How to Achieve Goal in Study | How to Achieve Your Goals & Dreams

How to Achieve Goal in Study

If you often wonder, how some people achieve so much in life, while others keep on struggling, you are not the only one. I once was also on the same boat.

Every year on 31^st December we religiously design our New Year Resolution. We are all excited and charged up. But our excitement and our romance with our New Year Resolution don’t last beyond a week. After seven days we come back to our old self. On the next 31^st December the cycle repeats.

I have often in past compromised on my goals just because I found that it was impossible to achieve. Why I thought it this way? Because I made the goal appear like a huge dinosaur. I kept on saying things to myself like – I can’t do it because it is too big for me to handle; I will fail if I try to do it; I am not well qualified.

Or, even if I took risk and tried to achieve something, I failed miserably.

Does this mean that we should stop having goals? Does this mean that we should stop being ambitious? Does this mean that we should stop dreaming big?

These were few questions that were disturbing me because I love to dream big and achieve huge success in life.

I didn’t know why this was happening to me and how could I break this jinx?

After many years of studying, teaching and coaching, finally the secret was revealed to me. It was staring right at my face.

It is out there for everybody to see. But we don’t see it because we are busy thinking about the ambitious goal of ours.

No issue is big enough that cannot be solved. It can be solved. We just need to remember that all the things will not happen at once.

 In this essay I will explore how anyone can tackle any situation and achieve more in life.

It is not about being lucky.

It is also not about being at the right time in the right place.

So what is it?

It is all about ‘following the process’.

Now before you say, ‘What the hell!’, just calm your mind and for the next few minutes just focus on reading this essay that is right in front of you. As you read it try to digest what is being said. Do not let anything else disturb you.

So, we were talking about Process.

Let’s begin with the question – What is process?

One way to understand process is what we can do today with the task at hand.

Let’s say you are a working professional and to enhance your career prospects you have decided to do MBA through correspondence. You pay the fees and get a set of nine big and bulky books. Looking at the books you get overwhelmed and wonder how the hell are you going to study those books? Where will you find time to study?

Now this is a complex situation. You have to manage your work and at the same time take out time to study so that you can prepare for the exams that will happen in about four months.

Here is where process can come handy and provide you a way to achieve your goal.

So, process is a way to turn something complicated or complex into simple day to day doable steps.

Here is how you can break down the above difficult task of doing MBA –

1. Don’t focus on the bigger picture – Don’t think about how you are going to manage to study nine books. You know you have to do it, but for now keep that thought aside.

2. Break down your study into small pieces – Start your study with one book. Pick that first book and start studying it one chapter at a time from the very beginning.

3. Schedule your study time – You decide how many hours you are going to study per day. What will the timing be? Will it be early in the morning or after office hours? Be very specific and then do what you need to do.

4. Whatever you do, do it well – What is your study pattern? Do you just read the book to understand the concept, or do you first read and then make notes of what you have read, or do you read and then formulate a question on what you have read and then answer that question in your own words based on what you have read? The last one is my favorite. That is the way I study.

5. Go on to the next task – After you have done justice to your task at hand then only think of moving ahead to the next topic.

6. Follow the process not the trophy – Don’t keep on thinking about the trophy that you are going to win. If you follow the process diligently, your trophy is bound to come your way. Take one chapter at a time and focus on studying it well. In short, mind your business and do your job.

Once you start following the steps in the process, it is not that life will be a smooth sailing for you. It might become more difficult. You might even think of giving up. Don’t! Keep your focus on the process – live in the present, do what needs to be done in the moment, don’t allow yourself to be distracted by anything howsoever glamorous or exciting it might be.

The process is about completing one thing at a time and doing it well. Never get carried away by thinking about the end. Take things one task at a time as you move towards your goal.

In Conclusion

Process brings order to the chaos created by the mind over things. It tells you what actions you need to take right now.

If you think you are stuck in a situation, don’t make that situation your fate. It is an unfavorable position that you are in; it’s not your fate. Just create a process of small doable actions and start deliberately following it.

Don’t get overwhelmed by the hugeness of the task. Don’t take your eye off the ball just because it appears like too much work.

Take responsibility and ownership of your process.

There is a saying in English – How do you eat an elephant? The answer is Bite by Bite.

As Lord Krishna said in Bhagwat geeta, focus on your Karma, your actions; don’t worry about what results you will get or what will happen to you.

Just do the right things, right now and the results will take care of itself.

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