Have you ever uttered these words before? Or know someone who has? 

You look at your life and feel like you should be more successful at this stage. You should be married with two kids. You should be a Manager at work. You should be driving the latest German car. You should be debt free. You should be far ahead than where you are right now. 

It’s common to feel this way because we all have ambitions. Whether you work a 9-5 job, you’re running your own business or side hustle or you’re following your passion; you have dreams, you have a vision and plans for your life. You’re probably working really hard to achieve your dreams but it doesn’t look like anything is happening. 

You’ve reached a point where you’re asking yourself if you’re doing enough. Should you be working harder and longer hours to get that promotion? Are you visiting enough career sites? Should you consider furthering your studies? Maybe you’re not cut out for this? 

It might not seem like you’re going anywhere but think about how far you can go if you didn’t give up now and just kept going. 

Stephen Covey says you must always think of the end goal. Let your goals and your vision motivate you to keep going. And while you’re doing that, remember the following: 

1. Success doesn’t have an expiration date.  There’s no set date or age at which you should achieve all your goals. If you don’t believe me, please go and read up on people like Samuel L. Jackson, Pam Golding, Richard Maponya, and so forth. 

2. Life is not a race, slow down. Look around you, you have so much to be grateful for. I believe you have family and friends who love you, a roof over your head and food on the table, irrespective of what’s going on in the world. 

3. Don’t compare yourself to others. The majority of people you admire and look up to have had humble beginnings. They didn’t just start where they are now. 

4. Be patient. It’s easy to enrol for a course, register a company or sign for a gym membership, but very few people have the patience to see their goals through. Patience, combined with persistence and hard work, is key if you want to see your vision through.

5. As long as you’re still breathing, you have a chance to get to where you want to go. As the world moves faster and faster, remember that your life is not an app, things don’t just happen with a click of a button. So, please be kind to yourself.  

“Life is not a race but a journey”

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