Wouldn’t it be nice to lose 10kgs, to be able to run a marathon sub four hours, or to get up every morning at 4 to be insanely productive? For some of us, it would be nice, though if you do not lose 10kg, run your marathon above 4 hours and get up at 7, you have failed.
Do not focus on the goal
Focusing on the goal gives you two options: success or failure. And since goals take time, you are a long time without success. Therefore do not focus on what you want to achieve. Focus on what kind of person you would like to be.
- Losing 10kg?
So you want to be a person with a healthy lifestyle? - Sub 4hr marathon.
So you want to be a person that runs at a decent pace for a long time? - Getting up at 4 o’clock?
So you want to be a person that gets the maximum out of their day?
Identity
The word identity was initially derived from the Latin words essentitas, which means being, and identidem, which means repeatedly. Your identity is your “repeated beingness.” There is a difference between “I run” (activity) and “I am a runner” (identity).
The purpose of a goal is not to reach the goal. The purpose of a goal is to become the type of person who can achieve any goal, by always giving it everything you have, regardless of your results. It’s who you become through that process that matters more than actually reaching any one goal.
Dan Casetta
Focus on the person you want to be, and worry less about the goal. If you are (becoming) the person you strive to be, the results will follow, and you will achieve your goal. And sometimes, you will go beyond your dreams since becoming that person means you can strive for more.
