“More than rich, More than famous, More than happy, I just wanted to be great”
– Bruce Springsteen
Having a dream is important. Everybody needs ambition, something to strive for, to give their life a purpose.
Everyone’s dream is different; they are as individual as fingerprints, but the same basic rules apply if you are serious about achieving your goals.
The hard fact is that dreams just don’t come true for most people. They require preparation and hard work. Whether your dream is to become a pop star or scale Mount Everest, asking yourself these questions every day will help you to keep your focus.
Answering with a ‘no’ is a sign that you are no longer serious about your dream – perhaps you may need to re-evaluate.
The Questions about Achieving Your Goals
1. How much do I want to achieve this goal?
It is not enough to have an idea of what you want to do or to feel that it might be quite nice to achieve your goal. Imagine fulfilling your dream, and consider carefully how much you want it. Do you want it enough to put in the requisite work? Will reaching your ambition be worth the effort and sacrifice that you may have to make to get there?
If your answer is no, then it could be time to find a different dream. If you are not willing to work for achieving your goals, then your focus will not be strong enough to meet them yourself – and very few people’s dreams are just handed to them.
2. Can I find time to work on it now?
You may be leading a busy lifestyle: perhaps you have work, study, and family commitments. But, as we have discussed, achieving your dream requires effort, and you will need to work towards it.
You may need to train for your chosen sport, practice your musical talent, do extra study in your preferred field, or write towards your magnum opus.
Whatever it is that you need to do towards fulfilling your dream, you will need to make time for it, whether sacrificing a night out or getting up an hour earlier.
3. Does this goal excite me?
If you are not excited by your dream, then it is over before it has even begun. If you cannot get excited about your goal, it will be very difficult to maintain your focus. Why would you want to put in the required level of effort to reach a goal that is not exciting for you?
If your goal does not excite you, you should examine the reasons behind it. You may find that you do not really want what you thought you wanted.
4. Am I able to achieve this goal?
There are two ways to look at this question. Firstly, in a literal sense: is your goal physically possible? If your dream is not something that can be achieved within the boundaries of physics, then it is pure fantasy and no amount of effort will change that.
The second approach is a question of confidence: do you feel that your dream is something you can realistically achieve? You must be confident in your ability to reach your goal or you may find that it is just a pipe dream.
5. How will achieving my dream impact my life?
There are many ways in which achieving your goals can affect your life: you may be looking for fame, fortune, or popularity. These are secondary effects and should not be as important as the satisfaction you feel at reaching your target. If achieving your goal will not satisfy you, it is time to find one which will.
It is important to have a goal. Using these daily questions will help you to focus on achieving it. It may require effort and sacrifice, but you will find that ultimately this will make your success all the more satisfying.
Yeah If you ask such questions to yourself then it increases your confidence which will help you to achieve your goal easily.
INterestong post. I think this questions really can help to understand yourself.
I read every single thing Anthony Robbins has in print, Brian Tracy, Wane Dyer, Marsha Sinetar, and kept re-reading their books over 20 years. Heck, I even read Think and grow rich at age 13 and I am 54 now! However it wasnt until I just read these 5 questions, which have been posed upon us in hundreds if not thousands of different books, it wasnt until I was ready to hear them, in exactly this order it was put in, that something cracked open for me. Maybe it was the Bruce Springsteen Quote “before” the questions that kind of lubricated my mind so to speak. “I just want to be great.” Now I understand much more clearly what brian Tracy said 20 yrs or more ago “If there isnt one thing you are very good at, it is going to be very difficult to be happy in this world.” I get it now!
People who are great in one thing, lets take Michael Jackson, are often forgiven many, mnay things that are shrugged off as “eccenticities, even if they cant tie their own shoes or wash a dish. When was the last time you saw an article that said “Chamion baseball player so and so cant even balance a check book!” You never will. Because nobody cares when you are great what you cant do, they just care what you can do. Sadly even spousal violence is tolerated when you are a superstar. But you all get the idea, greatness in one thing often(not always) gives you a much more dynamic life than being good at 10 things. The world respects specialization. Why do you think so many people today are billionaires before age 30 like never in any time before. Because all they need to win the game of life is right there in school..and on their computer screen. The rest of us dont get it. The Internet millionaires do. Sadly many have no social skills, as ddn not Bill Gates who now speaks publicly and speaks for world good! You dont have to be another Bill Gates. Be a great 1st grade teacher, be the best bowler in the neighborhood and you will always have a refuge where “you own the place.”
wow i really liked this. thanks for posting this.