Goals And Achievements

The success and achievements of others are something we constantly see, particularly in an ever-growing social media-consumed society. The image of this post is to be used as an illustration as it shows someone who managed to climb a mountain, a great achievement that will make us impressed, as we can see the mountain itself and can imagine it to be steep, cold, icy, rocky and breathing would be hard at such altitudes.
If your goal was to reach the top of that mountain, you would clearly know you would need training and it would be a demanding journey to go through. Some would do it quicker than others, with different strategies, but we can all agree that someone who never have done climbing before, would likely not be able to climb it instantaneously or in a very short period of time.

The mountain top, representing goals, is different for everyone and there are many different routes there. What we need to realise is that in most cases, the mountain someone had to climb, their journey and training in order to reach their achievement, are not as obvious, we often only see and focus on the surface of it, as if the picture was cropped and all you could see was the person on top of a small mount, which could be relatively easy to achieve. This is especially true in social media, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and others where you hear the news through a picture, videos, and posts, but without the lesser good days.

This is what is done when we think of many goals, we think of it in the last stage, and basically an EVENT, and when looking at others for instance, we may say this person:

-...have just become rich;
-... just became very good at what they do;
-... just lost/gained weight;
-... just won a competition.

By treating the achievement of others as an event, particularly when it's something we would also like to achieve, causes us to, play it down or think that they are lucky, usually unintentionally. And when trying to figure out our own path to reach the mountain top, this mentality will lead us to seek the path of least resistance, the easiest and quickest way to get there and focus on the wrong things, which in turn, makes us frustrated as the actual journey will be much different than expected, consequently making us more likely not to follow through and getting stuck, wanting to realise the event.

Smell the Flowers

“On your journey, don’t forget to smell the flowers. Take time out to notice that you’re alive. You can only live in one day.” – Ray Fearon

Furthermore, a mountain climb is not about standing on a piece of rock, but the experience itself. Focus on the experience, process and lifestyle. The day to day struggles, the day to day victories, the people you meet and acknowledging that you are on a journey when its easier to remain in your comfort zone.

After climbing one mountain, others will be easier to climb, because the resilience is there and you can also help and mentor others. Now think, if you are put on top of a mountain by a helicopter, you will not be able to do the necessary steps to get there and if you trip and slide down, basically an unfortunate event happens to set you back, you may struggle to get up there again.  

Going Forward

"The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning." - Oprah Winfrey

It is crucial to not think only about the mountain top, but the mountain, broken down by phases, and this will help us then to prepare for the journey. This is not to say that achieving your goal will be difficult and lengthy, but you can make it fun, more like an adventure, and make it doable and sustainable. So rather than focusing on the final stage, for different goals focus on how you can create a journey to maintain up there it if is a continuous goal.

Final Stage	Event Strategy	Mindset
Lose or gain weight	Temporary Unpleasant Diet	Healthy lifestyle that can maintain my goal weight after I achieve it. Example: Set days of intermittent fasting or reduced consumption of carbs/fat.
Be rich (and other financial goals)	Get rich quick schemes/Lottery	Lifestyle and mindset that will allow me to get the amount of money I desire for a long period of time; Example: Additional income streams from side hustles or passive income through your own business.
Have a perfect relationship (love, friendship, family)	Rushing relationships, milestones, and focusing on aspects of yours only to get a nice perspective from others that are not sustainable	Lifestyle that will allow me to get a romantic partner, family, and/or friends that you are able to maintain, by giving and receiving. For existing relationships, implement changes that make a lasting positive balance.
Personal Development	Sudden change in habits or ideologies from reading a book, course, or podcast, but without ongoing reinforcements (similar material)	Lifestyle that will facilitate that development and changes that support it.
Affording to buy expensive items	Borrowing money and creating debt. Spending more than you should and throwing off balance	Lifestyle that will facilitate affording these items in the short-term without compromising the medium and long-term

If the goal is to pay a debt, then lifestyle would be for you to earn more than what you make, to pay them off and avoid going back to stage 0. Or simply creating a plan, where 15% or an affordable percentage of your income constantly goes to paying off debt, without creating more and staying stable.   Even if you don't make to the mountain top you initially wanted, there will be way more to celebrate and recognise through your journey, rather than a binary answer if you made it or not. And if you were to try again, you would be more familiar with the journey ahead. And sudden changes and short-term solutions, can set you back further than from where you started or make it harder to progress. What comes easily can als Dulcius Ex Asperis There is another article that goes deeper and a question you can ask yourself: Would you want to easily get anything you want? The mindset needs to focus on the solution, not the problem - See Don't Think About An Elephant*