Keep Your Eye on the Goal

When you try to achieve something great in life, you always need to keep your eye on the goal, working with the end in mind. Most people focus on the path and pursue only that, which is one of the things that make them stumble. Everything in life starts with an objective. So identify that first.

Do you know what your end goal is? How do you become yourself instead of just trying to mimic or be someone else? What is your path and what is your destination?

At the end of the day, a path is just an option; and yes, it is one of the ways forward. It is the thing that you are doing right now and focusing on today. But tomorrow is another day. Yet, so many of you build your happiness by the road you are on. Somehow, you think and believe that it is the most important.

But you have to be really careful. In the end, you need to keep your eyes on your goal because it is the thing that you are trying to achieve. Your end goal is what you are trying to get. The path is somewhat irrelevant, as it is really your best guess. It is the thing that you think is going to work.

Don’t confuse the finger with the moon that it is pointing at ~ Zen proverb

Chase the Moon, not the Finger

However, if you only focus on the finger and believe it is your end goal, you will fail to see your purpose. If you think that the finger actually is the moon, then you miss the objective you are fighting for. And so, you are not going to have the energy to keep pushing when things get really hard. The reason being is that you are going to mistake the way of getting there with the destination itself.

A lot of times, I think that most people and students alike throw hate or confusion about having their destination. They do not know what they want to build, possess no goal, nor have some grand thing they want to chase and achieve. And that is a big problem.

If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people, not to things ~ Albert Einstein

And the reason is because with time, people change. You have no control over them or even their emotions. In the end of the day, the only thing you can control is yourself. So the only thing you can hope for is going after something that has meaning for you. And when you keep your eyes on the prize, you can do that.

Discover Your Goal

Therefore, it must be a purpose that gives you a reason which directs your actions and becomes the filter by which you judge everything. And it needs to become the gravitational center of your own universe, and not someone else’s.

Many are stubborn in the pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

And success happens when you keep your eyes on the goal, not the path. So, you have to identify what you really want in life, your dream, your objective, your purpose and then work your way backward. Do not allow yourself to get caught up in other people’s choices or putting your happiness in someone else’s hands.

Instead, you have to find your reason for living, focus on it and it will give you the power to overcome your fears. It has to be something you are trying to accomplish and want to become. Discover your goal, and once you are on the path to be who you desire, then you can find real happiness.

The Two Choices in Life

You have two choices in life, not one. The first is to become somebody else and the other is to become you. Most people choose to be another person because it is a roadmap that points in a direction already made and traveled. You respond to something or someone, admire them, want to be like them, and in that process, you make the decision to be like them.

Therefore, when making such choice, you decide to be another person and in doing so, you mistake the finger for the moon. Instead, you need to understand that being inspired by someone does not mean to become that person. So, it is better to find what inspires you, its essence, learn how you can apply it to your life, and then focus on you and your end goal.

A flower does not think about competing with the flower next to it; it just blooms ~ Zen Shin

So, you have to see the outside world, the flower next to you, what is around you, and understand what people do, to be what you want. Then use all of it to make yourself unique, alive and whole while you keep your eyes on your goal.

Define Yourself by Your Own Goal

Be yourself and do not try to be someone else because it will confuse you. People give up because they are not finding their path. They are not defining things based on what excites them and what they want to live for, and do not have the courage to be real. So they just try to imitate someone by looking at their outside world.

If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, then it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid ~ Albert Einstein

On the other hand, you have people who are doing things that are so extraordinary by simply being themselves. They reach their goal no matter the odds. Therefore, to be like that, you have to understand the difference between being inspired by someone and actually try to be them. And keep your eyes on the prize at all time.

So, if something or somebody inspires you, whatever it is, do not try to embody their eccentricities and peculiarities. It is the surest way to become the fish that think it is stupid because it is being judged by trying to climb a tree. Instead, learn to be a champion in life.

Decide Who You Want to Be

When you understand that you are capable of much more than you think. And that your brain actually builds faster and better connections between the things you think and reality; you begin to realize that it is extremely important to care about your every thought.

What you dwell on is what you become ~ Oprah Winfrey

But it is also important to consider your dreams seriously, pick a direction that you want to grow into, to decide who you want to be. And then keep your eyes on your goal, making it the center of your focus, your thoughts, your time, your energy. So, if you look inward or outward, and you do not like what you see, make changes.

If you do not like how things are, move, change it, you are not a tree ~ Jim Rohn

And that is the beautiful thing about being a human being. You are so plastic that you can change dramatically and mold yourself into what you want. The human race is so good at adapting that you and I literally forget that it is what we do throughout the course of our life.

Keep Your Eye on the Goal

So, you have to take control of that process, grab a hold of it and make it your own. When you can turn what you want, your goal, into your daily obsession, you make the most of your potential. You need to pick a very specific direction and an end goal, and always keep your eyes on it.

Then you must work your way backward, figuring out the steps you are going to need to execute. Furthermore, it is necessary to have the willingness to put in the work, by being the sculptor and the clay. And understand that the pain that comes with changing and making yourself into something great is a suffering well worth it.

It is a pain that you have to embrace and desire because, with it, you can become anything you want. So start to dwell on that, while having a vision of you being great, accomplishing your goal or goals, and in having done this amazing thing.

Dwell on Achieving Your Goal

Do not chase somebody else’s path, or you will never find the thing that is real about you. As long as it is true to you, the lessons you are going to learn will apply to get a step closer to the person you want to be. Look inward. Identify what excites you.

Dwell on an image of you being willing to sweat, bend yourself in half, break if you need to, and even bleed if necessary to be the vision of what you always wanted to become. Go after it as if your life depends on it because, in truth, it does. So, keep your eyes on your goal and nothing can ever stop you!