Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim shares about setting goals/part 3

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim continues: Try to be aware at the beginning of your path of what might arise to hinder you along the way. This is not asking for trouble, looking for trouble, or expecting trouble. It is, in fact, a way of helping avoid trouble. When you become aware of possible obstacles, you give some thought in advance as to how you will deal with them.

And what happens when you don’t reach your goal the way you stated it or planned it? Keep going. Being half way there is better than where you were before you set the goal. Give yourself credit and praise for the effort you’ve made, and keep going. It doesn’t matter how far behind you think you are in the race. And this leads me to another principle that’s very important in taking charge of your life: avoid excuses.


Are you starting to feel like taking some constructive action? I hope the answer is a loud, resounding “yes!” Action is a necessary part of every goal you set and intend to fulfill.

Excuses are a senseless waste of energy! When a goal is taking longer than expected to fulfill, there is a strong temptation to give up and make excuses for failure. Your excuses prevent you from doing the additional work you need to do for ultimate success. Have you had the experience of saying I know I should or shouldn’t…whatever…but I am doing it because….I hear things from my students like I know I shouldn’t keep spending my money on gambling bets…but, (then the excuse)…or,, I know I should tell my wife I’ve been seeing someone else…but, (then the excuse)…or, I know I should be exercising more…but, (then the excuse)…

In all these instances, you do know the right thing to do, but you make an excuse! You make the excuse because somehow you think this is more beneficial than being honest with yourself or someone else. The next time you find yourself doing this, take one more step. Actually list the pros and cons of continuing lying to yourself alongside the pros and cons of being honest. I think you’ll see on the “honest” side, you open up the possibility to actually solve a problem, even though there might be some conflict; and on the “dishonest” side you set yourself up to continue the problem at the price of avoiding conflict.