Achieving any sort of goal in life first starts as an idea - an idea turned into a vision, backed with a plan of execution.
The idea of setting a goal is relatively simple: how could you visualize your life if you were to achieve this thing?
While setting a goal is easy, executing a plan to achieve it is the biggest challenge we all face.
There is a process to executing anything we set our minds to.
We all have to start somewhere as this is the first part of executing any plan - this is where the process begins.
The process behind achieving any goal in life is a journey in which we willingly embark upon to discover ourselves.
In other words, we find out who we are whenever we set out to accomplish something of greater purpose.
The challenges we face along the way are a true testament of our character.
The more we embrace the challenges along our path, the more fulfilled we naturally become and the more we can enjoy the process.
We have to be able to enjoy the process in our endeavors.
This means enjoying the process of learning, overcoming new obstacles, and enjoying being able to go through pain.
This is not meant to sound masochistic, but pain is a byproduct of growth.
If we are going to endure new challenges, we must be willing to endure the pain that comes along with them.
The real growth comes in our ability to take risks, try new things, and experience new ways of life, all while being able to endure all of the obstacles that come along with it.
It is naturally difficult to enjoy things we perceive to be hard, which is partially why people today seek to find immediate gratification in everything that they consume.
The real enjoyment comes with the reward at the end of our journey.
If we set a goal to achieve something and we finally reach our goal 5-10 years later, all of the work and the trial and error we endure along the way all makes the outcome that much more fulfilling.
It is only when people can see the results of their hard work start to pay off that they realize that enjoying the process is part of the process.
When we don't see results right away, we become discouraged and what was once a goal becomes a memory of something that could have been.
This is why in a world where everyone is seeking to fulfill immediate gratification, we have to be the one's to set our sights on something greater over a longer period of time.