Friday, March 22, 1996
Keep going in the right direction
Do you have trouble making decisions? Is it difficult to juggle your priorities? Do you find it hard to say “no", even when you really want to? Do you sometimes sit and wonder what you should do next?
Perhaps you need to clarify your sense of direction. We all have a general idea of where we want to go, though very few people take the time to really think in specifics. But if you don’t know exactly where you want to go, you tend to stray off track. Distractions come along and pull you in a lot of different directions. Decisions become difficult to make when you don’t have a clear direction.
Knowing exactly where you’re going can focus your efforts like nothing else. Do you ever find at the end of the day that you haven’t accomplished very much? A clear sense of direction can change that.
When you know exactly where you’re going, exactly what you want to do, you can use that direction to evaluate everything you do. Ask yourself, “Is what I am doing right now getting me any closer to where I want to be?” If not, then why are you doing it? If not, you’d better stop that and start doing something that will get you in the right direction.
A ship sailing across the ocean is off course 90% of the time. But because the navigator knows the final destination, he can make all the necessary course corrections along the way, before the ship gets too far off course. Those mid-course corrections are vital. And they are impossible without a specific destination.
The same holds true for any endeavor. Everything requires adjustments and corrections along the way. But in order to make the right adjustments, the final destination must be precisely defined. Only then can you keep yourself on track for success.
— Ralph Marston
Are you your own worst enemy? The Learning Curve
Copyright ©1996 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.