One concept that is very important to grasp about setting and pursuing goals. The true purpose of setting and pursuing a goal is not necessarily to hit the goal itself, but to grow as a person in the pursuit of the goal itself. As I mentioned before, a goal is a dream with a deadline, but what is truly achieved by accomplishing this goal, even past the why itself?
The true value of what comes from setting goals is not always necessarily the great feeling of hitting the goal itself. The true value comes from being the person who makes 100’s of ‘right’ choices in pursuit of something bigger. You become the type of person who is willing to sacrifice and fight for something you want. You become this person by making one decision at a time.
For example if your goal is to lose 20 pounds in the next 3 months. Lets say you only made it to lose 18 pounds and did not hit your original goal. There is a silver lining on this failure, because although you did not hit your original goal of 20, you still grew as a person who made 100’s of good choices over bad choices in order to lose the 18 pounds. On many occasions you made the right decision to eat the fruit and vegetables instead of the fats and carbs.
When you set a goal to do something and make an effort to reach it then you are training your brain that you are capable of making the right decisions. Every time you make a decision that is the right choice, not the easy choice, you condition your brain to continue to make these choices. The human brain is in some ways no different than any other muscle in the body. It can be strengthened and conditioned, but it needs to be worked on like any other muscle in the body. Every good decision you make strengthens the fibers in the brain to make that decision again. The first time is always difficult, but it will only get easier with time as you continue to grow this muscle by making the right choices.
