Hit Your Goals — Just Don’t Lose Yourself

It’s easy to believe that big wins will change us — that once we achieve the goal, land the job, win the championship, or earn the title, something inside will finally feel different.

I learned at the Super Bowl that it doesn’t quite work that way.

It’s Super Bowl week, which always brings back fond memories of my one and only trip to the game. When I first joined an NFL team, I chose not to attend that year’s Super Bowl. After that, I decided I wouldn’t go unless my team was playing.

Finally, in my fifth year, I went to San Diego with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the game against the Oakland Raiders. Winning that game reminded me of something I already knew, even if I hadn’t thought about it much until then.

I realized that while my Super Bowl ring is a neat conversation piece, there’s nothing about it — or our victory — that actually changed me. We were all the same people on that flight back to Tampa that we’d been before kickoff. Winning, while a great way to finish the season and spend a week in Southern California, didn’t alter who I was.

Goals are important. Striving to use our talents to the best of our abilities is part of living the life we were created to live.

But getting into the “right” school, winning the big game, or being promoted to the corner office doesn’t carry any inherent value.

At the end of the day, we are the ones with value — not things or accomplishments. What we do with the opportunities we’re given, the doors that open, and the skills we have to build relationships and impact others — those are the accomplishments that really matter.

That still holds true. Who we are along the way is more important than what we achieve at the end. If I had allowed the ends — my goal — to dictate the means — who I became on the journey — it all would have been meaningless.

So go chase those goals. Fulfill your potential. Work hard and compete with everything you have.

Just don’t confuse achievement with identity. Who you become along the way will always matter more than what you accomplish at the end.