“The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” – Benjamin Mays
Last week in this space I vented a little bit about beliefs and how they drive our behavior and how so many people don’t believe they can change. Someone emailed me and mentioned that they thought perhaps people’s beliefs were simply reinforcing what they wanted – which was to avoid changing. Convince yourself it’s not possible, and you don’t have to worry about doing it.
Unfortunately, I think there’s probably some truth to that. But why are so many people so averse to making change? Fear of failure, for one. If you convince yourself something’s not possible, then you don’t have to risk failure by trying to do it.
I also think as much as anything that people are satisfied with “good enough”. People say things like “We want to go to the next level” or “We want this business to achieve great things” or some exciting sounding thing like that. But I think a lot of people say that because they think that’s what they’re supposed to say. They don’t really mean it. They’re happy just coasting along the way they are.
I guess people can do whatever they choose, and if they don’t want to reach their maximum potential, that’s their choice. If you’re reading this, though, then that’s probably not what you’re looking for. If “good” isn’t good enough, then start by asking yourself what exactly would be good enough?
Be specific. If you had a magic wand and could transform your business or your career or your personal life into whatever you wanted right now, what would that look like? Would your business be producing the same things it does now? Would your business located somewhere else? Would you be working alone? Would you be in an entirely different field or industry? Who would your customers be? Where would you live?
If you can’t see it, you can’t do it. Take your answers to those questions and draw a picture of what that would look like. Don’t worry about the quality of your artwork. Make a picture of where you’re trying to go, so when things get difficult you can have something to remind you of why this is all going to be worth it.
If you really want something better, if you really don’t want to waste your talent and the opportunity you’ve been given in life (and everybody’s been given one, in some way or another), then get a picture and start working towards it. Be relentless. And find what you’re really looking for.
