From Charles Kafoglis:
When I was 12, I had a goal of writing a book - a fictional tale of mystery and intrigue. So, I sat down one day and began to write. I wrote for hours. Honestly, I don't remember what happened after that, but I do know I never wrote a book. Surveys say 90% dream of writing a book and less than 1% actually ever do. We all have goals. Some are large, some are small: run a marathon, improve a GPA, lose 5 lbs. But most of us bite off more than we can chew or get bored and, inevitably, give up and move on to our next dream. Not so for Jadav Payeng.
What if you had a goal to reforest a desert covering an area bigger than New York's Central Park?
He created a habit of planting a tree each day for 37 years
. This is the inspiring result of the daily habits of Jadav Payeng.
Something amazing happened
.
(1:23)
Jadav teaches us to go beyond goals and to create related
habits
. Habits are the less intimidating rituals that truly power our lives. Good habits ensure that we drive toward our goals and bad habits become obstacles that thwart our ability to reach a goal.
Suppose you set a goal to read 20 books this year - start by creating a habit of carrying a book with you at all times. Then later create a habit to read a few pages each day. Or what if you want to save $1000 for a vacation or new PC? Create a habit to save all change and $1 bills into a special fund.
Maybe more importantly, by focusing on habits, we remove the limitations of our goals. We don't have to stop just because we reached a goal. A habit may just power us beyond the goal! A bit of daily writing might turn my goal of writing a book into creating an entire anthology!
So next time you set a goal, spend some time forming a new enduring habit. Let your habits power your way to your goals!
