Your Goals Will Destroy You
Your Goals Will Destroy You
When I was growing up, we didn’t have much money.
Because of this I knew the value of hard work from a very early age. I worked three different jobs throughout high school and into college.
I worked on our farm, at a neighbor’s farm down the road and at a lumber yard. I bought my own school clothes and my first truck had a rusted out floor panel on the driver’s side, so I could see the road as I drove.
Needless to say, I was jealous of the kids who had the nice clothes and nice cars. It seemed their life was perfect and mine sucked.
Little did I know that the very “education” I was receiving about how the world works, would pay off for me as I grew older.
But the most curious lesson I learned wasn’t that hard work pays off – it was something I didn’t expect.
Money Didn’t Fill the Void
I always thought that the harder I worked and the more money I made, the closer I would get to happiness. I mean all of those kids seemed happy, right? They had the nice things that I never had, and the cool cars that I could only hope to own?
I was stuck with my one pair of jeans and six or seven t-shirts I bought with the money I had earned during the summer.
I just kept plugging away, working hard and trying to reach something better. That something better, I never really defined. I just knew something was out there and if I kept working hard, I would reach it.
Was that something “more money?”
The funny thing is that when I got more money, the kind of money where I wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck, something changed inside me.
I realized that the very thing I thought would make me happy all these years, didn’t change anything about my life. As I grew up, the things that mattered to me weren’t what I had in the bank, it was the relationship I had with my wife and my kids. The relationship I had with my friends. The relationship I share everyday with people who visit my site and share their experiences with me.
The money didn’t change any of that. I still was the same person, who continues to live the values I learned so long ago on the farm. The same kid who used to take hay out to the livestock at 5am before school and ride a suburban down to the main road to catch the actual bus.
Your Goals Will Destroy You
Be warned…
When you work so hard for something, and you reach the destination, there is an illusion of success. The mistake that most people make is they don’t realize that reaching your goals isn’t something that is finite – it is a never-ending and ever expanding process.
Your goals will destroy you.
Don’t lose the lesson of the journey, but don’t let the goal stop your hustle. When you reach a goal, it doesn’t mean you’re done. It doesn’t mean now you slow down.
Many people reach a goal and they stop grinding.
That is the biggest mistake.
The success you’re experiencing now is from the groundwork and effort you put forth a long time ago. And remember, your success did not happen overnight.
If you stop now, you will never reach the next goal. And, along the way, you might find out the goals that you set for yourself (more money, more status, better stuff) aren’t the best things you end up achieving.
It is easy to reach a goal…really easy as long as you’re consistent. But it is hard to keep going when you feel you’ve reached a goal or a certain level of success.
Life is about never being satisfied and striving everyday to reach your potential.
After you reach a goal, hit the ground running for the next target. You should act everyday as if your children are watching you, because you are setting the example and teaching them about their own potential. The sky is the limit for them, right? Well how about for your potential? Don’t let reaching your goals stop you from setting new goals.
Complacency is limiting your greatness and hard work will reveal it.
Get to work.
By Smitty on January 19th, 2012
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One of the most inspiring posts I have read in the past year. Posts like these are what make me want to become better each day.
Thanks for reading Zach and for the kind words.
Brilliant, another great piece! Thanks James.
Thanks Will
“You should act everyday as if your children are watching you” — great thing, Jim. Thank you.
Thanks
Excellent post. It really puts things into perspective as far keeping your eye on the prize goes.
Thanks Drew.
Great post!! Hard work will always prevail no matter…
Thanks James.
Thank you Michael.
Well-said Smitty!
Thanks Frank.
Nice post “Your goal will destroy you”. Worth reading.
One of the great articles with amazing philosophy.
Specially “…there is an illusion of success. ” impressed me lot.