Setting realistic goals is critical, but people often encounter issues that can be stumbling blocks to success. We have found that achieving goals often requires:

1. Strong Focus
2. Trade-offs
3. Discomfort

These three elements are no different for someone working their way through medical school, passing a certification exam, running a marathon, saving for retirement, or any other worthwhile goal.

Strong Focus

The more accurate term would be self-focus because to move forward with your goal, there may be steps others may not like. Kids may give initial support for a mom wanting to run a marathon until they realize that she needs to go running every day. It may be the old gang doesn’t like your new habits or they may be jealous of your success. At various levels, difficult decisions may need to be made to move forward in the direction of your goal. Having the support of others for your goal is one of the key elements of success. Unfortunately, spouses, family members, and friends are often the primary saboteurs to a goal. Teenagers may not be keen on their parents’ goal of paying off debt if it means giving up ski trips. Communicating expectations is essential here and navigating the trade-offs can be tricky.

Trade-offs

It is hard to save for the future if you love to spend, to lose weight if you love dessert or to cut out alcohol if you love meeting friends for happy hour. Falling out of love is sometimes required to achieve goals. Breaking up with old “loves” may be hard to do, but it is essential for the long-term success of most worthwhile goals.

Discomfort

Saying “no” to something when you want to say “yes” (or vice-versa) can be scary. Achieving goals often involves stepping outside of our comfort zones. Some failures along the way are inevitable and uncomfortable, but even those are often important.

Pivot to Tom Hanks

To illustrate these points, I want to highlight the career of one of my favorite actors, Tom Hanks. I first became familiar with Hanks in the TV show Bosom Buddies. When I watched the show in the 80s, I never dreamed that Tom Hanks would become the Oscar winning mega-star that he is now. From my amateur perspective, Hanks acting skills were no different in 1980 than his co-star, Peter Scolari, with whom I was more familiar.

So how did Hanks separate himself from the pack? How did he climb above the roughly 160,000 other actors in Hollywood who were supposedly doing the exact same thing that he was doing? I imagine that he faced these three roadblocks and had to do what all successful people do: Focus, give up other activities, and take the bold steps necessary to move forward.

In reading his biography on Wikipedia, his early days studying theatre were very focused. He did not take dates or family members to theatre productions. Instead, he went by himself so that he would not be distracted while he studied his craft. I’m sure throughout his career he had periods of intensive focus. He has obviously been able to balance that focus beautifully with being a good husband and overall decent person. I’m sure he had to overcome many difficult challenges in climbing the ladder of success. He had to take personal and financial risks. He had to be willing to make some decisions (and make some movies) he likely now regrets.

Goals are easier to achieve with support

Achieving goals is hard, which is why so many people give up before they even get started. We’re here to support you with your financial goals and make the process as easy as possible. We hope you’ve had a great start to the New Year and look forward to celebrating your success in the years ahead.

Kristina Bolhouse, CPA/PFS, CFP®

Vice President/Shareholder

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