Big goals require commitment and focus. You don’t have time for the things that people with mediocre results spend their time on. There are things you have to be willing to give up. Fortunately, if you’re truly committed, these things are easy to avoid.
However, they can be great distractions if your commitment is lacking. Setting goals that excite you is tremendously helpful.
Be prepared to give up a few things if you want to accomplish big goals:
1. Worrying about things you can’t control. Ask yourself what you’re accomplishing by worrying about things outside of your control. You’ll find that worrying never solved anything.
2. Worrying about the opinions of others. People think about you less than you imagine. When you’re trying to accomplish something challenging, you just don’t have time to worry about what others think.
3. Wasting time in general. Big goals require time, and you simply don’t have time to waste on trivial things. Keep a record of how you spend your time for one day. You might not be spending your time the way you think you are!
4. Surfing the internet. This is a huge timewaster. The time seems to fly by while you’re watching a parakeet play the organ.
5. TV. Many highly successful people don’t even own a TV.
6. Playing on your smartphone. Spend one day without looking at your smartphone unless someone calls you. Notice how much time everyone around you spends looking at their phone.
7. Interacting with the noise of the world. This goes back to worrying about things you can’t control and wasting time. You can argue about Donald Trump all you like, but you’re not going to change anyone’s mind, and no one is going to change yours. Keep the majority of your attention on the things that matter in your life, like your relationships and your big goals.
8. Doing the easy thing. The easy thing is rarely the effective thing. When you’re hunting a big goal, doing the effective thing is critical.
9. Worrying about failure. You’re guaranteed to fail in the short-term, so don’t worry about it. Just learn, adjust your approach, and continue forward.
10. The opinions of those you wouldn’t switch places with. For example, if you want to be worth a billion dollars, it would be wise to listen to the ideas of other billionaires. That probably doesn’t include your mom, Uncle Jim, your best friend from high school, or your neighbor, Billy.
11. Trying to be liked by everyone. It’s never going to happen. Again, avoid worrying about things you can’t control. You could be the most perfect pianist in the world, but there are some people that hate the piano. That’s life.
12. Procrastination. There’s no time to wait. Putting things off suggests that there’s another issue lurking beneath the surface. Identify and rectify it.
13. Allowing your emotions to guide you when logic should prevail. We tend to make choices that serve to decrease our discomfort. Also, we often make decisions in the heat of the moment. Use your knowledge and experience to make choices that support you and your goals, instead.
14. Repeating mistakes. Repeating mistakes is a waste of time. It’s like trying to open a locked door over and over again.
15. Seeking pleasure versus seeking progress. Seeking pleasure doesn’t lead to a good place in the long term. Pleasure-seeking tends to make you overweight, lazy, and lost.
Achieving big goals isn’t just about what you do. It’s also about what you’re willing to give up. There will be things you simply don’t have time for if you want to reach higher levels of success.
Look at the ways the average person squanders their time and avoid those things. Look at how you tend to waste your time and avoid those things, too. You don’t have time for unsupportive behaviors when you’re aiming high!
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