For many years, a story has been told about a study done at an Ivy League school on goal setting. It has great statistics about the value of setting goals, writing them down, and so on. There's only one problem with the story: The study was never done.

In the story, the study describes the success of people with goals and without goals. Of people who wrote their goals down and those who didn't. It gives statistics (the 3% with written goals had accomplished more than the 97% without them). It is a compelling story, and it backs up the perspective of most personal development teachers (including me).

But, it never happened.

It was debunked a few years ago by a research article in Fast Company. I only have one problem with the article: In the byline, the reporter wrote this: "Lawrence Tabak (ltabak@aol.com), a writer based in Kansas City, didn't graduate from Yale and never set any goals for the future."

I think he's lying.

If he had never set any goals, he wouldn't ever write an article. He would certainly never do any research. He would never accomplish anything. The only way we accomplish anything -- even walking across the room -- is by choosing an objective and moving towards it.

The problem is that we don't understand that we're made to seek goals, and that everything we do in life moves us closer to or further from those goals we have.

If we don't know what our goals are, we'll never move towards them except by pure chance.

The challenge, then, is to decide what YOUR goals are and move towards them with each life choice you make.

It helps to have guidance and a coach (like I do), and the determination to keep it before you. Are you?

Let's go!
ssh

PS You will learn more about aiming for a destination and reaching it through the twists of life from Open Your Heart with Skiing. Pick up your autographed copy today: http://stephenhultquist.com/book.html.