By: D. A. Slinkard
How are your goals coming for the year? Are you on track or are you like many Americans who have already become derailed by this time of the year? The year has just begun, yet too many people will begin giving up on what they started out wanting to achieve. We need to change our mindset now to properly build the future we desire to have.
We still have time to improve upon our year, whether it has been good or bad. I think we all need to realize that sometimes we do not have it as bad as what we think. Typically, in any given situation, especially one that we would consider to be a bad situation, there is someone out there who would trade their circumstances for ours. This is very humbling to think about, especially when we start going down the “woe-is-me” road.
I think it is imperative to revisit something I have touched upon before, and it concerns goal setting. An issue we have in our country is that too many people do not know how to set goals, and they do not know how to follow through to see their goals fulfilled. If the school system could teach more on this and less on common core, we might see a different society. I think there needs to be more focus on how to set goals and how people can follow up to achieve success.
Too often we have people who know what they want to accomplish, but they have no concept of how they are going to get there. Can you imagine if a homebuilder was going to set out to build a home but did not have a plan? The house plans are a blueprint, and your life goals are the blueprints for the life you want. The blueprints of a building are crucial for the builder to make sure every measurement is correct, and too often we fail to realize we are the builder of our lives.
How many people leave their life up to chance? How many people go about their day without any intention of bettering themselves? If we started each day with a blueprint for our life and what the necessary steps were to measure success, what change would we see? In the beginning, I would suspect we would see very little success, and this may surprise you. We live in a society that expects results instantly, and with momentous change. We decide to change a certain aspect of our life, but when it takes a little longer than we expected, we get frustrated and give up.
If we had only kept on the same track and not given up too early, we would have found the success we desired. Instead, though, when we are met with a little resistance, we just tuck our tail, roll over, and give up. I am proposing that we make the conscious decision to begin each day with a game plan for what success looks like in your life. Your definition of success — what you want to accomplish, what you want to achieve — is going to be different than mine. However, if you truly take the time to put the blueprint together for your life, eventually you are going to see positive change in your life.
For instance, look at all the construction being done around us. I know there have been times that I kind of scratch my head while thinking, “What are they doing?” What we do not always see is the big picture. These construction companies have the blueprint; they know what needs to be constructed, what tasks need to be done, and then they work on doing it. We need to do the exact thing in our lives. We are going to face obstacles, just like how construction workers must overcome the rain. In your life, there will be rainy days, but you cannot let the negatives stop you.
Goal setting is important, but just as important is brainstorming and asking yourself what you are wanting to achieve. What is the desired result going to look like for you? This is your goal, but then you must think through the steps needed to obtain your goal. This is the blueprint of your life. Next is taking action to build the life you want. It all starts with a plan for what you want to accomplish, and then you must commit to follow through the design blueprints of your desired life.
By: D. A. Slinkard
D.A. Slinkard would love your feedback. You can contact him at da.slinkard@gmail.com
November 14, 2024
