They are Not the Same Thing

A goal is a tangible, measurable, attainable objective for which you have developed and implemented a reasonable plan to achieve. Otherwise, it is merely a dream. Dreams are what you hope for, but goals are what you actually achieve. Focus on establishing and achieving goals. Through the years, I have had more than one employee tell me that they had a goal to earn a college degree.  When I have offered to fund it, they have either backpedaled or dropped out after a semester or two. I have had financial advisors declare their goals to make a certain amount of money, but then renege on the plan I helped them develop to get there. These were not goals, these were just dreams. Dreams are nice, but we tend to keep them at a safe distance. Goals are what we fight for, lose sleep over, and skin our knees trying to reach because we can’t imagine living life without having achieved them. Dreams are risk free.  Goals are fraught with fear, setbacks, and potential calamity, because they are real. Dreams occupy idle brain time.  Goals consume us. Dreams require luck. Goals require skill, determination, and sacrifice. Dreams are ethereal. Goals are concrete.

Some Basic Rules

Set only a few. Don’t start the New Year with a long list of hope-tos and want-tos. Choose two or three specific things as goals, develop a plan for each, and then go to work. Words like more, less, better, lower, be, have, want, hope, think, and become, cannot be used to describe a goal. “I want to become a better golfer.” is not a goal. That is a dream. “I have hired a chipping and putting coach and scheduled 8 lessons on Saturday mornings over the next two months with a golf pro to shave 5 strokes off my game.” is a goal, and one that will likely be achieved. Goals have a time limit, a specific quantitative objective, and a reasonable chance of achievement. Write them down and share them with others , especially with those who will hold you accountable and help you stay focused. Review your progress regularly. If you determine halfway through that the goal just isn’t possible, revise it so it is possible, and then keep going.

Everyday you should take steps toward your goals. Take big steps when you can, but keep taking steps.  Never stop progressing. Never stop moving forward. If you work at your goals, you will eventually achieve them. It took me 10 years to complete my undergraduate work in my mid 40s, but I kept enrolling, semester after semester.  Sometimes, I only took one course at a time, trying to balance it all, but I made it. I am in my early 50s now, and I have nearly finished a master’s degree. I will begin a Ph.D. program in the fall of 2015, and by 2018 my friends will have to call me Dr. Noel.

Now, Get Started!

Start turning your dreams into goals. Start right now. Don’t procrastinate. Remember, the longest journey begins with the first step. What are your dreams? How can they be turned into real goals? Which ones should you abandon, and which ones should you pursue? Is it a college education, or a master’s degree? How about getting into shape and losing weight? Maybe you want to get married and need to find the right mate.  Whatever your dream, turn it into a goal by writing it down, setting a schedule, developing a plan, and getting started. What do you have to lose? The satisfaction of accomplishment has few equals in life. I don’t want to look back at the end of mine and see a rough draft or a life that resulted from the sum of my stupid choices, laziness, procrastination, and happenstance.  I want to see a masterpiece. Design and build yours.