GOALS

Goals by Jill Suzanna Behe

Make a goal, have a goal. Where are you going in life? Where do you see yourself in five-years? Ten? What is it you want to accomplish?

From the eighth grade—when most students get more serious about what they want to do with their lives—I heard these questions from career counselors. One of their more motivational lines? Goal-oriented people are the most successful.

Yes, they are, mostly.

Some peter out after a year or two. Others overdo it, thinking The Goal is the only thing worth living for. Then there are those of us who never really thought about it all that much. Our lives were moving, but there wasn’t a lot to look forward to. We made haphazard five-year plans, but most of us never ventured to think ten to twenty years down the road. What would be the point? Nothing was going to change.

I became what I trained to do in high school. When I graduated, I could type, take shorthand, use an adding machine without looking at the keys, and do basic bookkeeping. A few years later, I joined the Army (that wasn’t even on my two-hundred-year radar), and I was still able to use the skills I’d learned.

The only real goal I ever made was to be a published author … at some point. I often wonder, if I’d made it a five-year, or even a ten-year goal, perhaps I would’ve gotten there sooner. Then again, looking over the early pieces I wrote, makes me cringe.

Maturity has its benefits.

My point, laboriously around the mulberry bush, is that goals really are important. Something to strive towards. Not stuck in a rut. Not lamenting fate. Always moving forward. Always in a positive direction.

My one solid goal was more of a pipe dream, and though it took longer than I wanted to see that goal to fruition, I made it. There were times it seemed too outrageous to believe possible. I almost—ALMOST—gave up the dream, but my inner rebel won that one. Good thing she was in my corner cheering me on.

I am now a published author, times three (at this moment in time). Some days it’s: ‘Holy Cow. I’ve got three books published.’ Other days it’s: ‘COWABUNGA! I’ve got THREE books out there!’

And sometimes I just sit in dumbfounded wonder.

The reality is, I accomplished the goal I’d envisioned all those years ago.

SO, make a goal. Definitive, or not, but make one.

Work towards it.

You have to work at it, otherwise it’s just words stuck on the fridge, or a sticky note on the wall above your computer. Even if it isn’t every day, it needs a precedence, it needs to be fed. You’ll never reach the goal if you don’t. Your fairy godmother (or muse) isn’t going to drop it in your lap. You have to make the effort.

It’s a tough road, the one to the dream. Obstacles will appear, tires will go flat, engines are going to overheat, ruts and rocks will need to be driven around, or removed. Could even get bloody. Don’t let any of it stop you. Nothing worth doing is on Easy Street.

The end result, the finish line, is totally worth it. And the sense of accomplishment is a confidence booster of enormous magnitude.

HOWEVER….

Once you achieve that goal, you need to make another one. Again, to always have a challenge, something to strive for, something to keep you motivated.

Never give up.

Always move forward.

Don’t look back.

The past is passed. It CANNOT be changed no matter how much we want it to, no matter how much we wish it could be. Ifs, could have beens, CANNOT exist in the pursuit of your goal.

May your quest be fruitful, and your diligence be rewarded.

Profitez de votre journée,

The Rebel