would mean building our character to face the rough patches that life will drive us through . You may chart your course just as a giant river does , but you will for sure face the same challenges that a smaller river faces .
So , as we set goals , let us consider building other values towards a better and stronger inner person . Year on year , am I thriving to become a better person ? What values should I measure myself against ? What informs those metrics ? What am I going to stop doing ? To continue doing ? To start doing ? What are those positive characters that I want to develop or improve ?
I also don ' t have answers to these questions . But they are right questions to keep asking ourselves , in our quiet , if we need to lead a balanced and happier life . And it all starts with your goals . What type of goals are you setting for yourself ? Are all your goals self-seeking ? What is your primary life purpose ? Do you want to do all that you plan to do only to benefit you and your family ?
More life-fulfilling goals are selfless . They serve others . Are your goals focused on making your inner person better ? There is a difference between doing good because you are trying hard to be good and doing
good just because you are right .
We ' re setting these inward improving goals not because we want to be better than others but because we want to become better people . How much better , no one knows . Most of the goals , values , and standards we choose are driven by our egoistic needs of comparing ourselves with others .
Set goals that are within your control . The book , The Suttle Act Of Not Giving A F # ck , explains how a young guitarist named Dave Mustaine was unceremoniously kicked out of Matallica band . In anger , he set a goal to start his band that will be greater than Matallica . And for sure , he did form a band called Megadeth that became one of the most celebrated heavy metal bands .
But his success and fame did not stop Metallica ' s success either . Metallica sold over 180 million albums compared to the 25 million that Megadeth sold , and Matallica became one of the greatest rock bands of all time . In an interview in 2003 , Mustaine admitted that he still considered himself a failure despite his great achievements . He couldn ' t achieve his uncontainable metric that defined his success - to become more successful than
Metallica . We may all think Mustaine was insane , but we all do the same . We miserably define our success relative to the success of others . And the success of others that we cannot determine .
This year , I have promised to better my inner man . I am setting goals within my control , focused on uplifting other people rather than myself and family - thriving to do good all the time , no matter what . I know this may never give me happiness or satisfaction , but I will have tried to put my character under the radar .
We ' ll for sure never achieve that optimal perfection mark . But just like we forever wrestle with our weight , we will identify those fundamental but wrecked values in us and wrestle to better them . I am throwing the first punch to fight a good fight and taking the first step to run a good run . And leave the rest to God , for only He is perfect .
Herman Githinji is a Management Consultant and a Director at Rhombus Ready Mix Concrete Company . You can commune with him on this and related issues via email on : Hermangithinji @ gmail . com .