Our success in life is determined by many things. Every day, as individuals, we continually look for ways to get the best out of all that life has to offer, as well as the best out of ourselves.

Our ability to get the most out of every situation is sometimes proactive, while in other instances, it is reactive. Sometimes, the opportunities that lead to our own doing bring these successes about, and in other cases, situations out of our initial grasp create these opportunities for us.

All of these opportunities have a role to play in our life’s ongoing success. Some may not be as pleasant as others, but still they are part of the journey of life.

Where we have some level of control, we try to pre-empt our successes by creating plans, strategies, outcomes, and reasons. Hopefully, we all do this in our own way, which is the way it should be.

These plans, strategies, outcomes and reasons are identified in many different ways. For the sake of this article we will refer to them as ‘goals’.

Our goals of life can encompass so many aspects of human endeavour. They can demand extraordinary results from ordinary situations. They can provide a sense of purpose, direction and accomplishment. They can make us proud of both effort and accomplishment.

Goals can and will provide many things to many people: you and me included.

Many times your goals are developed around a particular outcome you might look towards. These outcomes can represent many different aspects of your life: your wants, your needs and, of course, your desires.

I hope, for your sake, that what you set out to accomplish in your life is attainable; that it will be achieved by a relentless and committed pursuit of the detailed approach or process.

No doubt you are drawn towards the completion and attainment of your goals, regardless of how big or small they are. This is the genuine beauty of your goals: their ability to keep you focused and committed to their achievement.

You will pursue your goals for many reasons. The most obvious is the reward you get at the end: the feeling both of accomplishment and excitement as you discover the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

These special times are relevant and significant reasons to set, pursue, and attain goals. But are they the only reason? Chances are probably not.

There are many other reasons and motives behind why you set your goals. These reasons are relevant and significant.

My question to you is, “How well do you know the real reason or motives behind the goals you pursue?”

We often know what we will get from the attainment of our goals, but this is not always our true motive.

One of the key elements of personal success is the ability to be honest with oneself, and the answer to this question will depend on your ability to be honest with yourself.

What are your motives behind the goals you pursue? What are you looking for, other than the obvious outcome, you are pursuing?

Is it about:

Increasing your levels of self-confidence?

Gaining greater levels of respect?

Increasing your sense of self worth?

Gaining increased recognition?

New experiences?

Experiencing new emotions?

Providing opportunity for others?

You believing in you?

Overcoming challenges and/or obstacles?

It could be about all of these and many more. Understand yourself. What you want and why you want it?
Then do all you can to ensure that in all the right ways and for all the right reasons…

The Journey Continues!