Let’s say you once took part in a charity race, and you didn’t manage to finish the race because your body was not up to the challenge. You were proud of the noble act of supporting the charitable cause, but not proud of how you performed on the race track. That is the indicator that you need to work on yourself if you are to perform better in future challenges.

It works in a similar manner that, your goals are your challenge. You need to prepare yourself first if you want to finish the marathon. You don’t have all the time in the world, so don’t wait for a latter marathon to realize that you need to prepare yourself. You may have lost resources, time and opportunities necessary for your goals if you realize the need to prepare yourself too late. Therefore, the first recommendation of the article is to practice the 6P’s of life:

Poper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

And because you desire to pursue your goals, you have a reason to be proud of yourself. Not so many of we humans have the courage to believe in their dreams. And even fewer attempt to work on their dreams. Fewer among the few persist in the pursuit of the dreams, and so very few make it to the top. Therefore, the higher you go, the cooler it becomes!

Do you know:

• You think that you want money, but money is not really what you want. You want the  possibilities that come with money
• You think you want power and authority, but in actual sense, you seek the freedom and privileges that come with it
• You think you want social status, fame, and popularity, but in actual sense, it’s more for the pride and esteem

It may be safe to thus say that the things you want are not what you really want. They are a means to something bigger and deeper, whether you know it or not. It’s therefore good to consider your dreams, desire or goals. Are they what you want, or are they a means to a deeper psychological need you have?

Remember, the only way of growth and development is bottom-up. And in the bottom-up development, things will seldom be the way you expect them to be. The person above you can influence/affect your course of action for better or for worse. But that is no reason to discourage you, for even though they can affect your journey, you affect how you lead your life from where you are to where you want to be. A clear vision and mission will navigate you in the face of obstacles, challenges, and discouragement.

What is your vision? (the end you are working towards). What is your mission (what you are currently doing towards your goals). Based on the prevailing circumstances, is your mission congruent with your vision? If yes, you are on track with your goals. If no, please take time to make your vision clear, mission-relevant and circumstances manageable. It’s easy but hard in the sense that it takes your time. But be patient. It’ll be worth it in the end.

As I conclude today’s article on warming up for the journey to your goals, I gladly describe what Dr. Myles Munroe described as the concept of  “Environment Before Product.” Dr. Myles encourages us to prepare the environment before beginning to work on your goal(s). A favorable environment is key to the survival of your vision e.g., water is the environment for fish – To kill fish, you don’t need a silver spear or lethal weapon. Just change the environment and the fish will die; bring the fish to land and it will definitely die. A goal’s environment is the context within which you pursue the goal and the context within which you desire to savor the fruits of succeeding with your goals. Please take time and evaluate the context of your goals (be sure that challenges with your goals are not because your efforts are in an environment toxic/out of context with your goals.

This marks the end of today’s article. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you in the coming week when I further this with some essentials in preparing for your goals journey. Remember, many start a journey but very few make it. You will get simple-yet-forgotten secrets behind success/failure. See you then!