Not having a goal is more to be
feared than not reaching a goal.

Robert Schuller

   

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable.

Denis Waitley
  
  
Goals are access lines to the future.  They allow us to run the race with the finish line firmly established.

Emilie Barnes

      
To enjoy your goals, think of them as signposts, pointing you in a certain direction.  They give you a focus and help your energy to get moving.  The way you go is up to you; you can get very uptight focusing only on getting to your goal or you can relax and enjoy the entire journey, appreciating every unexpected bend and turn of the road, every new opportunity for learning and feeling.

Shakti Gawain
  
You have to set the goals that are almost out of reach.  If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.

Steve Garvey
   
If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you.  If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you.  Whatever good things we build end up building us.

Jim Rohn
  

Goals are simply tools to focus your energy in positive directions; they can be
changed as your priorities change, new ones added, and others dropped.

O. Carl Simonton

   

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No wind favors those who have no destined port.

Michel de Montaigne

   

Not every end is a goal.  The end of a melody is not
its goal; but nevertheless, if the melody had not reached
its end it would not have reached its goal either.

Friedrich W. Nietzsche

  

It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not
reaching your goal.  The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.
It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity
not to dream.  It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your
ideals, but it is a disaster to have no ideals to capture.  It is not a
disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace
to have no stars to reach for.

Benjamin Mays

  

The happiest days are found in struggling
toward a goal, not in any attainment.

unattributed

  

If one sets up fantasy goals, then it follows that one will experience
fantasy victories and fantasy defeats, the inevitable pendulum
swing within the world of desire.  The goal of God is the reality of
yourself; you are within God, and God is within you.

A Spiritual Warrior

  

Write down on paper your goal in life.  With that down in
black and white, we can get somewhere.  Few can define
their goal, much less write it.  You cannot find happiness
until your goal is clear and in view.

Ross Byron

  

  
No matter what the competition is, I try to find a goal that day and better that goal.

Bonnie Blair

Know what you want to do--then do it.  Make straight for your goal and go undefeated in spirit to the end.

Ernestine Schumann-Heink

Goals are dreams with deadlines.

Diana Scharf Hunt

A good goal is like a strenuous exercise-- it makes you stretch.

Mary Kay Ash
  
If I had one wish for my children, it would be that each of them
would reach for goals that have meaning for them as individuals.

Lillian Carter
  

In the long run, people hit only what they aim at.

Henry David Thoreau

  

There is a process for creating our goals.  Often we start out with enthusiasm and
then become discouraged and unsure.  We may work hard for a while but see few
results.  At times everything will seem to be coming together perfectly, and then we
may go through a period where our dreams appear to be on hold.  Thoughts of
giving up may enter our minds.  That's when we need to trust the ebb
and flow of the process.
We must resist becoming too invested in achieving our goals in some preconceived way.
Many paths can lead to the same destination.  Some minor adjustments may be necessary.
Step back and assess.  Maybe your vision isn't clear enough.  Or perhaps you are trying
to achieve too much too quickly and need to break your goals down
into smaller, more specific steps.
Sometimes it appears that things are standing still when they are actually coming together
in an unseen way.  The people who need to assist you may be on their way and just haven't
shown up yet.  Or the house you are looking for may not be on the market one week but
will be the next.  Relax for a while and put your list of goals in a drawer for a few days
and enjoy life.  This will give you the energy to refine your vision and discover the next step.

Salle Merrill Redfield
Creating a Life of Joy

  

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you.  Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader).  All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another.  Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!

 

 
The goal of all civilization, all religious thought, and all that
sort of thing is simply to have a good time.  But people get
so solemn over the process that they forget the end.

Don Marquis
 

Goals give direction to our lives.  We need to know who we are and where
we want to go.  But the trip itself, the steps we travel, offer us daily
satisfaction moment by moment--fulfillment, if we'd but realize it.  Too
often we keep our sights on the goal's completion, rather than the
process--the day-to-day living that makes the completion possible.

unattributed

  

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret.  Whatever
your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work.

Oprah Winfrey

 

The important thing
is to strive towards
a goal which is not
immediately visible.
That goal is not
the concern of
the mind, but of
the spirit.

Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry

   

The danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short,
but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

Michelangelo Buonarrati (attributed)

   

   
   
Because our goals are not lofty but illusory,
our problems are not difficult, but nonsensical.

Ludwig Wittgenstein
    

To experience the satisfaction and enjoyment of success in life, a definitive goal
is essential.  Many people fail at this vital point.  The goal must be definite and specific,
not in any sense vague or fuzzy.  And to prove attainable, its image needs to be
sharpened and resharpened continually, so that it stands out vividly in your thoughts.
You must know, at all times, precisely and for certain what it is you want to accomplish
and achieve.  Strong and organized purposefulness toward a definite objective
will focus your powers into a strong motivation in attainment of your goal.

Norman Vincent Peale

  

When goals go, meaning goes.  When meaning goes, purpose goes.
When purpose goes, life goes dead on our hands.

Carl Jung

  

   

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting
goals and achieving them.  Even the most tedious chore will become
endurable as you parade through each day convinced that each task,
no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to achieving your dreams.

Og Mandino

   

Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays
quite impossible to foresee are ahead. . . . You can only see one thing
clearly and that is your goal.  Form a mental vision of that
and cling to it through thick and thin.

Kathleen Norris

   

When we have no goal, or when our vision of the goal is obscured,
we may lose our sense of purpose.  Even when we've prepared
ourselves well and have an aptitude for a given activity, poorly
directed efforts can rob us of vital energy.  We can spend a great
deal of our time, money, and other resources running around in
circles.  Unless we create specific goals that match our purpose
in life and unless we keep a clear vision of these goals,
we may eventually falter and fail.

John Marks Templeton
Worldwide Laws of Life

Everyone needs dreams and a goal in order to live life fully
and satisfactorily.  If we don't have a specific goal in mind
or we don't know where we want to go, we may be likely to
end up in places not of our choosing.  Establishing goals, along
with guidelines on how to achieve them, helps to keep us
focused and energized and often makes our lives more
interesting, useful, and successful.

   
The following guidelines may help you to achieve your goal:

1.  Think of your goal not as some vague and nebulous idea but in clear and specific terms.

2.  Outline your goal in writing in detail.

3.  Keep your goal in the forefront of your mind by reviewing it almost every day.

4.  Learn everything you can that relates to your goal.

5.  Be willing to work as hard as you can toward achieving your goal when the opportunity comes along.

6.  Give the universe an opportunity to assist in achieving your goal by affirming, "This or something better!"

7.  Stay open to receive all possibilities for achieving your goal.

Remember, "failing to plan is planning to fail."  Just as a road map is an indispensable tool for a trip, a plan is an indispensable tool when you travel the journey of life toward your goals.  Follow your plan to a more successful life!

John Marks Templeton
Worldwide Laws of Life
   

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"When we do not know what harbor we are making for," the Roman
philosopher Seneca wrote, "no wind is the right wind."  Persons have
vision only when they have a dream that drives them on.

Joan Chittister
Seeing with Our Souls
   

Each season I tell the Roughriders that failure is achieving all your goals--it
means you didn't aim high enough.  When you're setting goals, I explain,
there's a tremendous risk that you'll aim too low.  To achieve your potential,
you need to be out of your comfort zone, forcing yourself to achieve things
you didn't know you could do.  That's how you improve.

Bill Resler
The Heart of the Team

   

You must have long-range goals to keep you
from being frustrated by short-range failure.

George H. Bender
also attributed to Charles C. Noble

   

  
It is important to focus your attention effectively.  In other words, don't
waste your creative energy.  Without deliberate focus, you're spreading
your attention around randomly, achieving no real benefit for yourself.
Keep your attention focused on something positive,
and good things begin to happen.
  This is the real reason for goal setting.  It's the mental focus that helps
you achieve your goals.  Your focus is actually strengthening the thoughtform
that you have expressed as your goal.  Unfortunately, many of us have been
oriented to the pass-fail aspect of goal setting, and so, to avoid failure, we
don't set goals.  Yes, the concept of pass-fail is a belief--a very
strong shared one.
  If there is something in your life that you want, keep your attention focused
on that goal.  if things show up--and they will--that seem to get in the way,
don't focus on them.  Handle them, but stay focused on your goal.  It's when
you focus on the obstacles that you tend to give up.  Think about what we have
already discussed.  What happens when you focus on the obstacles?  Right--your
focus just strengthens the thoughtforms related to the obstacle.
  Stay focused on the goal.
  You might have a goal that you believe can be achieved only if you have a
certain amount of money.  Instead of focusing on the goal, you focus on the
fact that you don't have enough money.  What gets strengthened is the
thoughtform for not having enough money.  Maybe there is a way to achieve
the goal without money.  By not focusing on the goal, you restrict possibilities,
of which you may not be aware, from occurring.

Bruce I. Doyle III

Think Your Way to the Life You Want
  

Set goals that don't feel all that easy, that challenge you, stimulate you,
and give you a chance to stretch and push yourself.
That is where the power of growth lies.

Nathaniel Branden
Self-Esteem Every Day

  

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  
The goal can be large or small, it can be far away or right next
door; he goes in search of it with respect and honor.  He knows
what each step means and how much it cost in effort, training,
and intuition.
   He focuses not just on the goal to be reached, but on everything
happening around him.  He often has to stop because his strength
fails him.
   At such moments, Love appears and says:  "You think you're
heading toward a specific point, but the whole justification for
the goal's existence lies in your love for it.  Rest a little, but as
soon as you can, get up and carry on.  Because ever since your
goal found out that you were traveling toward it, it has been
running to meet you."

Paulo Coelho
Manuscript Found in Accra
   

       

Yes, life can be mysterious and confusing--but there's much of life that's actually rather dependable and reliable.  Some principles apply to life in so many different contexts that they can truly be called universal--and learning what they are and how to approach them and use them can teach us some of the most important lessons that we've ever learned.
My doctorate is in Teaching and Learning.  I use it a lot when I teach at school, but I also do my best to apply what I've learned to the life I'm living, and to observe how others live their lives.  What makes them happy or unhappy, stressed or peaceful, selfish or generous, compassionate or arrogant?  In this book, I've done my best to pass on to you what I've learned from people in my life, writers whose works I've read, and stories that I've heard.  Perhaps these principles can be a positive part of your life, too!
Universal Principles of Living Life Fully.  Awareness of these principles can explain a lot and take much of the frustration out of the lives we lead.

    
  

     

Explore all of our quotations pages--these links will take you to the first page of each topic, and those pages will contain links to any additional pages on the same topic.

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