Goal Setting For Your Relationship, Career, Health Or Wealth
It’s funny how much easier it feels to start afresh with the start of a new year. Whether you’re looking to improve your relationship with your spouse, achieve weight loss, learn a new skill, change your career, stop smoking or increase your confidence, some perspective will help. Set yourself up for success rather than failure by being realistic and fair on yourself.
Your Goal Should Be A Driving Goal
Set a goal that really drives you. Only with a burning desire will you really have a chance to succeed. If you could easily live without something, you’ll find it difficult to stay motivated when you feel tired, despondent or disappointed.
Success Doesn’t Happen Overnight
Remember that achieving something is a journey; it’s not a single incident. Don’t expect too much too soon and acknowledge any progress you make that gets you closer to your goal, however little that progress may be.
Set Yourself Up For Success, Rather Than Failure
Set realistic goals. Whatever your opinion of him, Anthony Robbins says it well when he says, “Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year, and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade.” It’s great to know that all those “failed” attempts at achieving a particular goal may have been because we overestimated how much we could achieve in a short space of time.
Don’t Sabotage Yourself From The Outset
Always work on just one or two achievable goals rather than two or more unachievable ones. By trying to take on too much, you’ll have less energy for achieving each goal; you’ll be spread too thinly. By trying to achieve anything unachievable, you’ll reinforce any negative thoughts you already have that place you in the light of a “failure”.
Planning And Preparation Are Vital
Plan and prepare as much as you can so that you can just focus on the doing (the action) rather than thinking about the doing (thinking about taking action). This will help eliminate weak moments when you could easily do something other than that which will move you closer to your goals.
The fewer decisions you have to make, the more likely you are to make the right decisions at any given time. For example, if your goal is to overcome confidence issues, being prepared with a list of questions you can ask guests at a party will help you to make the right decisions about: attending the party or not attending; standing amongst others or standing alone in the corner; starting a conversation or creating awkward silent moments before swiftly excusing yourself.
Reward Equals Recognition Equals Recharge
Have milestone rewards. Be sure to acknowledge and reward your achievements on the journey to your ultimate goal. This way you will have smaller, easier goals to focus on which will ultimately help you to arrive at your desired destination. Furthermore, rewards along the way positively reinforce your ongoing efforts creating the association in your mind that even the tough times that take a great deal of resolve are, indeed, worth it.
Be Your Own Coach
Be kind to yourself. When you do “fall off the wagon”, don’t beat yourself up about it and use it as a reason to give up; use it to learn and then jump right back on track. Everyone has off moments; it’s a phase, it’s not static and it doesn’t define you. Your daily actions define you, so don’t let occasional stumbles hamper your spirit.
