Forget what your parents, teacher, pastor, or even the Declaration of Independence has told you.
We are not all created equal.
We are told at a young age that if you can believe it, you can achieve it.
That if you work really hard, you can become the president, walk on the moon, be a NFL player, Miss America or be a rock star.
I’m sorry to break the news to you, but you will never be Barack Obama, Neil Armstrong, DeMarcus Ware, Nina Davuluri or Bruno Mars.
Nearly every inspirational speaker I’ve listened to in my life has quoted W. Clement Stone’s “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.”
In reality, if you miss the moon you will likely be stranded for thousands of miles in frozen atmosphere and inevitably die.
No matter how much you try, there will always be someone better than you at everything.
I know I’ve been really negative so far in this article, but it’s for a good reason.
We are all different; we are all individuals.
That means there will never be another person like you.
You are one of a kind (for better or for worse).
While inspiring, Stone’s quote only sets you up for failure.
Don’t get me wrong—setting major life goals is great.
However, not setting small daily goals to reach that major life goal is unhealthy.
For example, “I want to make the Chancellor’s list this semester” is a great major goal.
More often than not, however, the daily goals to reach this are not met or even set.
These daily goals would include talking to professors during office hours, studying for a minimum of two hours a day, not procrastinating on schoolwork, etc.
To be honest, I don’t think the small daily goals are ever met because people don’t set them.
People expect to be able to flip a switch and be able to do whatever they desire instantaneously. Persistence and dedication are needed daily to work towards the small things that will eventually lead to major change in your life.
Even if you don’t make the Chancellor’s list this semester, you will have a higher GPA and a better understanding of your content area.
It may hurt if you don’t reach that major goal, but you stuck by your daily goals.
Every day you stick with them, you will be a better person than you were the day before.
This is what life is about—becoming a better person than you were the day before.
Being happy with who you are should be the main goal in your life.
The moment you stop comparing yourself to someone else and start comparing yourself to who you were yesterday is the moment you will become truly happy.
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