Greatest Tip for Success!

According to French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery: a goal without a plan is just a wish. As someone who is a natural born dreamer, this little piece of wisdom is golden. Yet, as important as a plan is, there is something I have found to be even more crucial to fulfilling your dreams and following through on a commitment to yourself.

Of course there is loads of valuable and valid advice written about achieving a goal or a resolution. In fact, you’ve probably heard them all: write your goals down and review them daily, be consistent, make it a part of your routine, hold yourself accountable, work toward your goal with a friend or within a like-minded community, break it into smaller steps, be flexible and willing to revise your plan as life happens, don’t give up when you make a mistake or have a bad day, reward yourself and celebrate along the way. All of these suggestions (and more), along with devising a plan of action and following it, are definite musts for achieving a goal.

However, whether your goal is a personal, health, business, financial, spiritual, or relationship goal, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to achieve it just by following these suggestions. Or, if you do, the change either won’t last or it won’t bring you the joy and fulfillment that you hoped.

So what’s missing? What’s the thing more crucial to a resolution than a plan and action steps? Simply put, the greatest tip for success in achieving your goals that I can share with you, the thing that is absolutely essential to creating fulfilling and lasting change in your life, is…drum roll please…desire, true heart-felt desire. If you don’t really want this goal, if you are just going after it because it is something society, or your parents, or your friends, or your partner, or your co-workers, have told you that should want, but it’s not what is in your heart, then achieving it won’t bring you joy – and more than likely, you won’t even come close to achieving it. To really follow a dream, to stick to your commitments and your plan, to reach for that next level, you have to want it. But not just want it, you have to long for it, feel its call in your heart, hear it in your mind, and sing it in your soul.

Now that may sound dramatic if your goal is to de-clutter your living room, and yet, it’s still true. You have to want to get rid of the clutter and you have to want to do it for yourself. If you don’t, you won’t be willing to take on the responsibility and to make the sacrifices that come along with making a life change, and you won’t be able to get back up when you fall down in the process, which inevitably you will.

So, before you even start writing down your goals for the New Year, or even for the week, ask yourself why you want it. Ask yourself if the thought of achieving that goal brings more joy to your heart? Does it bring more peace and ease to your life? Does it feel heavy and constrictive, or expansive and light? Choose to chase the dreams that truly are a longing of your own. Choose to go after those goals that are calling you from within and you’ll succeed every time.