What's the Difference?

Today's post was copied from Lou Tice's Winner's Circle December 2011 post "Turn Wishes into Goals". I thought it was appropriate for January - a time when many of us make our New Year's Resolutions!

How is a goal different from a wish or hope?  First of all, let's look at how they are similar. Each one is a good thing to have, and each concerns something we'd like to see happen in the future.

A wish or hope is something we long for, like children wishing on a star or a birthday wish when we blow out the candles on a cake. But it is not likely to be something we think about very much. And, if it should happen to come true, we may think of it as a miracle, something we might need a fairy godmother to grant.

Goals, however, are much different. Goals cause us to focus our energies, something like a goal in hockey or football. They're very specific, achievable and measurable. A clearly stated goal helps us to tune into our environment. We become very sensitive to things we may not have noticed before that can help us do what we want to do.

But here's the most important part: goals are much more likely to happen than wishes or hopes, because they are so specific and because we think about them so much. We write them down, develop action strategies to help us make them happen, and we take them very seriously.

Do you have any wishes or hopes that you'd really like to see come true? If so, why not turn them into goals and take accountability for accomplishing them? You'll be surprised at how your life will change once you do.

-written by Lou Tice


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