I received an e mail from, of all people, a 19 year old man who was in prison. He was going to get out in a few weeks and was afraid that he wouldn’t make it on the “outs” and would get sent back. He had goals he wanted to achieve but feared he’d never accomplish them. I gave him a suggestion as to how to go about succeeding at reaching his goals. I like to share them with you because no matter what goals you set for yourself, whether they be in sports, music, education, business, or whatever, you need to understand that it’s all about the DIFS
DIFS stands for the first letter of each of the 4 things needed to accomplish your goals. For example, the first letter in DIFS, D, stands for DESIRE or, how bad you REALLY want something? Without a strong DESIRE to succeed at what you set out to do, your goals are nothing more than mere dreams. Keep in mind that there are two kinds of DESIRE: those who talk about achieving their goal (desire of the MOUTH), and those who actually go out and do it (desire of the HEART.). Before you set out to achieve your goals, you need to sit down and determine which type best describes you.
The next letter, “I,” stands for INNER STRENGTH. In the process of trying to reach your goal, you’re going to get knocked down again and again. That’s just the way it is and you need to be prepared for it. How many times you’re willing to get up after being knocked down will determine weather you are successful at reaching your goals or not. Ask yourself this question before trying to achieve your goals: “how many hits am I willing to take before I decide to stay down?”
If you think the person you admire most in the field you’re trying to be successful in hasn’t been knocked down repeatedly, you’re sadly mistaken. Do a little homework on their background and see for yourself.
The next letter F is for FOCUS. In other words, concentration. Nothing should distract you from reaching your goals. To help you remember this, keep in mind the following Chinese proverb: “a man who tries to catch 2 rabbits AT THE SAME TIME will catch neither.” If you want to catch 2 rabbits, you need to focus on one first and not get distracted by the other. Once you have accomplished this, then you can go after the other.
The last letter, S, stands for SELF CONTROL. Self control means that the MIND is able to control the BODY. Let’s face it, there are going to be times when you’re not going feel like doing what you need to do to help you reach your goals. If your mind is not strong enough to take charge over your flesh, your flesh will have its way. If this be the case, it would be a clear indication as to what type of desire (mouth or heart) you have chosen.
When you become successful or famous at what you set out to do and reporters ask you “what do you attribute your success to,” just tell them, “it’s all about the DIFS people. It’s all about the DIFS.”
Dan Celentano has worked with a variety of at risk kids for close to 30 years. He is author of a book for teens entitled Ten Essential Facts of Life Every Teenager Should Know (see www.teenage-book.com ), and gives advice to teenagers on his web site www.choicesforteens.com . In addition to this, Mr. Celentano speaks to high school students on various issues having to do with teenagers. Currently Dan is preparing for his next project which is working with blind children on his ranch.
Dan Celentano is available for freelance writing and can be contacted at ranch@copper.net.
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