Enjoy Life Podcast w/ Nick Maizy: Live Your Best Life

Don’t blame your goals on anyone else.

You have the opportunity to set your goals. In fact, you are the only one that can really set your goals. And just in case you new to Eat Your Elephant or NickMaizy.com let me tell you I like it want people set goals.

Don’t set goals you don’t care about. The is no sense in putting in the time, effort, and attention if you don’t really care about achieving it. You might as well set goals you want to accomplish. That way you’ll give it your best and maybe enjoy the journey because it’s meaningful and important to you. Your results will be way better too.

A couple weeks ago I did an episode on You Actions Are Yours – Own Them.

The same is true for your goals. OWN THEM!

No! Setting a goal is a lot more than saying you’ll make some changes after waking up Jan 1st thinking that it would be nice to have more energy, money, and focus.

Can a resolution be a goal? Sure. Just actually set the goal. Write it down, be specific, really think about it, make a plan, plan for obstacles, focus on your goal, check it on your progress regularly and adjust the plan as needed. You can google ‘SMART’ goals if a want a decent framework zeroing in on your goal.

Imagine this: You strive for years to achieve your goal. You do your best to work hard and be persistent. You never give up and focus on achieving your goal. Then, when you finally get there you realize it wasn’t really your goal. It was something that someone else wanted for you. Maybe it was a good thing, but just not that important to you. Now all your time, energy, resources, and maybe even years of life are spent.

Don’t pursue someone else’s goal!

What areas of life mean the most and resonate with you at your core? This is very personal. Not every area of life is of the highest importance to everyone. The simple fact that we are all different is wonderful and makes life better. But, that does mean the if you want to set good goals for yourself, then you have to know where in your life to set those goals.

If I don’t care about learning to play the piano, then I don’t need to set a goal to develop that skill, right? Of course, that would not be a effective use of my time.

Have you listed out the areas of your life to see where you want to make improvements?

Give it a try. Check in with yourself regarding all the areas of your life. (Family, friends/social, finances, physical health, mental health, work, spiritual, play/fun, etc.)

Write it all out. Work through it and see what is good and what you might want to change. It can help you to make sure you’re focusing your time, attention, and energy where you actually want improvement.

In John Maxwell’s book Put Your Dream To The Test he talks about making sure you’re working toward your dream and not someone else’s. You can find it with my recommended books here.

Imagine this: You strive for years to achieve your goal. You do your best to work hard and be persistent. You never give up and focus on achieving your goal. Then, when you finally get there you realize it wasn’t really your goal. It was something that someone else wanted for you. Maybe it was a good thing, but just not that important to you. Now all your time, energy, resources, and maybe even years of life are spent.

Don’t pursue someone else’s goal!

What areas of life mean the most and resonate with you at your core? This is very personal. Not every area of life is of the highest importance to everyone. The simple fact that we are all different is wonderful and makes life better. But, that does mean the if you want to set good goals for yourself, then you have to know where in your life to set those goals.

If I don’t care about learning to play the piano, then I don’t need to set a goal to develop that skill, right? Of course, that would not be a effective use of my time.

Have you listed out the areas of your life to see where you want to make improvements?

Give it a try. Check in with yourself regarding all the areas of your life. (Family, friends/social, finances, physical health, mental health, work, spiritual, play/fun, etc.)

Write it all out. Work through it and see what is good and what you might want to change. It can help you to make sure you’re focusing your time, attention, and energy where you actually want improvement.

In John Maxwell’s book Put Your Dream To The Test he talks about making sure you’re working toward your dream and not someone else’s. You can find it with my recommended books here.

I’m going to step out on a limb here. But, probably would like for the next year to be better than this last one, right?

Of course, better is always good. There is nothing wrong with wanting the future to be better than the past. Even if the past was good, you can strive for the future to be better.

Is there anything wrong with setting your goal for better. No, not really. But, maybe it’s just not complete when it comes to being a goal. Most people want things/life to be better. But, what does that mean?

Better is pretty fague. Setting your goal better doesn’t help you achieve it. Here are a few reasons why I want you to be specific, really define your goals and not just say ‘I want next year to be better’.

• You’ll know what you need to do.
• You can make a plan and adjust it as needed.
• You’ll know when you achieve them.
• You can celebrate.
• You can get motivation.
• You can see the finish line.

If you really want to add power to you goals, increase the likelihood of hitting them, and make the journey more enjoyable, then WRITE THEM DOWN!

Having writing goals can help you achieve them. Written goals is a common factor for those that achieve their goals. Also, writing them down can help you to get really specific in what you want. It will take a little work. Yes, writing specific goals can be a challenge. But, they are your goals. If you want to achieve them, then do what is needed.

Write down your goal.
Get specific.
Write why you want to achieve it.
What will goal your allow you to do or experience?

See It & Know That You Can Do It.
Then, Take Action & Make It Happen.

I’m going to step out on a limb here. But, probably would like for the next year to be better than this last one, right?

Of course, better is always good. There is nothing wrong with wanting the future to be better than the past. Even if the past was good, you can strive for the future to be better.

Is there anything wrong with setting your goal for better. No, not really. But, maybe it’s just not complete when it comes to being a goal. Most people want things/life to be better. But, what does that mean?

Better is pretty fague. Setting your goal better doesn’t help you achieve it. Here are a few reasons why I want you to be specific, really define your goals and not just say ‘I want next year to be better’.

• You’ll know what you need to do.
• You can make a plan and adjust it as needed.
• You’ll know when you achieve them.
• You can celebrate.
• You can get motivation.
• You can see the finish line.

If you really want to add power to you goals, increase the likelihood of hitting them, and make the journey more enjoyable, then WRITE THEM DOWN!

Having writing goals can help you achieve them. Written goals is a common factor for those that achieve their goals. Also, writing them down can help you to get really specific in what you want. It will take a little work. Yes, writing specific goals can be a challenge. But, they are your goals. If you want to achieve them, then do what is needed.

Write down your goal.
Get specific.
Write why you want to achieve it.
What will goal your allow you to do or experience?

See It & Know That You Can Do It.
Then, Take Action & Make It Happen.

This one is not about you hitting your goals. Not specifically. But, what’s the point of hitting your goals if your miserable the whole journey to achieve them and then unhappy once you’re there? Why not move toward your goals AND enjoy the journey? You can. It may take a little shift in mindset, though.

To achieve your goals you’ll have to take action, do the steps, and make it happen. It’s up to you. BUT, that doesn’t mean to be selfish with what you do and how you think. Sounds like a trap a little bit.

It’s all on you, but don’t make it all about you. How does that work? While you’re taking action and moving toward your goal, you can promote happiness by giving to others.

• Giving leads to happiness more than getting.
• Happiness leads to enjoying life.
• Enjoying life makes goals worthwhile.

Giving and helping others can help make the journey to your goals and all the work you’ll put in to achieve them more enjoyable.

Achieve Your Goals & Enjoy Life

This one is not about you hitting your goals. Not specifically. But, what’s the point of hitting your goals if your miserable the whole journey to achieve them and then unhappy once you’re there? Why not move toward your goals AND enjoy the journey? You can. It may take a little shift in mindset, though.

To achieve your goals you’ll have to take action, do the steps, and make it happen. It’s up to you. BUT, that doesn’t mean to be selfish with what you do and how you think. Sounds like a trap a little bit.

It’s all on you, but don’t make it all about you. How does that work? While you’re taking action and moving toward your goal, you can promote happiness by giving to others.

• Giving leads to happiness more than getting.
• Happiness leads to enjoying life.
• Enjoying life makes goals worthwhile.

Giving and helping others can help make the journey to your goals and all the work you’ll put in to achieve them more enjoyable.

Achieve Your Goals & Enjoy Life

Some people were born with every conceivable advantage leading to their success. And then there is the rest of us. We of us were born into a situation were we may have an advantage or two, but they come with many disadvantages, challenges, and obstacles.

In addition to the situation we were born into, we each have made choices along our paths. Some of those choices helped improve things and gave us need advantages. If you’re anything like me, then many of those past choices reduced the advantages and lead to some new challenges.

If you current situation is making it more difficult for you to succeed, then okay. You can use that. The challenges that you have to overcome will give you strength, knowledge, and skills that you may not be able to develop otherwise.

If your current situation is making it easier for you to succeed, then great. Use it. I did a post on using all your available resources the other week. Click Here if you want to read/listen ‘Use All Your Available Resources To Succeed’. When you naturally have certain things in your life that can help you succeed, take full advantage and go hit your goals. Even if you have the advantages that can make it easier, you’ll still have to take action and do the work.

Regardless of where you fall. You are not a product of your situation. Regardless of where you’re at right now, it is your choices and actions that make you. 

Some people were born with every conceivable advantage leading to their success. And then there is the rest of us. We of us were born into a situation were we may have an advantage or two, but they come with many disadvantages, challenges, and obstacles.

In addition to the situation we were born into, we each have made choices along our paths. Some of those choices helped improve things and gave us need advantages. If you’re anything like me, then many of those past choices reduced the advantages and lead to some new challenges.

If you current situation is making it more difficult for you to succeed, then okay. You can use that. The challenges that you have to overcome will give you strength, knowledge, and skills that you may not be able to develop otherwise.

If your current situation is making it easier for you to succeed, then great. Use it. I did a post on using all your available resources the other week. Click Here if you want to read/listen ‘Use All Your Available Resources To Succeed’. When you naturally have certain things in your life that can help you succeed, take full advantage and go hit your goals. Even if you have the advantages that can make it easier, you’ll still have to take action and do the work.

Regardless of where you fall. You are not a product of your situation. Regardless of where you’re at right now, it is your choices and actions that make you. 

I have the most terrible or amazing news for you. You will decide if it is positive or negative. You will find more of what you focus on.

I was trying help this guy a while back. He was kind, smart, sincere, and had skills. What was the problem? Why could he not move forward toward his goal? Everytime he got stuck he would ask me for a suggestion. For each suggestion I gave he would give me at least one thing that “could” happen that would not lead to the perfect outcome. He was able to find a problem for any solution.

“Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.” Albert Einstein - CLICK TO TWEET

The guy was focused on what could go wrong. The worst part of where he placed his focus was that he kept finding what he was looking for.

If you choose to focus on the problems and what could go wrong, you won’t find the solutions. You probably won’t take action toward your goals either.

Not all solutions and 100% problem free. Things aren’t perfect.

You can choose to look for solutions. They are there. Even in the most challenging situations. By looking for what could go right, you will find more solutions. They may not be perfect. But, you will find some. The more solutions you find can lead to finding better ones too. You’ll develop the skill of seeing solutions and not problems.

When working toward your big goal, there will be challenges and everything may not work out just perfect on the first attempt. That’s okay. The first solution you find may need to adjustments and adaptations along the way. That’s okay too.

Look for solutions and not problems. Focus on what could go right.