You may not know it, but you might be already off track, off course, or off target in your chosen endeavor in life. You may be in the process of transforming your career into reality, your attitude from negative thinking to positive, or your financial status in life from an employee to an entrepreneur. Whatever it is that you’re transforming yourself into, it is important for you to check your bearing once in a while to confirm if you are still within your own set of guidelines or disciplines.
Here’s a checklist that may help to verify your status and keep you on track:
1. Check if the time-tested principles of positive thinking like self-confidence, enthusiasm, and perseverance are securely in your heart and mind.
You might be backsliding to your old negative habits. If you do, find out what is causing the recurrence. A recurrence of this kind is considered one of the obstacles to success. What you used to be accustomed with may take more time, effort, and persistence to overcome deep-rooted repetition of negative habits. Find new strategies to prevent this kind of setback if your current methods of positive thinking seem to be below par. What may work for someone else might not necessarily work for you. The same is true the other way around.
2. Check if your aim is within the period you set it for.
If it isn’t (behind schedule), you may not have allotted enough time or effort. Reconsider or restudy, if necessary. When you restudy your schedule, find out what’s causing the delay. Ask yourself if you have control over the delay. Ask yourself, “How come it works for others on time, but it doesn’t work on me?” Self-criticism or finding faults within you with the intention to improve is not punishing yourself; it’s self-discipline for your own good. Ultimately, you will be the one to benefit from it. If you are ahead of schedule, then I congratulate you! You still have extra time to relax. Reward yourself if you must, even though your task is only halfway done. This is like taking a break. However, don’t be too lax. You may want to use the extra time to your advantage by achieving your goal ahead of your target schedule. Make some notations if necessary so that the monitoring of your plans will stay clear. Keep in mind that scheduling is important. Falling behind or getting ahead of schedule might alter or interrupt other people’s schedule.
3. In an athletic competition, you don’t change the rules in the middle of the game or contest.
This is especially true to athletic events that have taken place before. Such a rule is a good one to follow but may not necessarily be ideal for setting goals. There are a couple of reasons why. Each person's goal is unique by itself. No two persons have exact similar parts of their individual goals even if the ultimate aim is the same. Processes differ depending on availability.
Consider various circumstances, both controllable and not. They also differ. One person’s environment may be more conducive than what the other may have. Likewise, in the course of attaining the goal, changes may occur, either within the person or around him.
No matter what changes occur, you must make sure you do not lose your focus on your intention. If more time is needed, give in to what is needed; but be sure that it is justified. You are your own critic. Give a reasonable amount of time and effort to overcome obstacles in life. Success doesn’t come overnight.
