“Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” –Aristotle

It seems like there’s always a good amount of talk about goals and goal setting. While it may feel overdone, honestly, there’s a good reason for it. If we don’t know where we are going, how are we going to get there? Obviously it’s an issue many need help with – otherwise it wouldn’t be such a popular topic. I’ve found that the problem with goal setting for most people falls into two categories – selecting a goal and staying on course. Today’s bit of “zen” is going to focus on staying the course.

When we take a road trip, there are two methods of approach. One is to consider traveling to the destination as part of the journey and allow yourself to get distracted along the way with whatever novelties catch your eye. The other is to suck it up and just get there. Neither approach is wrong, however, depending on your situation one may the better choice at the time than the other. If you have things you need to accomplish at your destination, than the quickest path is going to be more advantageous for you. If you have nothing better to do and your trip truly is your journey, then by all means dawdle at every step.

When it comes to business, your dreams and your big plans for the future, however, dawdling can become more than just another rest stop on the road of your life. It can get in the way of real progress. It can become the excuse you use instead of confronting what you really want to do. Basically, it becomes a justification as to why you haven’t gotten where you want to be yet.

Keeping Aristotle’s words in mind, think about when you’ve been the happiest and most self-fulfilled. Chances are it’s when you were striving for a reachable goal. If you’ve fallen off track or allowed yourself to be distracted, take this time to become the navigator and captain of your own life and get back on course to attaining your dreams and desires.

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What could you accomplish if you knew you couldn’t fail at the task at hand? This question is asked frequently in self-help and motivational workshops and seminars, and I have to wonder how many people have ever truly felt the empowerment and freedom that understanding the answer to this question creates. The reason for this, I believe, is simple. We live in a society that focuses on the negative and as a result of this, we tend to let our failures (or perceived failures) stand out stronger and taller than our successes. This is unfortunate, because it completely negates the power of averages.

Average you say!? Most people with an entrepreneurial spirit are taught early on that we should NEVER settle for average. Average is the kiss of death in a competitive market where you need to stand out and shine. In this case, I’m not talking about creating something that is “average.” I’m talking about looking at your “failures” from a different perspective. Let’s look at averages this way… If you have one or two glaring failures and ten to fifteen glowing successes, with the law of averages, how do you think you’re faring overall?

So, if you’ve been feeling a little unmotivated or if past failures of have gotten your confidence down, apply the law of average. List all the things you think you’ve failed in and then list all the things you’ve done well or succeed in. Clearly some things will have a little more weight then others, so you’ll have to use your own discretion at comparing the lists. In most cases, you’ll find that your average rate of success is pretty high.

If you find your failures are pulling more rank, look at what the cause may be. For many, the problem is that once they hit their first failure or possibly second failure, they never give themselves the chance to average out and truly succeed. Just keep in mind that you’re going to have failures. The key is recognizing that the real goal is to have your successes outweigh your failures.

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A lot of talk is given to inspiration and tips for success, but in my business adventures, I’ve found one thing that trumps everything. If you have this one thing right, then everything turns out great. When you have it wrong, you can almost certainly guarantee failure. So what is this key ingredient to success? It’s a little thing called attitude.

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect It’s successful outcome.” –William James

For me, attitude is everything. If I get up in a funky mood, the rest of my day tends to mirror that funk. When I’m charged and excited about something, the outcome of whatever I’m doing usually reflects that enthusiasm. When I stumble into a case of writer’s block or experience a break in creativity, I can usually trace the source of my lack of inspiration down to my attitude toward the project. In most cases, I’m putting too much pressure on myself to be a creative genius, instead of just “doing it” and working as inspiration hits me. So on a personal note, I know I can change the outcome for anything I’m doing by changing my attitude.

“To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.” –Muhammad Ali

I believe fear is probably the most motivating and demotivating force a person experiences. You either react to avoid a negative outcome, or you do absolutely nothing to keep the possibility of failure at bay. This is where attitude can be a great adversary against the battle of controlling your fears. If you believe in yourself, and if you believe in the outcome of your tasks, you’re taking away the power of your fear. In return, every action you do takes you one step closer to actually being who you believe yourself to be. There’s a reason “fake it ’till you make it” is repeated as a mantra.

“Of all the ‘attitudes’ we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing.” –Zig Ziglar

There’s much written on the topic of positive thinking. In fact, if you are a fan of self-help books, you’ll probably find that the topic has been fairly exhausted. However, what is now getting even more of the attention is the topic of gratitude. Of all the attitudes you can have, an attitude of gratitude is the most powerful. It is the secret behind why positive thinking works. It’s not just enough to hope for good things – you need to be thankful and pay forward the successes and “good things” you experience in your life. When you give from an attitude of thankfulness, your cup can’t help but be overflowing with positivity.

“A healthy attitude is contagious, but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.” –Anonymous

The personal approach is only one way attitudes are important. I can be in the most amazing mood ever, and have someone be around me who is clearly having a bad day, and the mood rubs off. It may not completely ruin my mood, but it certainly dampens it for the time I’m around the other person. In this regard, I try to remember to keep an open mind and help others by keeping my mood uplifting. The next time you’re feeling the stress or annoyance of something running afoul, keep things in perspective, and realize that a positive outlook will make things work more smoothly and is significantly less toiling emotionally.

There’s no shortage of comparisons you can use to correlate how the relationship between success or failure and your attitude relates. If you’ve found that there are some areas you could improve, try one of these tips for flipping the attitude switch:

• Start your day by writing down three things you will be extremely thankful for.
• End your day by writing down three things you were thankful for.
• Before starting a task, think about what you’re about to do and focus on getting mentally psyched to do great work.
• Feeling down? Force yourself to smile for a few minutes. The physical act of smiling releases endorphins that actually make you happy.
• Need to be super inspired? Be a positivity Nazi and keep negative news at bay for a while. Only let in media or information that will inspire you.
• When you’re feeling bogged down, take a break and go do something just for yourself.
• If someone or something is getting you down, take a few minutes and think up positive thoughts or resolutions for being involved with the person or project.

Remember, at the end of the day you have one freedom no one can ever take away – the power of free thought. You get to choose whether to live happily or depressed. It’s all a question of attitude. What’s yours?

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What habits are you creating each day? Take a look at what you do every single day. Are your actions creating habits of excellence? What should you be doing every day?

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