He Shoots! He Scores?

This week I did something that was surprisingly difficult for me. I dared to write down my goals. Before anyone gets too close to vomiting at that statement, I am not talking about career goals or some sort of Dr. Phil inspired body makeover. I am referring to the things that I have held so close to my heart that until today I haven't even felt comfortable putting them to paper – as if the act of recording them would cause some cosmic force to take a look and yell “No way you can have that!”

Well, I suspect that would have been less likely to have been said by a voice from the cosmos as it would have been my own self-depreciating ego. Either way, I sat down and made myself say out loud the things I have not said, and gave a name to my desires. I understand that to most, this might not seem like such an accomplishment – I mean its not exactly rocket science to say what you want right? But its taken me a long time to get to this point; mostly because I have looked at it all wrong. I understood having dreams, but goals were a mystery to me. I could see who I wanted to be, but the path forward was filled with choices that I consistently seemed to get wrong. Then a few days ago I read this quote in a book I am reading - “The only way to make the right decision is to know what the wrong decision is”. As much as I trust that things happen in their own time, I really wish I had learned this simple truth years ago.

Anyway, today I recorded my goals. It felt good. I read them back to myself and the steps forward started to get clearer, not easier, but clearer. I keep them next to something that was sent to me a short time ago that I use as an example of how to identify the wrong decision, and as a reminder fo the man I no longer want to be. My goals are my own, but maybe this will apply to someone else as well -

“Distraction by what doesn't matter
+focus on your emotional triggers
+no action on what counts
= your life”