Too Often Once the Goals Are Planned…We Forget the Achieving Part
This is like having plans to build a building and once you get the blueprint drawn…you stop. You have a picture you can hang on the wall, but the building never gets built.
Having a plan before you start is good, but it’s not enough. If you don’t dig some dirt and drive some nails, nothing is accomplished.
Accomplishing anything requires action and action requires decisions.
This book gives us Seven Decisions shared with David Ponder while on his travels bout how we should live our lives. I review and contemplate these decisions daily.
We’re nearing the end of another year. The closer we get, the more we beat ourselves up because of the things we didn’t get done. It’s easy to get caught up in the things that we didn’t accomplish and overlook the things that we did. We all have visions of what our dream life will look like. This can be frustrating and depressing when things don’t turn out like we planned.
We need to remember that we can’t change the past, only the future. The key is to not give up.
Giving up is like dying while you’re still alive. Don’t give up!
Last week I wrote about how we can use urgency to accomplish more. Urgent things become a higher priority. This moves them up higher on the list. As an example of how this works, let me tell you a story that happened just this morning.
As Katie (my awesome assistant) and I were working on some website things, I realized that I couldn’t log in to the Solution Building site because I had waited too long in setting up my two-factor authentication. This is something that Stacey (my amazing IT person) told me to do a month ago.
This meant that I wasn’t going to be able to publish this week’s solution until I got this taken care of.
As it is with busy people…I kept putting it off to do other things. The level of urgency ramped up though when I couldn’t get into the website. I had to decide what I was going to do. At that point, it became the highest priority.
We all deal with these kinds of choices. The key to accomplishing more is to decide early on what is important and what isn’t. No matter how clear we are on our life and business plans, things are going to happen. Some are within our control, and some aren’t.
The more answers we have to big life question, the easier the smaller questions are to deal with.
Ultimately achieving goals comes down to decisions and deciding is up to us.
As I think about life and decisions, once again, I’m brought back to Andy Andrew’s book, The Traveler’s Gift. I know, I refer to this book a lot. As I was thinking about goals and decisions, I was reminded about the profound impact this book had on my life as I recovered from my concussion.
- The Responsible Decision
I accept responsibility for my past. I control my thoughts. I control my emotions. I am responsible for my success.
“THE BUCK STOPS HERE.”
“If decisions are choices…and our thinking dictates our decisions – then we are where we are because of our thinking.”
President Harry S. Truman
- The Guided Decision
I will be a servant to others. I will listen to the council of wise men. I will choose my friends with care.
“I WILL SEEK WISDOM.”
“God moves mountains to create the opportunity of His choosing. It is up to you to be ready to move yourself.”
King Solomon
- The Active Decision
I am courageous. I am a leader. I seize this moment. I choose now.
“I AM A PERSON OF ACTION.”
“My future is immediate. I will grasp it with both hands and carry it with running feet. When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act!”
Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
- The Certain Decision
I will not wait. I am passionate about my vision for the future. My course has been charted. My destiny is assured.
“I HAVE A DECIDED HEART.”
“Truth is truth. If a thousand people believe something foolish, it is still foolish! Truth is never dependent upon consensus of opinion. I have found that is better to be alone and acting upon the truth in my heart than to follow a gaggle of silly geese doomed to mediocrity.”
Christopher Columbus
- The Joyful Decision
I will greet each day with laughter. I will smile at every person I meet. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.
“TODAY I WILL CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.”
“Our very lives are fashioned by our choices. First we make choices. Then our choices make us.”
Anne Frank
- The Compassionate Decision
I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly. I will forgive myself.
“I WILL GREET THIS DAY WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT.”
“Forgiveness is a secret that is hidden in plain sight. It costs nothing and is worth millions. It is available to everyone and used by few. If you harness the power of forgiveness, you will be sought after and regarded highly. And not coincidentally, you will also be forgiven by others!”
Abraham Lincoln
- The Persistent Decision
I will continue despite exhaustion. I focus on results. I am a person of great faith.
“I WILL PERSIT WITHOUT EXCEPTION.”
“Great leaders – great achievers – are rarely realistic by other people’s standards. Somehow, these successful people, often considered strange, pick their way through life ignoring or not hearing negative expectations and emotions. Consequently, they accomplish one great thing after another, never having heard that something cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing!”
Archangel Gabriel
Achieving our goals comes down to decisions.
Starting by deciding what our priorities are.
Deciding to be responsible. Deciding to be wise. Deciding to take action. Deciding to believe in ourselves. Deciding to be happy. Deciding to forgive. Deciding to persist.