One of the greatest obstacles to success in life is the acceptance of “good enough.”

Once you allow “good enough,” also known as mediocrity, into your life or business you will most certainly have aspects of your life or business that are mediocre. You may believe or you may have been told that “good enough” is just fine but it is not fine. Are you really okay with a life partner who is “good enough?” “Good enough” becomes a terrible habit that holds you back from the life that you deserve. “Settling” for less than you know you’re capable of is a bitter pill to swallow. It’s aftertaste is even worse. It’s nearly impossible to get rid of the taste of mediocrity and the sad thing is, it can’t get into your life unless you allow it. 

If you want success, however it is that you define success, then don’t allow mediocrity into your life. 

That little sentence there, the one just above this one in italics, that sentence is 1000 times easier to write than it is to accomplish. Moving past “good enough” on the road to success is hard. It’s tiring. It’s complicated. It’s expensive, both in terms of commitment and sometimes financial expense. Most of all, it can be lonely.

It can be lonely because despite the fact that nearly everyone claims to want success few are actually willing to do want it takes to achieve it. The “extra mile” is the part of the road to success that never sees a traffic jam. 

The hardest part of that extra mile is the very first step. But what a great step it is. When you take that first step you have instant separation from all the people gathered at the “good enough” camp. With the crowd thinned out you can see just how bright your future really is.

The secret to advancing to the extra mile is a well thought out set of goals. To achieve your full potential you will need goals in several areas of your life. You’ll need financial goals, career goals, family goals, health goals, self-development goals and perhaps spiritual goals.

You need goals in several areas of your life because however you define success for your life you will almost certainly want some balance in your life. I’ve known many accomplished business people who had horrible family lives… in their heart of hearts they would not call themselves successful. Goals truly provide you with the opportunity to succeed in multiple areas of your life all at once.

If you do a Google search you’ll find many programs that can help you set and achieve your goals but be prepared to invest some serious time on this process. Setting meaningful goals requires a good understanding of your core values, those principles in your life that truly matter. 

Once you’ve identified what’s important in your life you’ll know where to set your goals. Once you’ve identified what’s important to you you’ll also have a much better chance of achieving those goals. 

The vast majority of goal setting fails because people don’t first identity their core values. Don’t make this common mistake, when your goals matter to you personally your much more likely to take that first step on the extra mile. 

Mediocrity is a choice, it’s a choice you most certainly do not want to make….so don’t!