All of us have dreams that we aim to aim to achieve in life. At the beginning of every year, a good percentage of people write goals that they intend to pursue and accomplish before the year ends. This is good and very commendable. It shows that all of us desire to have a sense of accomplishment. We all want to contribute to the wellbeing of our lives and possibly the lives of others.

It is unfortunate to report that only less than 5% of people reach their goals in life. More than 95% of people never taste that sense of accomplishment and the success that comes with it. Why is this so? After doing thorough research as a success coach on this subject, I noted that the difference between those who accomplish their goals and those who don’t is in how bad they want them.

Setting goals for formalities

Some people set goals as a formality. They set goals out of excitement not commitment. A new year or a new state of life comes with a measure of excitement. Everything new is exciting. Driving a new car excites more than driving an old one. A first-time mother is more excited than a second or third-time mother. As human beings, we love new things. As a new season of life set in, people are excited to set goals. They have the motivation that comes with starting. This kind of motivation is not sustainable. Such goals are forgotten in a couple of weeks.

If we are to achieve our goals, we have to set them from a level of commitment, not excitement.

It is never easy

Nothing you want to accomplish in life will be easy. Every accomplishment has a cost. There are days you will feel like giving up. There are days you will feel like not showing up. Failure will set in and it normally comes with its level of discouragement. This is where most people give up.

Commitment is only tested when things are going south. When there seems to be no progress or fruit, it is the right time to show commitment. It happens to everyone. Those that only embarked on the goal due to excitement are axed at this point. They cannot withstand the tides. Those who are committed are like a house built on a stone, when storms rage and winds blow, they are left standing.

Feeling like giving up is normal for everyone but giving up is only for the week. No one is too strong to feel energized in all seasons. The feeling of disappointment and the thoughts of quitting come to all of us at one time or the other. It is something that you cannot avoid. The resolve to ignore those feelings and thoughts is what makes the difference. Those who achieve their goals act irrespective of what they feel. People who never achieve their goals always allow discouragements, fear and temporary failure to deter them from the course. They quit and embark on another goal. All their effort on the previous goal is lost. They again experience the same setbacks on their goal, they quit and start pursuing the third one. It becomes a cycle of quitting and never accomplishing anything. At the end, when the bell rings and their time on earth is over, they have wasted so much effort and accomplished very minimal. Commitment helps people concentrate on one goal no matter the situation. Situations will always be there as long as the earth exists. You do not need an easier path to your goals, you need to become stronger.

Commitment has a strong why

The only difference between excitement and commitment is in the why. Commitment has a strong why behind every goal. Excitement is not supported by any reason; it is just a feeling which will soon fade.

A strong why refers to your reason/s for wanting to accomplish your goal. Why do you want to achieve that goal? What will be different once you achieve it? These questions define your why. It is the underlying factor that pushes you to be committed to your goal. It has proven beyond doubt that those who achieve their goals have a strong why that keeps them committed. Some people work hard to please other people. Others work hard to prove other people wrong. Others work hard to prove a point. Others work hard to fulfill a sense of purpose. All these and many more reasons why people do what they do. It is these underlying factors that push people against all odds to achieve their goals.

What is your why? If you do not have a strong why, I assure you that you will quit when failure and disappointment set in. Desire to prove those who said that you will never make it wrong. Desire to become an icon in your family or country. Desire to please your spouse by accomplishing that goal. These reasons will hold your hand when the situation itself cannot.

Make a public commitment to your goal

People love proving themselves before other people. We all love to appear accomplished to others. When we make our goals public, we become more committed to accomplishing them because we do not want to fail in public. If you are the only one who knows your goal, you will not be afraid to fail because no one else knows that you were pursuing the goal. When you are not accountable to anyone, you tend to be complacent and lax.

I am not saying that you have to write your goal on social media or mass media, you can tell your closest friends. These friends should be people who respect you and people you respect. If there is no respect, you will not be afraid to have them see you as a failure.

Successful people have accountability partners. This may be a friend or a spouse who knows all your goals and is ready to hold you accountable for them. They will always ask you what you are doing towards your goals, enquire about the progress so far and rebuke you when you get off the course. Accountability partners should be people that have your best interest at heart.

Write down your goals

Always write your goals down. Writing them down is a way of communicating to your mind that your goals are important. The mind will then begin to give your goals priority in its daily activities.

A study done in the United States showed that only 3% of people have written goals. 14% had goals but had not written them down while a whopping 83% did not have goals at all. The research shows that those that wrote their goals down and shared them with their friends had a 76% success rate while those who never did any of the above had a 43% success rate. This shows the importance of the two activities that we have discussed above; making a public commitment to your goals and writing them down.

Read your goals every day

Always read your goals daily. This keeps your mind updated on the goals. It also signals the mind that the goals are still important to you. Reading them every day will make them part of your daily lives. They will become part of you. As you sleep, you will dream of them. As you move around, you will be thinking above them. It is this obsession that gives you the motivation to work on your goals

Work on your goals

This is the most important step in this process. After writing your goals, sharing them with your friends and reading them daily, make sure you are working on them. This entails the physical activities that will lead you to your goals. If you need to grow your small business, get to work and do the necessary. If you want to become healthier this year, do what is required.

Every goal has specific activities that you must do to achieve it. You need to learn these activities and do them with all your might. It is not those who wish or desire that achieve their dreams but those who get up and get out to work on them. There is a popular quote that says, you do not get what you want but what you have worked for. A lazy dreamer will only remain a dreamer. Your goal comes with a reward, go and get it. It will not come to you, you have to go and get it. This will cost you early mornings and late nights. It will not be easy but it is worth it. Goals are like girls, they love being chased. They love playing hard to get. They keep evading. You have to keep going after them until they surrender.

The question remains, how bad do you want to achieve your goals? As much as you want to breathe? If yes, you will achieve them. It is either you achieve them all you die trying.