How to Keep Perspective on Your Goals

Keep perspective. To keep your head in the big audacious goal, you must remember to keep perspective. Keep the big picture in mind, but not so far in the future that you forget to live in the here and now. While it is important to feel your oats and be enthusiastic for what you want to achieve, sometimes you have to put yourself back in the moment and remind yourself of why you chose a particular course of action.


In today's modern world, many of us live in fear of loss. We are constantly told that we must be financially secure, smart, and physically fit. Our modern world seems to be geared toward instant gratification. So, to keep perspective, sometimes it may be wise to delay a few things in order to gain some financial freedom, or to take a few days off from your job in order to get back in alignment with your physical health. While it might seem like an exaggeration to suggest that having a job and having a home is the path to true abundance, sometimes having both is simply not an option.

Take for example, many who attend high schools and colleges are never exposed to meaningful self-reflection. When this is the case, they grow up with the sense of urgency to succeed. They always want to be the best, and they always see themselves as having all the answers. For many, there is no such thing as "having too much." They will try whatever they can to be the best, and if their actions don't pay off, they immediately look for another solution in order to feel better.

The modern world is sometimes like this, and it is very easy for people to lose sight of their goals, dreams, and true purpose. It seems like every time there is a problem, there is someone who will tell them that they need to be more focused, more determined, more focused... or they need to have a bigger, better, faster car, for instance. So, what we often get instead is a kind of robotic approach to achieving goals. We get a "get rich quick" mentality and we end up with a million dollar project in the bank and no true direction to go.

The good news is that you can overcome these obstacles by creating momentum. Having momentum is the power that will carry you to your destination, and it is the way to keep perspective along with all of your goals and sub-goals in motion. Momentum is being in motion and being able to see where you are now, with a positive perspective towards your ultimate finish line.

The way to create this kind of momentum is to slow down and take some time. I've often been in a situation where I am so focused on finishing a certain task that I forget about everything else. Even if I have a big audacious goal in mind, the last thing that I want to do is to lose momentum. This is because I am so close to the finish line that losing momentum will mean that I will have to spend even more time and effort getting to the finish line. I'm afraid to fall off of my ride because I don't want to spend time or energy again getting back on it. By slowing down, I am not setting myself up to be disappointed, and I also am avoiding the risk of failing on the big audacious goal that I have set for myself.

Here's another example. Sometimes, I will set a goal for myself such as, I want to run a mile in under 1 hour. When I reach one mile marker, I automatically start to work toward my ultimate finish line. However, I forget about all of the other tasks and sub-goals that I need to complete in order to reach my goal and I forget about the fact that I have to get to my ultimate finish line first. As a result, I will often find myself putting a lot of miles on the clock and then spending even more time getting ready to race and actually finish the race.


So when I finish this article, I want you to take the same idea that I did above and use it in your life. Instead of focusing on what needs to be done, figure out how you can best utilize the little details that are within each of your daily life. For instance, let's say that you set a goal for yourself to run a mile in under 1 hour. Instead of focusing on finishing the race, focus on breaking your own personal record.