More Than Just a Goal – Motivation by Mark Schwab

When is last time you took a risk?

When is the last time you truly evaluated your life? It’s often a terrible thing in life to wait until you’re ready. There’s really no such thing as ready. There’s just NOW. With this being said, I’m excited about a plan that gives you inward significance. I wish more than only 40 people would see this. I want to shout it out to the world! If you happen to read this, pass it to someone you care about. Here’s why – Goals add meaning to your life and ensures that your spirit and sense of purpose remain healthy and in some cases, alive. It’s spiritual suicide having no goals. Goals are a blueprint for growth, achievement and conquering your desires. Goals give your day value, structure, and purpose. Everyone wants a purpose, but few take the time and awareness to discover what their purpose is. I highly implore you to find your purpose – this will change your life and give meaning from within.

About Mark Schwab Whether you’re an athlete, student, sales, parent, coach, etc. goals are for you. Maybe you can’t think of a goal for you. I have goals set in several areas: coaching, team, financial, personal, relationships, health, etc. So there are no boundaries, rules, right or wrong. Goals can be anything important or exciting to you. What is it that you’ve always dreamed about? What is it that would bring you satisfaction? Even if you don’t reach your goal, you have taking action, and that’s growth. And you know what else? You have challenged fears and woke up inertia – this will awake and transform your life with tone.

Start with a couple goals. Written goals will affect your results drastically. The most IMPORTANT part of goals is the actions you’ll take to reach your destination. The action-steps tell you how and where to spend your time and energy. Be clear and specific. Pay attention to detail. And by all means, the best plan in the world means nothing if not followed by action. Goals are a tool for taking action! Actions do what words can’t – create results!

Writing your goals and action-steps is a quality investment. By writing your goals, they become clearer – believable – and something you’re more likely to act on. Talk about tilting the scale in your favor.

Now, if you say you don’t have time, you do. Take twenty minutes to design two goals. You have 72 twenty-minute segments every day. Use one of these segments to draft your life’s direction, the life you’re going to be living in. After detailed goals are set, and you’ve listed as many action-steps as you can think of, give 10 minutes daily to read your goals, to future actions you need to take, and to any adjustments or additions, and then visualize achieving your goals. Yes, you must nurture your goals and tend to them daily. You have 144 ten-minute segments daily. Give one of these a day to your goal, spirit, well-being, happiness, growth, health, personal satisfaction and ideally your purpose. Most people spend more time chewing their fingernails than planning their life.

Setting and having goals is for everyone in any arena. You don’t have to be an athlete. Figure out what drives, motivates, or excites you, be very specific, and give quality thought and focused application to the behaviors that lead to your objective.

Remember there is a huge gap between daydreaming and taking action. Action will cause a significant shift in the direction of your life. The choice is yours. But if you choose to pay no attention to goals, I hope you will at least be honest with yourself about the choice you’re making to ignore an opportunity for growth, life, success, and satisfaction. Give your life a shot of vitality and give yourself the best opportunity for success.

Goal – Tool for taking action
1. Objective
2. Actions and behaviors I must engage in to achieve goals
3. Tend to #2 daily
Keep it simple and clear
Schedule your achievement

Mark Schwab is an assistant coach at the University of Northern Iowa. Previously he spent nine years as assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, helping the program to seven top-three team finishes at the NCAA Championships and two NCAA team titles. As a wrestler, Schwab was an All-American for the University of Northern Iowa during the late 1980s. Schwab earned his bachelor’s degree in 1990 from the University of Northern Iowa and his master’s degree from the University of Minnesota in 2003. Schwab returned to the University of Minnesota to get a second emphasis in sport psychology on his existing master’s and completed that in 2010. Email Mark at mark.schwab@uni.edu

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