The pursuit of your goals

I was listening to an interesting podcast recently, which said something like this “I’m sure we all understand that not everybody can be a champion. It’s obvious that those who rise to the top in any field are the minority. But isn’t it strange that very few people even pursue the championship?”

I found that a really interesting thought. I think many of us don’t pursue big and lofty goals, because we get caught up in our lives and sometimes we forget to take a step back and evaluate our actions.

The podcast went on to talk about the many obstacles that can stand in our way – ‘enemies’ that can come against us, such as negative self-talk, distractions, comparison to others, time-wasting, temptations etc.

Battling these ‘enemies’ is going to involve our –

- Time and effort

- Sweat and determination

- Mental strength and discipline

We’re in a battle every day, but we can make the right choices and we can win! When I think about this in relation to pursuing our physical goals, I’m drawn to think about all the benefits we can receive, such as:

- Improved strength – mental and physical

- Increased fitness, flexibility, stability, mobility and longevity

- Improved energy, peace of mind, self-esteem and confidence

- A huge sense of fulfillment

Plus many more! These benefits are life-changing; they are so worth it! The pursuit of our goals is important – not just because of the accomplishment of achieving, but because of the journey we go on and the process of learning. So I want to ask you today - What are you pursuing?

Are you in the pursuit of the things you really want?

Or are you just pursuing survival?

4 reasons to stay in PURSUIT of your goals:

1. The pursuit energises your life

When you PURSUE something, you get excited; you get energised! You wake up happier, you make plans, you enjoy thinking about them. Cast your mind back to the last time you really put all your effort into something that you wanted and achieved it. Remember how good it felt?

It makes you come alive! It gives me a buzz just thinking about it! It’s not just the ‘catching’ but the ‘pursuing’ of something that is fun!

When people go hunting, they’re excited and energised! They they get up early, put on their camo gear and get psyched up. Why? Because the pursuit is worthy of their effort! We are hunters too – hunting a desired result!

If you have a goal that you really want and go after it, you’ll find a passion and an energy that you never had before!

If you’re feeling unmotivated and lacking enthusiasm, it can cause you to make excuses for not doing whatever it takes. Perhaps you’re just not in pursuit of something that really excites and energises you.

2. The pursuit opens up doors

When you are in pursuit of something important to you, you find creative ways to make things happen. You FIND the resources you need, the people, and even the time! It’s like magic!

You also find unique things you are good at and you can surprise yourself at just what you’re capable of.

When I made a decision to put my head down and get my Nutrition diploma done, I somehow managed to ‘find’ a whole lot of time that I didn’t realise I had! The time had been there all along, I just hadn’t allocated it properly to a worthy pursuit. It was if by magic, all this time opened up. But really, it was just that I prioritised my time better, because I really wanted the goal.

3. The pursuit keeps you action focused 

I think a lot of us spend too much time ‘wishing’ things were different or complaining and not enough time focusing on how to change things for the better and creating an action plan.

For example, we know we’d like to drop some body fat, get fit or simply feel better, but we don’t put a deadline on it, so it’s just a wish – and it gets put off constantly. Sometimes we are scared of failing so we end up doing nothing.

The fact is, failure is a normal part of growing. Each day is a new opportunity to start again!

An action plan gets you focused. Commit to a date you will achieve something – no matter what. Your subconscious mind will go to work to help you take the right actions towards it.

4. The pursuit makes your decisions purpose-driven, not emotion-driven.

Pursuing a worthy goal helps us to make logical decisions to get us to where we ultimately want to go, and not just make decisions based on whether we ‘feel’ like doing something. One of my favourite quotes is “Discipline is doing the things you need to do, when you need to do them, whether you feel like it not”.

Disciplined people achieve what they really want deep down and they will do whatever it takes to get there. They don’t give up until they attain it.

I have a note above my desk that says ‘My life demonstrates my discipline’. Our lives demonstrates what we’re pursuing. Our bodies always show whether we are exercising discipline or not. I say to my figure and physique competitors ‘You can cheat in private, but the results show in public’.

What are you pursuing today?

OR what have you stopped pursuing that you’d like to start pursuing again?

When I meet someone that is always tired or complaining, I often think ‘Maybe it’s just that they’re not pursing something exciting!’

Are you willing to pursue your dreams, no matter what it takes? Are you committed to doing what is required each day?

Take some time out to write out your plan of action and make a recommitment to yourself to take up the challenge again.

Arm yourself with the right resources, knowledge, plan, people and discipline – and pursue!