Goals are simply tools to focus your energy in positive directions; they can be
changed as your priorities change, new ones added, and others dropped.

O. Carl Simonton

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No wind favors those who have no destined port.

Michel de Montaigne

Not every end is a goal.  The end of a melody is not
its goal; but nevertheless, if the melody had not reached
its end it would not have reached its goal either.

Friedrich W. Nietzsche

It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not
reaching your goal.  The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.
It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity
not to dream.  It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your
ideals, but it is a disaster to have no ideals to capture.  It is not a
disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace
to have no stars to reach for.

Benjamin Mays

The happiest days are found in struggling
toward a goal, not in any attainment.

unattributed

If one sets up fantasy goals, then it follows that one will experience
fantasy victories and fantasy defeats, the inevitable pendulum
swing within the world of desire.  The goal of God is the reality of
yourself; you are within God, and God is within you.

A Spiritual Warrior

Write down on paper your goal in life.  With that down in
black and white, we can get somewhere.  Few can define
their goal, much less write it.  You cannot find happiness
until your goal is clear and in view.

Ross Byron

In the long run, people hit only what they aim at.

Henry David Thoreau

There is a process for creating our goals.  Often we start out with enthusiasm and
then become discouraged and unsure.  We may work hard for a while but see few
results.  At times everything will seem to be coming together perfectly, and then we
may go through a period where our dreams appear to be on hold.  Thoughts of
giving up may enter our minds.  That's when we need to trust the ebb
and flow of the process.
We must resist becoming too invested in achieving our goals in some preconceived way.
Many paths can lead to the same destination.  Some minor adjustments may be necessary.
Step back and assess.  Maybe your vision isn't clear enough.  Or perhaps you are trying
to achieve too much too quickly and need to break your goals down
into smaller, more specific steps.
Sometimes it appears that things are standing still when they are actually coming together
in an unseen way.  The people who need to assist you may be on their way and just haven't
shown up yet.  Or the house you are looking for may not be on the market one week but
will be the next.  Relax for a while and put your list of goals in a drawer for a few days
and enjoy life.  This will give you the energy to refine your vision and discover the next step.

Salle Merrill Redfield
Creating a Life of Joy

Goals give direction to our lives.  We need to know who we are and where
we want to go.  But the trip itself, the steps we travel, offer us daily
satisfaction moment by moment--fulfillment, if we'd but realize it.  Too
often we keep our sights on the goal's completion, rather than the
process--the day-to-day living that makes the completion possible.

unattributed

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret.  Whatever
your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work.

Oprah Winfrey

The danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short,
but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

Michelangelo Buonarrati (attributed)

To experience the satisfaction and enjoyment of success in life, a definitive goal
is essential.  Many people fail at this vital point.  The goal must be definite and specific,
not in any sense vague or fuzzy.  And to prove attainable, its image needs to be
sharpened and resharpened continually, so that it stands out vividly in your thoughts.
You must know, at all times, precisely and for certain what it is you want to accomplish
and achieve.  Strong and organized purposefulness toward a definite objective
will focus your powers into a strong motivation in attainment of your goal.

Norman Vincent Peale

When goals go, meaning goes.  When meaning goes, purpose goes.
When purpose goes, life goes dead on our hands.

Carl Jung

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting
goals and achieving them.  Even the most tedious chore will become
endurable as you parade through each day convinced that each task,
no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to achieving your dreams.

Og Mandino

Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays
quite impossible to foresee are ahead. . . . You can only see one thing
clearly and that is your goal.  Form a mental vision of that
and cling to it through thick and thin.

Kathleen Norris

When we have no goal, or when our vision of the goal is obscured,
we may lose our sense of purpose.  Even when we've prepared
ourselves well and have an aptitude for a given activity, poorly
directed efforts can rob us of vital energy.  We can spend a great
deal of our time, money, and other resources running around in
circles.  Unless we create specific goals that match our purpose
in life and unless we keep a clear vision of these goals,
we may eventually falter and fail.

John Marks Templeton
Worldwide Laws of Life

Everyone needs dreams and a goal in order to live life fully
and satisfactorily.  If we don't have a specific goal in mind
or we don't know where we want to go, we may be likely to
end up in places not of our choosing.  Establishing goals, along
with guidelines on how to achieve them, helps to keep us
focused and energized and often makes our lives more
interesting, useful, and successful.

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Each season I tell the Roughriders that failure is achieving all your goals--it
means you didn't aim high enough.  When you're setting goals, I explain,
there's a tremendous risk that you'll aim too low.  To achieve your potential,
you need to be out of your comfort zone, forcing yourself to achieve things
you didn't know you could do.  That's how you improve.

Bill Resler
The Heart of the Team

You must have long-range goals to keep you
from being frustrated by short-range failure.

George H. Bender
also attributed to Charles C. Noble

Set goals that don't feel all that easy, that challenge you, stimulate you,
and give you a chance to stretch and push yourself.
That is where the power of growth lies.

Nathaniel Branden
Self-Esteem Every Day

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry