Let’s break it down. If your principal aim in life is setting and accomplishing goals, then how do you recalibrate and re-aim when you fail to achieve your goal? It is currently fashionable to focus on motivation, but I think motivation is overrated. Where do you turn when you don’t feel right, and your emotions betray you? Creating positive habits, following rules, and developing systems are all valuable tools that measure progress. However, if they become your principal aim, you will risk losing focus on the personal relationships in your life. So, where should you be aiming at first?
It’s easy to prove the importance of establishing your personal identity. It’s just true that all of us are making the most important choices and decisions in our lives, based on our strongest beliefs. So why is it that so few of us can quickly, clearly, and concisely articulate our personal identity and core values and use them strategically and intentionally?
Many of us have allowed the opinions of others to define us. Many of us have let the culture, momentum or emotion define our lives and are forced to face hardship or miss opportunity because we don’t know what to do next.
I believe your identity and values can become a platform of strength that will guide you as you set goals, develop habits, and work at staying motivated. Your identity and values should remind you to capture your emotions when they start to spin out of control. Your identity and values can enable you to create the energy necessary to accomplish your task or take care of those who are counting on you when you don’t feel motivated.
Understanding how you fit in your family, team, and community will require you to establish your personal identity and organize your core values in a manner that makes them force multipliers in your life.
Define yourself so you can aim true each day and live in a more valuable and purposeful way!
With Strength and Honor
Jim Hensel
