Setema Gali's Official Blog

Why Goals Are Crucial For Real Happiness and Success

Posted on 30. Nov, 2010 by Setema Gali in Opportuntity, Sports Lessons

Lavell Edwards Stadium ... as I remember seeing it as an 8th Grader. What are your goals, dreams, passions and visions?

The year is 1989. I’m riding my bike from football practice. I’m a skinny 8th grader. I’m riding my bike past Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Ut.

It is an ESPN Thursday night game for BYU. I don’t remember who they played but I remember riding past the big buses on Canyon Road that sits parallel to the stadium and these huge mammoths were stepping off the buses. These guys were big, lean, muscular and scary looking.

Here I was a little tiny 6 foot 1 inch 150 lbs football kid watching these “All-Stars” prepare to play my beloved Cougars of BYU. I dreamed that one day I would be playing for BYU. It was my desire. It was my dream. It was a GOAL.

I wasn’t very good at football. I wasn’t fast. I wasn’t strong. I was just athletic … kind of.

I was a late bloomer. I put on 30 lbs of muscle between my sophomore year and junior year of high school.

I never missed working out. I couldn’t bench very much either. So I had to work hard to keep up.

I ate like a horse (and still couldn’t gain much weight).

I was so focused on getting a scholarship. It was my goal.

I have a small red journal that has my goals from my early high school days. In the beginning of the journal it says “Get a scholarship to BYU for football.”There was something powerful about writing it down and reviewing it often. I didn’t realize that I was evoking the powers of universe and natural law by simply writing it down.

Ten years later in 1999 I was step onto the field as a starter … on a Thursday night, to play for BYU on ESPN in front of a world wide audience of 10 million plus people. How powerful is that?

It’s destiny some would say to be in that situation. I do not believe in “fate” or “destiny” as some would call it.

A picture of me in 1999 playing against our Rivals University of Utah. I always had a passion for playing the game but more so for competing at the highest level possible.

I believe that we CREATE our destiny each and everyday by our actions, thoughts, intentions, words and beliefs. When adversity strikes we forge our destiny by how we act and respond.

I know when we have a definiteness of purpose as Napoleon Hill calls it, our path becomes simple. It becomes easier to evaluate as productive or not productive. Either we moved towards our goal today or we didn’t.

When I was in High School the question that drove me each day to hit the gym and to work my hardest was “What have I done today to win a State Championship?”

I had a goal to serve a two year mission for my church … so each day I would use the question “Is this going to help me to serve a mission?”

Either our actions, words, behaviors, thoughts and beliefs move us toward the goal (dream, desire, end result, destination) OR our actions, words, behaviors, thoughts and beliefs move us away from the goal.

As I get older Goal Setting and Goal Getting becomes more complex.

There are techniques involved, reality statements, visualization, pictures, how to set goals, how to not set goals.

If all of the over-complexity prevents you from setting goals and going after them go back to the basics.

Pretend you’re a child and write your goal down. Write down why you want it. Create a daily plan to get it. Stick to it.

That’s it. If the goal is bigger than usual like a huge dollar amount or a huge weight loss ($ and weight are most common goals) then break it into chunks.

Brian Tracy who I consider one of the God-Fathers of GOALS said “Decide you’re going to do something and stick to it.”

I couldn’t have said it any better.

GOALS are simply the things we want in life. GOALS are the person we want to become. It’s what we want to accomplish, achieve, obtain and even get rid of (weight, bad habits, negativity etc.).

If God our maker has a purpose, a work … his Goal … wouldn’t it make sense for us to create our personal goals and go after them?

Every successful person alive today had and has a vision, a goal, a purpose … some reason for living and doing what they do. Do you?

What would your life look like when you get back to the basics of simple goal setting, plans of action and sticking to it?

There is something very powerful and unique about the words in the Bible that say “Become as a little child.”

It’s really simple.

What do you want and why do you want it?

When do you want it by?

What will it take (plan of action-specific steps daily)?

Are you willing to commit to it?

Keep it simple. Be like a child. Set your mind on something and go after it. "Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication."

Are you willing to stick with it?

Course correct as necessary and there you have it.

10 years will go mighty fast as it did for me from my 8th grade year to my junior year in college.

Without a doubt if you commit to the goals you have, you can reach them.

There are no unrealistic goals, only unrealistic time frames.

When we have goals, we are happy. We can strive for something and even if we do not accomplish it, we become a better human being in the process.

Happiness is why we are here.  We are “hard-wired” for happiness. Get back to the basics. Set a goal, make a plan. Stick to it. Enjoy the journey.

Click here to get my Simply Goal Setting Course. This is the formula I used to get the scholarship and achieve almost all of my goals.

Onward and Upward,

Setema Gali

P.S. What is your biggest hang up when it comes to setting goals, or accomplishing goals in your life? Leave a comment and let’s figure it out together.

Tags: goal, Goals, how to set goals, purpose