MARCH 18, 2015 : USIERE UKO
Author and personal finance coach, Usiere Uko, writes on the importance of having clear life goals
We all have desires, hopes and dreams. Very often, we leave it at the level of wishful thinking. There is no firm decision to go for it, backed by a plan to achieve it. Beyond a vague notion of making enough money to meet our needs, very few aim higher. An average employee or businessman does the same thing over and over again without a plan to step up their game. They attempt to rise higher using yesterday’s skill set. When things do not seem to improve, they work harder, pray harder and look for help outside. More often than not, there is no clear goal. Survival is the name of the same, but there is no serious thought towards the purpose for survival.
The average person does not know who he is, what he wants, and how he intends to go about it. There is no clear picture of a desired future. The picture of the future is based on what the environment mirrors. Success is defined from without rather than from within. Many do not own their careers. They simply run with the herd, comparing themselves with themselves. A typical businessman is in it for the money. There is no drive for innovation, big dreams and audacious goals. Every year looks the same as the passing year, the common theme being the struggle for survival.
You have to change if you want to grow
You cannot grow if you do not change. Chances are that your current skill set has brought you as far as it can. If you were in a public bus, the driver or conductor would ask you to come down from the bus – you have reached your last bus stop. To go further, you need to pay more money. In personal growth and development terms, you need fresh effort to upgrade yourself so that you can go further. School is never out for someone who is moving forward towards a goal.
Between where you are and where you want to go is a skill gap. That skill is standing between you and your goal. In order to attain that goal, you need to acquire that skill. You need to pay the price.
You cannot improve your finances sustainably by applying your current financial management skills with an occasional dose of financial advice, outsourcing your financial education to experts. You need to be on top of your game through ongoing financial education. Your current financial management skill set has brought you as far as it can go. That is why further learning is crucial. Ignorance is much more expensive that education. When it comes to health, it can be fatal.
If you are not growing, you are moving backwards. You are essentially dying slowly. I remember an experience I often had on the 3rd Mainland Bridge during my years of daily commute from the mainland to the Island. Some days the traffic is so bad there is a complete standstill on the bridge. Then suddenly, the lane next to me starts to move forward. Momentarily, I am seized with panic because my car seems to be moving backwards. I get scared that I may hit the car behind me. Within seconds, I finally comprehend what is going on. My lane is stationary while the next lane is moving, so relatively it seems as if the next lane is stationary while I am moving backwards. If everyone is moving forward and you are stationary, you are in effect moving backwards – you are being left behind. If you remain stationary, soon you will not see the brake lights of cars you were once at par with.
What is your destination?
If you do not know who you are and where you are going, you will wander aimlessly in the wilderness looking for money. The fact is that there is money everywhere. There is no legitimate field of human endeavour that you cannot become a multi-millionaire or billionaire if you pay the price to get to the top. The challenge is; we are looking for instant gratification. If something does not produce money immediately, we quickly jump to where we think results will be quicker. This is why we run from pillar to post looking for money. This is a sign of someone who is clueless as to where he or she is going.
Stop and think for a moment. Would you go to the international airport with bags packed for travelling and enough money for air fare without a clear idea where you are going? Would you board a flight heading somewhere else simply because you are tired of waiting for your flight? Would you meet a friend, ask where she is going and then change your destination so that you can go together? Would you step up to the counter and stammer in confusion when asked where you are going?
If we can plan a flight with such precision, then how come we are clueless when it comes to our life? How come we wander aimlessly in search of money when we can have money and fulfillment by following our dreams? Who sold us the lie that following our dream does not pay ultimately?
What is your vision of success?
If you don’t know where you are going, how do you know when you get there? If failure was nonexistent, what would you do with your life? Beyond survival, where do you want to go from here?
What do you need to do to get there?
If do not know what you really want, how can you plan and execute what you are clueless about? How would you know what books to read, what seminars or courses to attend, what friends to keep, what skills to acquire if you have no clue who you are and where you are going? How do you make every day count if there are no action items in alignment with your vision? If you have no vision of success, how do you measure progress on the road to nowhere? How do you know when you have arrived?
How do you plan your personal growth and development when the mission is unclear? Apart from food and shelter, what is your life about? Where do you see yourself in the next five, 10, 20 years? What is your end game? Why are you in that business? Why are you holding onto that job? What makes you happy? What are you passionate about? What contribution do you want to make? When your life is over and you can look back, what legacy do you want to leave?
If you are not willing to pay the price to answer these questions, you may remain stuck in your comfort zone, making excuses for mediocrity rather than paying the price to attain your utmost potential. When you come to the end of your days, will you be fulfilled that you gave your all or keep wondering how your life would have turned out if you were bold enough to give it your best shot?
- source:PUNCH.
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