Anyone can achieve their goals as long as they work on them diligently. It is human nature to want quick results, hence the common habit of overestimating what can be made in a year, and underestimating what 10 years can bring. Daily improvements can secure you only a little success, but when done over several years, the success is exponential.
Goals need to be planned in a way that they can be achieved with available resources and time. Take your time to prepare a medium-term plan with less ambitious short-term completion rates so that you do not burn out due to missed targets.
Reasons why most people underestimate what they can do in 10 years
- You may find that you are not sufficiently confident in your abilities to achieve a higher level of success in your 10-year plan, therefore setting a lower target. The actual level of achievement could be twice or thrice as high as what you set at the beginning, meaning you lose out on a lot of possibilities.
- The social standards around us as we grow play a significant role in limiting our potential. The society may be averse to great success, making you slow down on your targets to fit in. Also, psychological conditioning may cause one to believe they cannot achieve a given level since such great achievements are only for certain people and not them.
- Familiarity with your surroundings can prevent you from seeking new lands. Not leaving a comfort zone has kept many people from achieving what they potentially could.
To correct this and achieve what you are capable of, you should do the following:
- Be fearlessly positive. Negative thoughts produce small thinking, imposing the “impossible” in your life. Think of the unlimited opportunities and embrace challenges.
- Visualize with no restraint. It is the lack of resourcefulness that holds people back, not the lack of resources. Envision the possibilities in the future instead of being stuck in the present or short term period.
- Dream big and be creative. The larger your belief, the greater your success. Brainstorm without censorship and think on how to develop your ideas into realities. Allow your imagination to flow freely, and let your dreams burn within you.
- Set a big long-term goal and follow it. Once you set a massive goal, focus on it with all your attention, and it will be achieved.
- Be inspiring. When you inspire the people around you, their success will be your success. The confidence attracts more like-minded people to your idea, making it a reality.
- Bite the elephant. Taking small bites of out a big goal will eventually get you where you want to go. Following through in small ways will add up to a big accumulation over 10 years.
- Believe in your abilities and that you have what it takes to achieve the goal you have set. Gauge your inner self, and check your feelings about what you can achieve in 10 years. If it feels like too little, then raise the stakes and push it to the end. Along the way, continually make assessments and adjust your expected level of achievement depending on circumstances that favor your success.
