You have the ability to attain whatever you seek; within
you is every potential you can imagine. Always aim higher
than you believe you can reach. So often, you'll discover
that when your talents are set free by your imagination, you
can achieve any goal. If people offer their help or wisdom
as you go through life, accept it gratefully. You can learn
much from those who have gone before you. But never be afraid
or hesitant to step off the accepted path and head off in
your own direction if your heart tells you that it's the right
way for you. Always believe that you will ultimately succeed
at whatever you do, and never forget the value of persistence,
discipline, and determination. You are meant to be whatever
you dream of becoming. -- Edmund O'Neill
When one starts out drawing the map of the journey of their
life their are some rules to mapping this journey. "Thank
Goodness for at this point I feel so overwhelmed that I don't
know where to start," you say.
Ok let's begin the journey of a lifetime starts with the
first step. Sometimes these steps are staggering and undecisive
but they get stronger with each step one takes. Success is
a choice. You must decide what you want, why you want it,
and how you plan to achieve it. No one else can, will, or
should do that for you.
So last week in Dream the Impossible Dream we had already
begun to take steps toward mapping this journey. Staying focused
is a close relative to being decisive, but your ability to
sustain your focus from beginning to end determines the timing
and condition of your outcomes. Again a lot depends on your
belief in yourself to be able to keep on trudging when the
going gets rough for we all have those times when we falter
in our belief that this impossible dream can come true. This
is the time to stay focused for if we scatter our power to
the wind then we cannot achieve this impossible dream. When
we try and do to many things at once and push ahead when we
are too tired to go any further, we lose touch with ourselves.
We no longer have long talks with ourselves and see where
we are in this journey. Pushing ahead does not work and then
we get discouraged so now at this time we need to stay decisive
and focused like the little girl who knows that under that
Christmas tree is the doll she dreamed of or the little boy
who feels the wind in his hair as he rides that new bike.
No one could tell them that the bike or the doll was not there.
Accepting failure along the way is an important part of any
map. The fundamental question is not whether you should accept
failure. You have no choice but to expect it as a temporary
condition on the path way of progress. Rather, the question
is how to anticipate failure and redirect resources to grow
from the experience. Faliure gives one the incentive to go
back to the drawing board and see where your map failed you,
for you did not fail just part of the plan was not built on
solid rock foundation. So learn from your experience and go
on.
The game of life is won in the hours spent with oneself dreaming
the Impossible dream. When you are open to a new path one
will present itself. You must dig within your own unique prespective
of life to find this dream and manifest it for it is yours
and yours alone no other person can dream this particular
dream. Friends can advise, relatives can guide you with their
experiences but it is your dream that is manifesting on this
journey not theirs. Remember that Your Future deserves consideration.
It will someday be your present reality. It's worth considering
seriously.
Some pitfalls that keep us from obtaining our goals is setting
our goals to high or too low. One of the most frequent reasons
why others find so much frustration with their goals is because
they set them too high. Creating goals that are unattainable
not only makes it impossible to succeed, but it also creates
a negative attitude towards oneself. "I knew I couldn't
do it." Well, setting a goal to be a ballerina when you
are 65 is probably not very realistic. When you set goals
too high and constantly fall short you may just give up.
The reverse of setting unattainable goals is when goals are
set too low, there is no motivation to work hard. When you
feel like you don't have to work that hard to reach your goals,
you don't think about them nor do you really care if you reach
it.
In order for people to feel compelled to work hard towards
something, they must feel challenged. Setting goals too low
decreases motivation and energy. So we go back to seeing in
your minds eye the Christmas doll under the tree. You want
her don't you? You get excited when you think about brushing
her hair, riding her around in a buggy. So reach for the stars!
You have within the potential to move moutains. Set your goals
so each step brings you closer to them but they are not quite
in reach. This keeps one excited about the journey. When you
set your goals make sure they are both challenging and attainable.
This way you will be motivated to work hard and feel the rush
of success when you accomplish your goals! Anticipation is
sometimes as exciting as rewards. So go on make your map one
step at a time. and remember it is good to have an end to
journey towards, but it is the journey that matters, in the
end........
About the author: Judi Singleton is the owner and webmistress
Jassmine's World , and the editor of Jassmine's Journal, a
free weekly ezine filled with articles and tips for living
a more healthy and prosperous life. Subscribe free at: http://www.jassmine.com/jassminesjournal.html