Avoid Complacency and Attain Long-term Goals

CEO Newsletter

Everyone dreams of greatness, of wealth, of retirement, etc. But are you simply dreaming, or do you have plans to bring those dreams into existence somehow? Many people don't set goals to achieve their dreams because they see them as futile or unattainable — machinations so far outside the realm of their day-to-day normal that they can't actually see their dreams as ever becoming a reality. "Even if that ever happened, I'd be too old to enjoy it..." Sound familiar?

The Instant Gratification Effect

We live in a world of instant gratification, where life happens so quickly around us that we aren't used to having to wait for anything at all. We have answers to every question in our heads at our literal fingertips due to internet search engines. If we need to speak with someone we can connect instantly with them via text, phone, social media, or email. We don't even have to take the time to prepare meals anymore when we're hungry — we can simply purchase food from any one of hundreds of counter service places around us, or we can heat food in minutes from our freezer. Compare this to a time before all of those conveniences were available to use — a time when we had to hunt, grow, and then tediously prepare out meals from scratch — a time when we couldn't connect with friends or family except via letters or face-to-face conversation — a time when we didn't have every answer at our fingertips...we were the ones answering our own questions through exploration and imagination.

Is it any wonder, that we struggle internally to have a mindset where we can achieve goals? The irony is astounding really — in a modern world where we have more time than ever to work on goals and dreams, we struggle mentally with the ability to do so because we aren't accustomed to delayed gratification.

But the ultimate gratification of achieving our goals and dreams, especially when it is such a tedious process for us, is one of the most wonderful gifts we can give to ourselves. One of the greatest dangers to achieving our goals is complacency. Often the fatigue of such a fast-paced world, and the ready availability of every day comforts, becomes a barrier to our desire to move forward toward something bigger.

Set Yourself Up to Achieve Long-term Goals

So, how do you get to a point where you're able to view your goals as attainable and worth pursuing?

First, you must find your purpose. WHY do you want to grow your business? What's the end goal that's driving you to work each and every day? Identify that purpose and remember it —remind yourself of it often. Your purpose is the catalyst behind making each smaller goal before the ultimate goal worth pursuing. It's imperative to maintaining forward motion.

Next, you must lay out the framework of your vision, and each of the small steps you'll have to take on your way to completing the picture.

Once you've laid out those steps, identify the ones that you can achieve most easily and quickly — this gives you initial forward motion and energizes you to keep going. Once you complete those, you're already several steps closer to where you want to be, making that once impossible-looking step toward greatness, that much closer to being yours.

Resist complacency

I'm not advocating that you shouldn't feel contended with your blessings — I'm simply arguing that you shouldn't stop working toward the things that are important to your ultimate purpose. Nothing is impossible if you have real, tangible goals and plans, as long as you're able to stay in a clear and present mindset. Half the battle is in realizing that anything worth having often takes a while to acquire, and the work and wait makes the achievement that much more gratifying!