Setting yourself goals in life, whatever the goal may be, monetary, personal achievement, academic qualifications etc, is a
generally accepted technique of "getting ahead", and
achieving your goals should give you a great sense of achievement that you finally
get to you goal. I had a friend who had set his goals quite clearly. For the
purpose of this article I will name him Jack “I want to have
paid off my mortgage on the house and have financial freedom in 5 years
frpm now” Quite an aggressive goal for that
time in his life, 30 something, married, great home, 2 great kids and all round a
very good lifestyle. He had good employment, his clever wife (Dianne) was
juggling housework with a part time job, so how did he go with his goal? Fortunately for
Jack, an opportunity came up overseas, which paid an
excellent wage, had all expenses paid, and would by all accounts
ensure he would achieve his goals. This was a dream come true for him would set his family up they way that he
wished for. He had visions of semi retirement at 45 and getting his golf handicap down, and really enjoying life, and all it would take is 5 years. Before they
went, Jack and Dianne went to the country that they were going to emigrate to, just to check things out. The kids were both young and one of them had an asthma condition, but nothing too serious. The visit was
disastrous. The country is a 3rd world country, the education system wouldn’t cater for the
kids, there were no ex-patriots any where near where they would be staying and the medical facilities for that emergency
trip to the hospital would take over 2 hours to get to. Despite
that, Jack organized for himself to go and Dianne would stay in their current home,
raising the kids whilst Jack was in Asia earning the family fortune. He would easily
reach his goal in the 5 years Only one year later Jack and Dianne were talking to each other through lawyers, sure there was
enough money, but the family had lost its way. Jacks determination to succeed in life
ruined their family life, he wasn’t there to see his kids grow up, and he wasn’t there to help when he was needed. For Jack it was
only about the money and not about his lifestyle or his family. The Motto
When setting your goals, always consider the journey as well as the destination. The journey should be at least half the
pleasure. One of my all time favorite scenes is from Lonesome Dove, where Augustus is
telling Laurie “Always enjoy the little things in life, like a glass of buttermilk”Enjoy your journey and get to your destination safely and intact!
