So, I’m on the tee box of a fairly long par four hole on a world-renowned golf course. I hit a perfect drive; long by my standards, and my ball rolls to a spot in the middle of the fairway. It leaves me with an easy shot to the green, except that the green is well above me at the top of a sizable incline. I can’t actually see the putting surface, but my golf map shows me the size and shape of the green, so I decide to go at the middle of the green. I figure that’s my best chance at a par on this challenging hole.
Well my shot felt perfect, and I was certain when I reached the top of the hill I would find my ball at least near the center of the green. As I approached the top with great anticipation, I saw my ball almost perfectly placed in the absolute center of the green. Another perfect shot!
In that same instant I looked for the hole to see how long my putt would be. I looked and looked, but to my amazement I simply couldn’t find the hole. My playing partners couldn’t find it either. We couldn’t find it because there was no hole. I was crushed, the rarity of two consecutive good shots was for naught. I couldn’t finish the hole because there was no hole. Whatever happened the rest of the round no longer mattered either, I could not reach my goal of making par on this difficult hole.
With the goal gone I quickly lost interest in the remainder of the round.
Or at least I would have if that had actually happened. (The part about the green not having a hole isn’t the only made up part of the story, the part about the two great shots in a row is even more unbelievable, at least for me)
Imagine running a race with no finish line…how far are you willing to run knowing there really isn’t a finish?
Imagine paying big money for front row seats to an NBA Basketball game, and once you reach your high-priced seats you see that there are no baskets. The players will just be running up and down the floor dribbling and passing the ball, but never actually taking a shot. I mean why take a shot when there is nothing to shoot at? You wouldn’t pay money to watch that because there is no outcome...the players work just as hard; it just leads to nothing. I’m betting they would be bored almost as quickly as you.
As unlikely as those scenarios may seem the fact is that a majority of people go through their lives playing basketball ball without a basket, and they run a race with no finish line. You see, a majority of people, actually a vast majority, have no formal goals in their lives. They have nothing to shoot for…there is no finish line to cross. As a result, they lose interest in whatever it is they are doing pretty quickly. They go through the motions of life without really living. They can tell you what’s important to them, but you’ll seldom see it in what they do with their time.
Most people spend, on average, 40 hours planning a vacation of a week or longer, yet invest virtually no time planning the rest of their lives. Goals are the plan for the rest of your life. If you truly want success, long-term lasting success, as defined by you and you alone, then goals matter. The most successful people in every walk of life have goals and a written plan to achieve them.
Goals will guide you towards greater success and fulfillment in your life.
Written by: Steve Keating for Lead Today.