For many people our resolutions are well intentioned at the time but seldom get started or we fail to live up to our aspirations and by January 31st we have given up!
A search on the internet will find you a lot of information about setting goals with results such as "10 steps to goal success" or "6 ways to achieve your goals" and having been read both will probably be followed by groans of "there's too much to do"! "I want something easier!"
Well if goal success was easy we would all be doing it and again if it were easy would we value the end result?
Lets start with the first of 3 points that will empower you to achieve your goals, VALUES.
Values are those things in life that we hold most dear and like finger prints they are unique to all of us, we may have values in common but they will vary in importance for everyone.
So ask yourself:
What value do you put on achieving your goal?
What makes it so important to you?
What do you get when you achieve the goal?
How will it feel?
If your goal is not valued strongly by you find one that is because without the value there is no motivation to do anything.
The second point to consider is your BELIEFS about your ability to achieve the goal.
Our beliefs either empower or hamper our goals, they are often represented in TV adverts for further education as a gremlin in essence this is our inner voice which tells us we will succeed or fail depending on what we believe.
As an example if you find yourself thinking "I can't do this" then your belief is limiting your ability to achieve, likewise " I can do this" empowers you.
So ask yourself:
How will I achieve the goal?
What could possibly stop me achieving the goal?
How will I overcome this obstacle?
Should you find yourself in a position whereby you value the goal but don't really believe you can achieve it then your choices are maybe realigning the goal to what you can achieve and working on the limiting belief in order to fully achieve your goal?
The third point is to write down everything about your goal:
What specifically are you going to do?
When are you going to do it?
Who can help you?
What results will you want to see as you progress?
When will you complete the goal?
When will you start?
plus the answers to the questions you asked yourself on values and beliefs.
Writing down this information is vital because it will serve as a reminder of what you want, why it’s important to you and serve to help you monitor progress towards your goals completion.
A colleague once shared with me the following quote;
"WRITING CAUSES THINKING
THINKING CREATES AN IMAGE
IMAGES CONTROL FEELINGS
FEELINGS CAUSE ACTIONS
ACTIONS CREATE RESULTS"
When reading your goal action plan visualise yourself achieving your goal, with that positive image will come an equally positive feelings about the goal which you should look to replicate by actions ultimately achieving your results!
So what are you waiting for! and all the very best for 2008.
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Last Updated: 07/12/2007