Life’s Goals and Second Chance

I sat in the room with my son and the orthodontist. We were given an appointment that day. I looked at my son and asked him again

“Are you ready for this?”  He replied, “Yes I am”.  I smiled and continued my reading.

This was our second attempt on getting this treatment. The first time was in 2009 and things did not go as planned. The rules given to him by the then orthodontist were not adhered to. 

He was not co-operating and he was not interested. In other words, he was not ready!This brings me to being ready and prepared for the challenges that come along your way in life. I have seen that when we plan and want to achieve goals, they are easy. But executing such goals is another ball game entirely.  I have seen severally that it is easy to set goals but difficult to achieve them. I guess we all have heard of the popular cliché ‘new year resolutions’. A lot of people fall into the trap of making resolutions for the New Year but, how many people follow through and achieve their goals?

Being able to make plans and set goals show a level of focus and seriousness. It is a step in the right direction. However, it is one of the numerous steps you must take along the path of achieving these goals.

The first set of  steps that follow after the initial plan and setting of goals are crucial- this is when you set the ball rolling! Here, the plans have become action and the action has to be sustained in other to achieve the goals.

The action stage is the most challenging as this is where you have the struggles, pains, anger and sometimes failures as reality sets in to change the course of the plan This is when you ask yourself again

“Why did I get into this?”    

 “What exactly am I doing here?”     

“Am I really ready for this?”

“Can I make these goals real?”

This is when you either doubt yourself, doubt others or both. This is when you feel like giving up, that ‘voice’ tells you to let go…give up. The voice tells you to ‘forget about it’. It tells you ‘you don’t need this’, ‘why are you punishing yourself?’

I hope I’m communicating?

And more often than not, most of us give up, let go and end execution of plan of  action. You may feel relieved and happy that you have ended it. But let me tell you something, that happiness is short-lived. This is because, your failure would come back to haunt you! And when it does, the feeling isn’t something you would enjoy .

The pain of failure is worse than the pain you experienced in the ‘action’ stage. And what follows next is regret!  The regret starts with

“I would have completed this”

“See others doing it even when I started before them”

It is not a good feeling- regrets! 

With these thoughts flooding your mind, you have finally got to the end because you have regrets to show for your attempt. But do you know what?  Even coming to the end of the road, as it seems, you have another opportunity- a second chance they call it, to actualize those goals. You also have another thing- experience!

My son got a ‘second chance’ and we have started the journey and he is determined and more serious compared to the first time. He is doing what is expected of him and he is ‘ready’. Just like the action stage where there are many steps that would lead to the goals, he is taking it one step at a time…

Tell someone about this blog.

Thanks.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you"- Deut. 32:6

"Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory"- George S. Patton

                                   Linda Aliogo