Goals & Dreams

How to Achieve Any Goal

achieve your goals

We’re quickly heading into that brief window of time each year when far more people will casually discuss their goals with others: New Years. People at work who seem loath to accomplish much for eleven months of the year, will suddenly start talking about self development goals like seasoned veterans! And yet, the cliche is how short-lived such “resolutions” tend to be. Those who don’t proudly announce their new-found discipline will instead proclaim their defeatist cynicism: “I quit making New Year’s resolutions years ago when I realized I couldn’t keep them for more than a few weeks.”

So why are New Year’s resolutions so commonly broken? Is it that the necessary enthusiasm and intent isn’t really there? Sometimes. But I think it happens just as often that while we’re setting the types of goals that an experienced veteran may hesitate to declare, we proceed to implement them like real life rookies. This year, why not try to set and achieve goals from the seat of experience, paying particular attention to the types of obstacles that need to be avoided, and with a plan for surmounting the obstacles we can’t.

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How to Realize Your Dreams

realize your dreams

We all have hopes and aspirations for our lives. Fulfilling or walking the path to fulfillment of just one of our dreams can infuse our lives with deep meaning and happiness.

The subject of this article is a strategy that is as powerful as it is simple. I call this strategy “compartmentalization” and it is something you can use daily for the achievement of your wildest dreams no matter their size or scope.

It was Thomas Carlyle who expressed the following wisdom:

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Daydreams: Friend or Foe?

daydream

This week I am back to full-time work after a short break. I kept myself reasonably busy during this time off, but one habit I did develop was to relax, both physically and mentally, during the mid-afternoon. On such occasions I would allow my mind to wander, or to “daydream” as this is commonly known. Daydreaming is basically a state of mind where the thoughts you experience are unrelated to what is going on in the environment around you.

Interestingly, this habit initially brought with it some guilt. I’m sure this was related to being in a “non-doing” state in a culture that increasingly values productivity. With time, however, I came to shed most of this guilt and use this period of rest in a positive way. The following are a selection of potential positives and negatives to daydreaming.

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