How setting a goal changed my life

In my culture, the options for being successful in terms of life and money are to

• become a professional athlete
• make a hit song
• go to college and get a “good job”, or
• do something illegal if all else fails.

When I was 18 and leaving high school, I thought for sure that I’d make it big at one of those things(minus doing something illegal).

But 4 years later, it turned out that

• I dropped out of college after 2 years
• athletics didn’t work out for me past college
• and my legendary mixtape, Dreams of Nick Lovin, never took off😔.

This left me feeling like I had no way to reach the things I wanted in life, and that wasn’t fun.

Then, I read a book called “Principles” by Ray Dalio that explained the idea of setting and going after goals to reach success.

It was the best solution I had heard by far, so I ran with it. It was about 4 years ago that I started and I’ve had a goal in my life since then. Chasing goals has been the one thing that’s made the most impact in me becoming decently successful over the last few years, which is an improvement from before. So the rest of the article will explain why doing this has been so beneficial for me and why it might be beneficial for you too.

Reason #1: It gives me a route to success

Once I started to get the hang of going after goals, naturally I thought “how do I use this to get money?”

So I set a goal to get my first real job. A bunch of resume updates and job applications later, I did it! Then a while after that I set a goal to get out of the house(I was working from home) and talk to more women. This led me to meeting my girlfriend who I’ve been with for about a year and a half now. After that, I set a goal to make my life more organized. I did that too, and it gave me peace of mind that I never had before. It also made me a lot more productive. Writing blog posts has been one of the results of that extra productivity.

All of that said, I finally found a way to reach success over time in terms of life and money, and it doesn’t require me to

• go back to college
• grow to 7ft tall over night
• make a hit song
• or do something illegal.

If you’re someone who feels like there’s no route you can take to reach the life you want, setting a goal and going for it can at very least be an option. When I felt like I had no options, finding that out gave me a lot of hope.

Reason #2: It gives my days more purpose

Always having a big life goal that I’m working towards over the last few years has definitely given my days and weeks a greater sense of purpose. It’s because I know that as the time passes I’m moving towards something that’s important to me and that I think is gonna make my life better.

Before I started going for goals, I felt like I was getting up in the mornings and doing things(going to work, hanging out and stuff like that), and even working hard, but I wasn’t going anywhere in life. Instead of advancing, I felt like I was stagnant and just moving in place.

Now that I know I’m in motion to something I care a lot about, I think it’s made my days feel more meaningful.

Reason #3: It gives me problems to solve 

Have you ever set out to do something, started making progress, then an unexpected problem popped up and ruined all the progress you made?

This happens all the time when you’re going for a goal. And while these problems that stand in the way of hitting goals can be very annoying and painful, finding solutions to get around them has been one of the most fulfilling things in the world for me. It just feels really good to figure something out that helps me overcome a tough obstacle(especially when I know this is gonna get me closer to the goal).

As well, once I find a solution to one problem, I’ve gotten into the habit of writing the solution down so I can use it to help me with similar problems later. Here’s a quick article explaining how you can do this yourself.

After a few years of making progress this way, I’ve found myself a lot more knowledgeable and a lot less stagnant.

Reason #4: The effort gives me fulfillment

It takes hard work for a person to set out to do something over a long period of time and actually push through to completion.

Hard work isn’t always fun. But even on the days when making progress isn’t fun, I still feel good in the end because it feels good to give effort.

It’s the same thing as when you exercise. You feel super tired and beat down while you’re doing it, but when you’re done you feel great.

Also, I think that there aren’t too many things more fulfilling in life than to see you finished a goal. To set a goal and see that you successfully went after it and got it done is cool, and it’s the ultimate confidence boost because you know that you can accomplish tough things.

Have a business or personal goal you’re currently going for but struggling to reach? I’ll help you put together a game plan to get it done. You can sign up for one for free at goaldoctors.com. We’ll be happy to help! — from Nick