"Life’s a long, long journey" so we are told, and
most of us would not set off on a journey, even a
short one, without some idea of where we wanted to
go.
Yet
many people travel on life’s journey with no sense
of direction at all.
Those
life travelers who do have a clear knowledge of
where they want to go, who can point themselves in
the right direction, and who know when they want to
arrive, travel as the Romans did, in straight lines
and with great efficiency.
Most
of us have careers to think of, futures to secure,
people to provide for, things to do. We need maps.
We need direction. We need an itinerary. In other
words, we need to set ourselves goals.
Goals
are things we consciously want to attain, accomplish
or achieve. Setting goals is a powerful thing to do
because we give our energy a specific focus, and we
enable ourselves to sort out what is important and
what is irrelevant in our lives.
Goals,
however, are not monuments cast in bronze like War
Memorial statues, visited once a year on Memorial
Day. Goals are evolving and changing things that need
to be revisited and revised constantly.
When
you set yourself goals, you put yourself in control.
You
give yourself a sense of purpose and you provide
yourself with a focus. By concentrating your
energies and thoughts on your goals, you are better
able to use time-management strategies and this in
turn enables you to achieve more.
Research has shown that goal-setting enhances
performance in all areas of life.
By
setting goals, you are able to move beyond your
self-doubts, you are able to overcome your fears and
to think ‘successful’ which leads directly to being
successful, and this in turn raises your self-esteem
and confidence.
By
setting goals, you increase your level of
motivation.
By
clarifying your expectations and by challenging
yourself, you become more intrinsically motivated.
Steps
to Achieve Your Goals.
STEP
1.
Develop a DESIRE to achieve the goal. The desire
must be intense. How do you intensify desire? Sit
down and write out all the benefits and advantages
of achieving your goal. Once the list goes between
50 and 100 your goal becomes unstoppable.
STEP
2.
WRITE
your goal down. Once it goes into writing it becomes
substantial and starts etching itself into your
subconscious.
STEP
3.
IDENTIFY 1) the obstacles you will need to overcome,
2) the help you will need to acquire, e.g.
knowledge, people, organizations. In each case write
them out in a clear list and analyze them.
STEP
4.
DEADLINE your goal. Analyze where you are now in
relation to the goal and then measure how long you
will reasonably need to complete the goal. Then set
the latest outside date.
STEP
5.
Take
all the details of steps 3 and 4 and make a PLAN.
List all the activities and prioritize them. Rewrite
the list, optimize it, perfect it.
STEP
6.
Get a
clear MENTAL PICTURE of the goal already
accomplished. Make the mental image crystal clear,
vivid in the mind's eye. Play that picture over and
over in your mind.
STEP
7.
Back
your plan with PERSISTENCE and resolve. Never,
never, never give up even when you hit setbacks.
