Last week I had a one-on-one with my team leader and was asked, “Okay, what is your goal for this year?”

My response, per usual in regards to this question: “First of all, I don’t believe in goals, I believe in commitments.”

I don’t believe in goals. I’m not a fan of the term, to be frank. I find them to be for dream chasers not the go-getters. Too often, I find people don’t set goals that are motivational enough or, more importantly, highlight discipline. Discipline keeps you showing up through the hard times and when motivation is nonexistent. When reaching for a goal, there’s too much of a rollercoaster ride. Folks coast when they reach a high instead of using that adrenaline, that acceleration, to propel them even farther; and then they hit a low and this cycle repeats.

Goals offer an illusion. Something you want to strive for, a wish. When you break a goal down, it’s nothing more than a wish.

Commitments, though.

Damn, that lights a fire under your ass.

Commitments are grounded in discipline. A commitment is a promise you make to yourself that you will, come hell or high water, make happen. No excuses. It’s saying to yourself, “This might be hard, I might want to take a break at times, I might even want to give up, but I will do this.”

Sometimes with commitments, we overpromise and that’s okay. The key is we committed, we pushed to make it happen. We dedicated our decisions and time and efforts to pushing forward and keeping our promise, our commitment, to ourselves. It’s changing your mindset from “I want” to “I will.”

Once again, mindset is everything. So, are you team GOALS or are you team COMMITMENT?