What do you want to accomplish? Here are eight simple steps to setting and achieving your goals.
Find out what your unconscious goal is by studying what you have accomplished so far.
The choices you have made led you to where you are today. Even if you say you are not happy with the way your life is today, you made those choices for a reason.
Figure out whether your conscious goal corresponds with the things you do.
For instance, if your goal is success and you are not actively taking action to be successful (or even sabotaging yourself with self-destructive behavior), whom are you kidding?
Visualize yourself successfully realizing and achieving your goal.
Picture what your life will be like once you reach your goal. Imagine that you have already achieved what you plan to do. The more real you can make your vision of success, the easier it will be to do the things necessary to make it real.
Write a summary to yourself, telling yourself exactly what specific steps are needed to achieve it.
Break your goal down to a series of steps. Although a big goal can seem overwhelming, each small step will be easier to get done.
Take one step that will help you take the next step toward your goal.
Take that first step. It doesn’t have to be a big one, any step forward will do. Taking the first step will make it easier to take the next one.
Include recreation and fun in your goals.
Plan some healthful recreational activity and some things that are just plain fun. Exercise will give you more energy. And taking time to do things that are fun will allow you to come back to your work with more excitement and vitality.
Make sure that your goals are consistent with your character and self-image.
If you have to kick someone else aside or do something that is at odds with your morals and ethics in order to achieve your goal, you won’t be happy reaching it.
Make sure that your goal represents something you want to do, not just what you think you ought to do.
Regardless of what your parents or friends think you ought to do, examine your own heart and mind. Don’t spend your life trying to achieve someone else’s goals.
Goal setting plays a major role to your motivation and success. I totally agree with Diana Scharf Hunt who says “Goals are dreams with deadlines”. Your goal can be as basic as to learn driving or losing body weight. But I”ll prefer to break larger goals into smaller pieces. Let’s suppose you set a goal for yourself that in 5 years you want to own 10 houses. Break that goal down into bite-sized chunks. Focus on owning 2 houses by the end of the first year; 2 more the year after that, and so on.
Yes, goal setting will change your life completely.
Thanks Cathy for writing a post on this very important subject. We can not get too much of this stuff.
It is so easy to drift back into our old life styles without constant reminders.
Duane
I needed this. Thank you Cathy. I am currently dissolving my partnership and going sole proprietor. It is good to hear some positive feedback.
Peggy, also look at my post on The Theme for a New Year. The point to take away from it is that you need to evaluate your actions in terms of whether or not they take you closer to your goals. Good luck in your new venture!
Cathy Stucker recently posted…The Theme for a New Year