s a temptation to abandon ship (or at least to slow the heck down).
While there is something to be said for knowing when to let go of a lost cause, there’s more to be said for sticking to your guns, for seeing a plan through to success. So how do you do that? How do you stay the course, when the end seems so far away? Or when your work seems to be yielding less than desirable results? The key lies in a classic “both/and”. Let me explain.
When it comes to goal achievement, conventional wisdom would have us maintain our focus on the desired end result. “Keep your eye on the prize” is the cliché, right? In other words, on the one hand, you are taught to keep your attention entirely on the goal you’ve set.
On the other hand, you’ve also been told to celebrate your successes along the way to the ultimate goal, right? This is where the potential exists to derail your success. Often, in celebrating your successes along the way, you end up taking your eye OFF the ultimate goal. That moment of averting your gaze can be enough to hold you back, or at least to delay your achievement. Given that this is the result, one of two things tends to happen: you either forget about celebrating the successes along the way (because you don’t want to stop for any length of time), and thereby lose steam and fall short; or, you’re so busy celebrating the successes along the way, that your eyes are rarely on the prize, which results in losing sight of where you’re headed and not getting there in the end.
So, what’s the solution? It boils down to this: you’ve got to develop your capacity to HOLD IT ALL energetically. There’s a way that you must be completely, 100% aware of where you are, where you’ve been and where you’re headed, all at the same time. Celebrating successes along the way does not mean that you take your eyes off your destination. Instead, it’s about marking the success as you continue to move forward. Think about runners in any sporting event; if and when they choose to turn and look behind them, they lose focus, they lose speed and they potentially lose the prize. If, instead, they mentally “check off” each and every milestone, they are in essence celebrating even as they keep pushing ahead. It’s a brilliant strategy.
One more word about successfully achieving your objective: the key to success is in maintaining your energy. In order to do this, you’ve got to create time and space to take care of yourself. And you’ve got to surround yourself with a supporting cast. If you don’t do this, you will lose stamina. Without stamina, you will not have the energy to maintain focus or to celebrate any milestones along the journey. Which is a surefire way to sabotage your efforts.
Bottom-line: if you want to achieve a goal, any goal, you’ve got to keep your eye on the prize, your head in the game, and your awareness on the entire journey. You’ve got to celebrate all that you’ve accomplished, even as you continue to move forward. When it comes right down to it, you’ve got to keep moving, no matter how tempted you are to let go. Go ahead; take that break, celebrate all you’ve accomplished, but don’t lose sight of the end-result. Holding it all together will ensure that you can celebrate it all together. I know. I’ve been there; I’ve done that. And I continue to move forward to new goals.