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How do you go about achieving powerful goals?
Before you answer that question, let’s take a step back: Have you achieved any of your goals in the last few months?
Everything you do comes back to intentions and goals. Every plan for becoming successful starts with setting goals, so you need to know how to create and use them optimally.
Where do you keep your goals? Do you write them down in a journal, say them out loud, or store them in the crevices of your mind?
All goals start in your brain, so they should be stored there, but you can’t leave it at this alone. Research studies have proven that physically writing goals down on paper helps you to remember the information more easily.
When you write down your goals, you have a much better idea of where you have put them, such as the date you wrote them in your diary or the place you put them in your journal. It isn’t as easy to find the goals when you capture them in a document on your computer or the notepad on your phone.
Decide on a space where you can write down your goals and find them easily. Consider options like:
Do something that works for you, but ensure that your goals are on paper. Make them personal to you—add colors, use different size words, and flesh them out with other ideas. The more details you add, the easier it will become for your brain to recall the goals as they are written down.
When you write things down on paper and read the words frequently, you are engaging in repetitive actions. Repetition strengthens the neural pathways in your brain, so it becomes easier for you to process information mentally.
The more you think about your goals, the easier it becomes to take action because you believe in your own abilities. Say them out loud, read them, and visualize yourself achieving your goals.
As you sit down to write your goals, you may find that the words don’t come as easily as you hope. You have an excellent idea of what you want to achieve, but you can’t find the vocabulary to express it properly.
How you state your goals plays a big role in achieving them. You need to give sufficient details to provide you with direction, so your words and goals form a big part of your plan for success.
Let’s say your goal is to lose weight in the next year. You write down the following statements:
“I should lose a couple of pounds soon.”
“I am going to lose 10 pounds in the next 12 months.”
Which statement is more believable?
It’s definitely the second one because it is stated as a fact. In contrast, the first one is full of uncertainty with the words “should” and “soon”—even the timeline is vague.
Remove possibilities and uncertainty from your goals by using words that convey facts. Your brain will experience them as the truth and remember them much more easily than when they are tinged with possibility.
A properly worded goal should adhere to SMART principles. This strategy ensures you state your goals in a factual manner, provides clarity, and gives you guidance.
According to SMART principles, all goals should be:
Here are a few examples:
Lose ten pounds in six months by eating only organic foods and going to the gym three times per week.
Save $12,000 in one year by setting aside $1,000 each month from commission on sales.
Increase the number of social media followers by 5,000 in three months through sponsored posts and a competition.
Goals will always remain words on paper if you don’t take the next steps to turn them into reality. You need to add a timeline to them and create a plan that will make it easier for you to achieve your goals in a sensible way.
Your goals can seem massive when you read them. Losing a large amount of weight, saving for an investment, or finding more followers can feel impossible if you are staring at a large number; you need to make them more palatable by creating milestones.
A milestone is a small step toward your goal and one that you can achieve more easily in a shorter amount of time. Look at your goal and think about how long it will take you to get there; then, break it into smaller parts.
For example, you might set weight loss milestones of two pounds, five pounds, eight pounds, etc. in an attempt to lose a larger amount of weight within a specific time frame. Similarly, if you want to save $10,000, then your first milestone might be $1,000, the second would be $2,500, and so on.
Goals should be bound by time because you cannot wait forever for them to come true. Adding a timeline is a great way to take away uncertainty about how much progress is enough.
Using your milestones, think about how long you need to complete each one. Be realistic at this stage and adjust your milestones or goals as you face the facts about your situation.
For instance, you might create milestones in $1,000 increments that build up to your $12,000 savings goal for the year if you reach a milestone each month. However, your budget only allows for a saving of $500 per month, so you either need to adjust your milestones and goal or find the extra money by cutting down on expenses or taking on another shift at work.
Doing everything on your own can be a challenge which makes it important to search for resources that can help you in goal achievement. One way to do this is to learn more about your brain and how it motivates you to succeed.
Join John Assaraf on his social media every day this week, as he shares secrets of the mind and tips on becoming a millionaire. We are looking at goals in today’s session, so it is the perfect time to access this information.
You have written down your goals; created milestones and timelines; and started to work on achieving them daily. At this stage, it should be a habit for you to spend time on these priorities, but you can’t leave it here—you need to take it a step further and measure your successes and losses.
During your goal setting, creation of milestones, and timelines, you already gave yourself tools to measure your progress. It might be to go to the gym three times a week, save $1,000 per month, or create social media adverts twice per month.
Whatever it is, these are all factors you can use in determining whether you are on track to achieving your goals.
Use your timeline as guidance for when you should measure performance. For example, if you have weekly tasks (like going to the gym), then compare what you did that week against what you are supposed to be doing.
Determine whether you are staying on track, have fallen behind, or are ahead of schedule. Adjust your milestones and timeline accordingly so that you can make the progress you need to achieve your goals.
Well done if you are on track to your milestones! Think about rewarding yourself in a productive way when you meet a big milestone. The reward should be something that motivates you to continue with your good work such as buying a new pair of sneakers or signing up for an educational course.
On the flip side, everything might not be going according to plan which can be disappointing. Don’t be too hard on yourself: You don’t want to diminish your self-confidence. All you need to do is find your inner motivation again so that you can get back on track. It might take a bit longer, but you will still get there in the end. You will be able to plan for success!
Are you ready to do more, be more, earn more, and live more?
Great!
We are here to help you along the way!
Find us on social media today for live coaching on setting and achieving goals. Then, register for Saturday’s Brain-A-Thon where we divulge how to hack your brain and discover its hidden potential.
We can’t wait to see you there!
