Goal Setting

"Life is what happens to you while you are planning it".

Whenever you see anything worthwhile being done anywhere, it has to be because someone is behind it with a passion, a belief and a goal! Just imagine any country winning a successful bid to host the Olympics without a goal and detailed planning.

Likewise in your personal life and business, goal setting can make the difference between mediocrity or excellence and accomplishment.

I recommend setting goals for most everything you do in life: business goals, financial goals, health goals, personal goals, etc.

Most people just go with the flow and take the life they are dealt. Others make plans and go through life with blinkers on to overcome the obstacles that try to steal their dreams. Which type are you?

Be Specific and Know Your Reasons

Many people set the wrong goals. They are too vague. For example, "I want to make $10,000 a month." That is good but don't we all?

The real question is, "Why?"

Money will not motivate most people for very long. You will likely soon grow tired of chasing 'money'. There needs to be a stronger motivator. Look deeper at why you want to make a lot of money and you will find your true motivation.

Here are some specific reasons you might want to make a lot of money:
- To spend more time with your family.
- A new home, kitchen, furniture or other material item.
- Travel to a specific place.
- Buy someone you love something special.
- A swimming pool, pilates studio or exercise gym for personal use.
- To buy training or follow courses.
- Charity donations.
- To pay for preventative health therapy.
- Maybe it is because you do not want to ever have to work for someone else again.

These things are motivating. Suddenly, we see that it is not the money we are after, but the freedom and opportunities the money can provide. So change the goal from "I want $10,000 a month..." to "I must have $10,000 a month to..."

Write Your Goals Down

Sit down and brainstorm. Write down ALL the things you want out of life. Develop a DESIRE to achieve the goals. The desire must be intense. How do you intensify desire? Sit down and write out all the benefits and advantages of achieving your goals. Once the list goes between 50 and 100 your goal becomes unstoppable.

If you do not write your goals down, they are just wishes and not goals. If they are just wishes, they are subject to being overturned or waylaid by life's events. If they are goals, they are subject to your efforts. Write them down and be specific.

Identify Your Plan

Is there anything you need to achieve your plan eg specific training, knowledge, skills, mentoring, books, money for investment, etc? Are there any obstacles you need to overcome? If so, how? Do you need to enroll someone else into your plan?

Set Deadlines

Set a time deadline for each goal. Achieving one goal may be necessary before going on to another. Apply the salami technique: peel off one slice, achieve that then go on to the next layer.

Make Your Goals Public

Tell your friends. Write a blog entry. Send a letter to yourself and ask someone to post it to you on a specific date by which you expect to have achieved the goal.

Changing Your Goals

Certainly your goals may change over time. That is not a problem, as long as they are not changing because you are giving up on them. Sometimes it is smart to change goals and sometimes the truth is that you are quitting. If you change your goals, make sure it is for the right reason. You might need a contingency plan B or even C.

"The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail."
- Napoleon Hill.

Your goal might be to achieve a top 1000 place in a major marathon. So you only achieve place 1003. You failed or did you? Surely you achieved more than sitting at home on the couch watching the marathon.

“When things don't go exactly as planned, remember there's no such thing as perfect. What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals”.
- Zig Ziglar

Now See the Goal Achieved

Create a clear mental picture of the goal achieved. See, feel, touch, hear, smell the situation. Make a dream board if it is a tangible item. Find out how others have felt when they achieved such a goal.

© Antonia Stuart-James 2007

Antonia Stuart-James is an English Hypnotherapist in Belgium helping people to make positive change.