Why Traditional Goal Setting Doesn't Work
If you have a $100.000.000 in the bank, drive new Lexus, look like a movie star and have a perfect health save yourself some time and do not read this article. This article is for people, who don't have all these things, but are planning on changing that slight inconvenience.
So how do you change it?
Every January millions and millions of people decide to start better and healthier life. We plan to change so many things and set so many goals. "I will exercise at least three times a week", "I will spend more time with my family", "I will find a better job", "I will stop smoking" the list goes on and on.
Now if you know anything about goal setting, you'll know that the first thing you have to do is to write down your goals on a piece of paper. Then you have to decide step-by-step how you are going to achieve those goals and form a plan of action as detailed as possible. All you have to do just follow the plan.
That's a great theory, which hardly happens in reality. In reality your enthusiasm and concentration lasts a couple of weeks and than everyday routine gets to you. You skip an exercise here, get frustrated and smoke a cigarette there, or start jumping from one goal to another and at the end of the year nothing ever gets done or achieved.
Why this theory alone doesn't work.
1. We often have so many goals it is hard to know where to start and how to proceed
2. We continually jump at different goals and as a result nothing gets done
3. It is hard to remember all the goals
4. Enthusiasm and excitement wears off
5. We don't have enough time
6. We don't have enough will power to follow through
Due to all these reasons you need a very strong motivator. Something that will pull, push or drag you forward. There is only one thing powerful enough to do that and it's a VISION.
You'll still have to write all of your goals down. Then take that piece of paper and envision yourself after achieving all these goals. In order to succeed you have to become a person capable of succeeding, you have to start thinking like that person, act like that person.
Make yourself truly believe that you are looking into your future through the crystal ball. Remember every little detail - expression on your friends faces, proud look in you parents eyes. Feel the warm breeze on your face, smell the salty air of the ocean, imagine your new house on the beach.
You need to create a vision so powerful, so desirable, so compelling that it draws all your energy and motivation to it. It has to become an obsession. You have to feel something that a person finding an oasis in the middle of the desert would feel. Absolute excitement and complete determination. Then any goal becomes possible.
If asked, most of us can come up with at least one specific goal that we have wanted to achieve for a long time. I’m sure you have that goal too. Why do you think you still haven’t accomplished it? The reasons can be very different: from the lack of motivation to negative beliefs have created a wall that you keep hitting. All these reasons usually come down to one: incorrect mental and technical approach to the problem.
In order to achieve any goal you have to adopt the right way of thinking and take a conscious action toward accomplishing your dream.
The best way to achieve your goal is to start thinking and acting like a winner. Close your eyes and visualize yourself after accomplishing everything you wanted. How does it make you feel? Did your life change for the better? What benefits did you get from achieving this goal? If you can’t visualize the final outcome of your goal, you probably won’t achieve it.
Positive thinking is very important aspect of any accomplishment. Positive thoughts create positive beliefs, which in turn lead to amazing results. Try to look inside yourself. What fears and negative beliefs stop you from living the life you deserve?
Pinpoint those negative beliefs and start replacing them with the positive ones. For example, if you are afraid that you don’t have enough will power to follow through, create the following statement, “I am a strong person and I can achieve anything I will set my mind on”.
After you have changed your negative beliefs, you can start acting towards achieving your goal. Write this goal down, making it as detailed as possible. Then decide on the steps you need to take to accomplish your goal faster and with less effort. Break those steps in smaller objectives, so that you would be able to put them on your daily to-do list.
It is crucial to set deadlines for the objectives. This way you will be able not only review and measure your overall progress, but also control the whole process. Remember, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”!
About the Author:
Arina Nikitina is the author of the goal setting tutorial "How to Set and Achieve a Goal". Get 27 proven techniques, 9 worksheets, and step-by-step success plan here:
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