This Month's Life Skill: Goal Setting, Part Three
Persistence is the Key to Achieving Your Goal
Dear Karate West Member,
In the first and second part of our Goal Setting series, we focused on writing down our goal and the actions we would need to take to achieve our goal. This month, we will address what might be the most important element of all: the action of persistence. Most people give up on their goals just when they are about to experience success. They do not understand that patience and perseverance have a magical effect making difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish! We live in a world where we are accustomed to getting many things quickly and easily. However, our goals should be treated with a much different view. When you create a goal, acknowledge from the beginning that challenges will arise along the road. Do not allow your self doubt, fear, laziness or any other excuse keep you from attaining your goal. From the moment you commit to persevere through all challenges, you will be closer than you can imagine to success. Say the following sentence to yourself - and better yet, write it down and sign it!
"I acknowledge there may be obstacles and difficulties along the way to my goal but I am prepared to persevere until I succeed!"
Often, it is not tangible obstacles that cause us to quit and give up. We allow self doubt and fear to take over and destroy our chance of success. List the negative self talk that creeps into your mind as you plan for your goal. Once you have written these down, you must commit to be done with them forever! From this point forward, identify your negative self talk when it happens and change it immediately into thoughts that reinforce only the attainment of your goal.
Sincerely,
Shihan Randy Holeman