Setting goals is one of the most important things that you can do in your life. It is a powerful tool for a successful life.
Goal setting is also an effective motivator, the importance of which has been acknowledged in numerous therapeutic and practical settings for more than 35 years.
The first step to setting goals is to identify what it is that you want to achieve. There are three things that are necessary for goal setting:
To set goals, think about your life and identify the specific areas where you would like to make changes or improvements.
Once you have identified these areas, break them down into smaller pieces and set deadlines for achieving them. The smaller the goal, the easier they are to achieve!
In order to achieve your goals, you need to set them! And that’s not the only thing you need to do. You also need to break those goals into smaller steps and define a timeline for achieving them.
There has been a lot of research done on goal setting, especially in organisational contexts. Initially, the goal of this investigation was to determine how the level of expected achievement (the goal) relates to the actual level of performance in an organisational setting.
There are a lot of other people who want to achieve the same things that you do. Competition is tough, and you’ll have to work hard to keep up with them. Pursuit of your dreams can be difficult, but it’s worth it in the end!
This is why setting freedom goals is so important. The problem is that goal setting has become a bit of a cliché and people have stopped taking it seriously, but that is a serious mistake because they can have a dramatic impact on your life…if done correctly.
Freedom goals are different from other types of goals because they don’t have a specific time frame or deadline.
They also have the potential to change and evolve as we do.
So, in order for freedom goals to be successful, you need to take control of your life and make sure that you’re empowered enough to tackle any obstacles that may come your way.
The most important thing is to have a clear vision of your goal and be able to articulate that vision in a compelling way. The second most important thing is to make sure you are constantly learning, growing, and adapting so that you stay on the path towards your goal.
The most often piece of lifestyle advice we hear is to “never give up on your goals,” regardless of whether you’re reading a self-help book or a motivational poster.
We’ve all heard the phrases “live your dreams,” “follow the rainbow,” “the sky is the limit,” and “don’t give up” a thousand times.
Additionally, this is a lovely platitude. It is undoubtedly true that we should keep pursuing our goals and that we can succeed in anything we set our minds to.
One of the most popular pieces of advice, along with “live your dreams,” is to visualise your goals, although that’s a little oversimplified.
Because evidence suggests that, in some circumstances, visualisation can actually lower your chances of success.
Also, visualisation is frequently too abstract to be of any actual use. The science shows that people who fantasise about doing what they desire frequently fail to actually carry out their plans.
However, this does not imply that visualising is ineffective. It only requires knowing how to use it as a tool and how to prevent letting it rule your life.
Up until now, we’ve talked about creating abstract visions and ideas for yourself. It’s now time to set actual priorities and goals.
And this is another place where a lot of folks may experience problems. The issue is that we often write ill-defined or unattainable goals because we lack the knowledge on how to do so.
This is the distinction between goals and visions, as well as the distinction between goals that can and cannot be achieved.
The key then, is to break your goals down into manageable chunks.
The idea is to choose which of these smaller steps will be most useful in assisting you to achieve your larger goals and dreams.
This means coming up with a plan and that means creating a road map.
Examine your overall vision and mission statement, then consider what little, specific changes you need to make in your life to move a little bit closer to making those things a reality.
What needs to happen and how can you make changes to become the person you’ve always wanted to be?
Rearranging your home office, getting in shape, or looking for a new career are a few examples of relatively small things that could serve as the foundation.
Now, translate these into clear goals that you can pursue every day. Keep in mind that these goals must be limited in scope, either pass or fail, and fully within your control.
If you keep taking small steps every day, you will reach your freedom goals and will be able to live the life you really want.
Yes, it takes self discipline, a strong mindset and a lot of perseverance but I’m sure you’ll agree that the end results are more than worth the effort, so what are you waiting for?
Now, if you want to learn about growing your own self-discipline then download the featured resource below which is a free report all about the power of self-discipline; download it, read it and take action 😊
Nearly everyone knows about the importance of setting goals to achieve anything in their lives, but how many actually do it?
The problem is that we hear it so often that we tend to take it for granted and don’t really realise their effectiveness.
In this particular post we are going to focus on behavior based goals.
The easiest way to demonstrate the incredible effectiveness of behavior-based goals work when used in tandem with outcome-based goals is to give you a short narrative of someone utilizing both.
To that end, let’s say we have a man named Dan who owns his own business and wants to secure three or four new clients each month in order to increase his business revenue.
Up until recently, Dan has relied heavily on word-of-mouth for advertising, and he’s done okay. In order to step it up a notch, he realizes he’ll have to do things he’s not very comfortable doing – things like attending networking events and cold-calling on businesses. Doing things that he’s not used to doing will call into play his self-discipline.
Dan is also aware that he is going to need to do these things repeatedly and consistently in order to secure the new business that will grow his business. For Dan, the fear of keeping his business at the same level, year after year, is more painful than stretching his skills to do the things he needs to do to secure that business growth.
The outcome-based goal is the end-all-be-all goal. It’s the prize possession, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
But the habit-changing behavior-based goals are what will ensure Dan gets to the end of this particular rainbow (and beyond).
He’ll be able to sit down at his phone, and cold call businesses who likely need his services, and set up meetings with decision makers.
By combining the outcome-based goal with a few behavior-based goals, Dan has a much greater chance of actually achieving all of these. In turn, he will have developed his positive habits and skill sets, and that will serve him not only for this particular goal but in many different areas of his life, for many different goals.
Hopefully, this short narrative will have shown you the beauty of combining these two valuable ‘goal-setting and achieving’ techniques. Utilizing them both, your chances of success are much greater than using one of them alone.
Another way to increase the effectiveness of any goal setting strategy is to add rewards along the way.
Rewards will motivate you to keep going when you reach a particularly tough obstacle (and this will happen, guaranteed, and it also helps you to actually enjoy the journey to reaching your goal which so many people miss.
So let’s take a closer look at how you can pair rewards and behavior based goals to dramatically increase your chances of success.
Even when you are focusing on behavior-based goals, you want to start out by creating a goal that is more of a “big picture” – the end-of-the-rainbow scenario. One creative way to do this is to visualize what it is you want or need to come up with a picture that represents to you the outcome.
Practice bringing up this picture in your mind and get all of your senses involved. What types of sensory effects does this picture create for you? The more you can involve your entire brain in the process, the more realistic the big-picture goal will be.
What kinds of skills and habits will you need to form, or build, and of these, which seem inherently more difficult to you, being the unique person that you are?
One of the scientifically proven ways to increase your success in achieving your goals is by giving yourself small rewards along the way. With regard to behavior-based goals, this might mean setting a goal where you practice a new habit for seven days, and if you succeed in that, you give yourself a small reward.
This process is much more realistic than simply setting a goal and expecting to motivate yourself through the time, energy, and work that it will take to achieve that goal. You are much more apt to keep your momentum if you know that, periodically, you’ll reward yourself for a job well done.
Sometimes half the fun of goal-setting is not only visualizing the end goal but thinking of creative ways to give yourself rewards along the way. Some people enjoy monetary rewards, and others might be more motivated by taking some time just for themselves in a favorite quiet place. One person might want a night out on the town, while another might reward themselves with learning a new skill. To each their own but utilizing a reward system while continuing to develop behavior-based goals can work in all areas of one’s life, whether it is business, relationships, health, or personal development!
And having a strong mindset is critical to any attempt to staying disciplined and motivated to achieve your goals, so click on the featured resource below to get a free report on how to develop a strong mindset. Download, it read and take action 🙂
I once heard a famous motivational and sales speaker tell the story of someone who set some goals.
It seems he wrote down all of his great big goals like getting a super high paying job, traveling the world, starting a non-profit foundation and so forth, folded up the paper and put it in a drawer.
Then he forgot all about those goals and went about his life.
Fast forward three years, and he’s moving into his new house. Packing up that drawer, he finds the goal list he wrote out, and realizes he has accomplished every single goal on that list, including buying a mansion.
Yeah. Right.
And then a leprechaun jumped out of the drawer and handed him a magic genie lamp, and he made three wishes and married the fairy princess.
As you might have guessed, I’m not buying that story. Are you?
But there are things you can do to help you achieve your goals and New Year’s resolutions – things I’ll bet NO ONE has told you about.
Things that can give you the life you want, if you embrace them.
Things that… well… might just set your goal getting abilities on fire.
Let’s get started:
Focusing on what you want usually isn’t going to work unless you also consider what kind of pain you want to have.
Everyone wants a rock hard body and a few million dollars in the bank. But are you willing to go through the pain it costs to get those things?
THAT is the question.
An art fan tells a great artist that she should would do ANYTHING to paint like he does.
To which the artist replies, “If that were so, then you would already be painting like me. I’ve painted every single day since I was seven years old. I painted when my friends were outside playing. In high school I painted when my friends were going to dances and playing sports. In college I painted instead of dating. I’ve taken art courses and studied art until I know more than most of my professors. I’ve traveled the world to sit at the feet of great painters and observe their process. I’ve given everything I have to be a great painter. And if you really wanted to be like me, you would have done the same.”
Ouch.
That artist paid a very big price for achieving his goal.
What pain are you willing to go through to achieve your goals?
What you willing to do?
What will you sacrifice?
What regiment, training, practice schedule and so forth will you commit to doing every day until you succeed?
When you decide this in advance, you multiply the odds of achieving your goal by ten-fold.
“I want to be a medical doctor.”
Okay, that’s your goal. But what do you do to achieve that goal? Writing it down and stuffing it into a drawer won’t make it happen.
You need systems in place to get you from where you are to where you want to be.
For a pianist, his goal is to give concerts to millions of people. But his system is to practice each day of his life.
For a coach, her goal is to win the championship. But the system is the practices she puts her players through each day.
For an entrepreneur, the goal is to build a profitable business and sell it. But the system is the sales and marketing process that brings in the customers, as well as the system for delivering the products or services.
Without systems in place to reach your goals, you won’t get there.
First, you choose your goal based on both what you want and what pain you are willing to endure to get that goal.
Then you choose the system you’re going to use to achieve that goal.
You’ve made your goals and now you’ve got a list – the kind of list a kid might send to Santa Clause – so what’s the delay? Why aren’t you achieving your goals?
Imagine you’re growing roses. On one rose bush, there are a hundred rosebuds. But on the other rose bush, you snip off every single bud except for one.
Which rose flower will be the biggest? The one by itself, of course. And that’s because it gets all of the energy and food the plant can provide, instead of having to share it with a hundred other flowers.
Your goals are all competing for your time and energy.
That’s why you’ve got to ruthlessly eliminate your lesser goals, at least until you achieve your biggest goal.
The exception: If a secondary goal directly supports your primary goal, then it can be best to pursue both at once.
For example, you want to build a business. It’s going to be a lot easier to make good decisions and work hard if you get enough exercise and eat right.
Exercise and proper eating support your goal of building a business, so don’t wait until the business is built to get in shape. Start exercising and eating healthy right away, so you have what it takes to build that business and live the good life.
And once you achieve your first big goal, you just might find you’re addicted to the process.
Guaranteed, the second goal will be easier than the first, because now you’ll know what it takes.
The New Year is upon us. 12 months from now, you can either look back and wish you had achieved that big goal, or look back and be thrilled that you did.
The choice is yours.
