Goal setting is one of the most underrated and overused technique when it comes to personal development. Almost every success gurus tell you to set goals. The reason is simply that goal setting works.
On the other hand, reports have shown that the majority who sets goals, fail to achieve them. Why is that so? You are going to discover the answer in this article and you will learn the proven way how to set and achieve goals with ultimate accuracy.
Goal setting is a powerful technique that anyone can leverage to achieve whatever they want to accomplish in life.
Hollywood actor Jim Carrey once said that he wrote a mocked cheque of $10 million dollars for acting service rendered and he carried the cheque with him everywhere. And he achieved that when he was offered $20 million dollars to star in Dumb and Dumber.
Scott Adams, the famous cartoonist who created Dilbert said that he wrote down his goal that he wanted to be a famous cartoonist for 15 times each day, and eventually, he accomplished his goal and became successful through his cartoon syndication.
There are plenty of people set goals in the sports industry and in business. Companies set targets for their salespeople to hit and businesses set goals for their teams to reach.
What about you?
If you have no idea how to set goals and achieve them or you do not know how to start, just follow these 7 simple and proven steps below.
1. Identify What You Want
First thing first, you must identify what you want to accomplish before you can actually achieve it. Most people who are living in mediocrity have no sense of purpose in life and they are directionless.
Stop being one of them. It is time for you to start on an exciting journey to discover your higher purpose in life and to find out what you want to accomplish.
Try to ask your friends what they want to achieve in their life and see how they respond to your question. Most of them will come up with a vague answer.
“I want to be happy”, or “I want to get rich” are the most common vague answers you will get most of the time.
Now, try to ask this question to a 7-year-old kid and see how he or she will answer you. The answer will be crystal clear. They will tell you that they want a swimming pool in the garden this Christmas. Whatever the kids want, they can convey the message to you loud and clear.
When you know what you want to achieve in your life, you can then fly like an arrow, straight to the bull’s eyes.
When you have no idea what you want, it will be impossible to come up with a plan to achieve the result.
So stop being like a lost sheep and wandering around getting nowhere. It is time for you to take charge of your life and reach a higher ground.
2. Accuracy, Measurement, and Deadline
Next, make sure your goals are clear with accuracy, comes with a measurement whereby you can actually measure the results, and do not forget to include a deadline to your goals.
First, you have to be crystal clear with your goals. Imagine if you want to travel the world, where should you start and how should you plan your trip? How many days are you going to spend, what is your budget, which country should you visit and which part of the world do you want to go?
A lot of people spend days into planning their vacation trips; unfortunately, they don’t spend time planning their life, which is the most important thing to do.
So where do you want to go? Be crystal clear with your goals. Don’t just say that your goal is to earn more or to become happier, you will never reach those goals because those are vague goals and you cannot tell when you have achieved them.
Make sure you include the measurement factor into your goals too. If you can measure your goals, there will be a beginning and an end. If you cannot measure your goals, how can you tell if you have accomplished them?
Most people lack this key because they thought that goal setting is as simple as writing down their wishes. No, you need to be as specific and make sure your goals are measurable.
If you want to earn more money, by how much? If you want to lose weight, what is your target weight?
After that, incorporate a deadline to your goals. We all know that deadlines are common, and you must include them in your goals because they work.
Why do you think people will wait until the last minute only to submit their tax? Why do you think the stores and shopping malls are full when the Christmas is around the corner?
The answer is simple, people are motivated by deadlines. When the time is running out, people feel the pressure and they will do it.
3. Programming Goals into Your Subconscious
The third step you must do is to program your goals into your subconscious mind. Setting goal and writing it down is just the beginning; the real process is in programming what you want into your subconscious mind.
In other words, the more you think about your goals, the more likely you are going to achieve them. Look at Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Jack Ma, they think about their goals, their dreams, and their visions most of the time.
Brian Tracy once said, “You will become the person you think about most of the time”. Therefore, if you set goals, but you never spend time nurturing them, you will never achieve them.
You will put them out of your sight due to your busy schedule. And then you will forget about them. And then you will realize that it is too late to achieve them. And finally, you will give up on them.
Hence, what you must do is to consistently program your goals into your subconscious mind each day.
How can you do it? Well, you can use affirmations, visualization, or practice daily goal setting.
Create a vision board to help you better visualize the goals you want to accomplish. Practice affirmations whenever you are free. Visit your goals each day so that you will remind yourself of your targets at every moment.
4. Apply the Rule of Five
You will never accomplish what you want if you did not practice this step – take actions. You know it very well that if you just set goals and do nothing, nothing is going to happen.
Your goals will not come to you automatically. Actions are the bridge that connects you and your goals.
If you want to get the results you desire, take action. And better yet, apply the Rule of Five.
This rule states that all you need to do to achieve your goal is to take five small actions every day and you will eventually accomplish it.
If you take an axe and swing at a big tree each day, eventually, it will have to come down. You have to understand that every big success was achieved by small actionable steps.
The Great Wall of China was built with one brick at a time. You can become extraordinary as long as you are willing to do the work consistently.
So commit now to take five action steps each day to reach your goals. No matter how small your efforts, even if it is just a phone call, do it everyday.
5. Building the Habit
Motivation is often overrated. It is true that we all need motivation and drive to kick start our life once in a while, but we cannot solely depend on motivation alone.
What happens when your motivation is not there? Are you going to stop everything and let your goals slip?
This is why you need to learn to develop and build constructive habits that will get you to your goals.
Most people fail to achieve their goals because they are not consistent enough with taking action. They take massive action in the beginning when they are the most motivated.
However, this will not last long. They will somehow lose motivation and slow down. And when this happens, most people will start to get distracted and then quit on their goals.
Never let this happen to you. Learn to develop habits into taking action so that you will never have to worry about motivation again.
In order to build the habit, you must be consistent with what you do. Try to take action at the same time each day, in the same place and the same way as possible.
Do you remember how do you bath or brush your teeth? You do it every single day until they become your habit and you don’t have to think about how to do them anymore.
The same applies to your other habits. If your goal is to write a book and publish it by the end of the year, develop your writing habit like a successful author. Write at the same time and at the same place every day.
No matter if it rains or snow, commit to doing it for as long as it takes to build up your habit of writing.
When you do it long enough and consistent enough, your action will become your habit.
6. Creating the Commitment
Another crucial key most people lack in achieving their goals is that they do not have the commitment to achieve them.
They say that they are going to achieve their goals, but their action shows otherwise.
You can hear a lot of people tell you that they want to start an online business, they want to study the stock market and invest to become a millionaire, but when they get back home, all they do is watching the TV instead of working on their goals.
People will give you excuses as to why they cannot achieve their goals. They said that they wake up late and so they did not go to the gym. They will tell you that they are too tired or too busy and can’t find time for their goals and so on.
Never let these people influenced you. Goal setting is about being 100% committed.
When you set your goals to achieve the things you want, that is it. It is a done deal. No more negotiation, no more other options, and you commit that you will do it no matter what.
The moment you give yourself excuses or lose the accountability not to go for your goals, it will become your attitude and eventually, becomes your character.
Thus, make it a commitment and always keep it. Make sure you do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.
7. Reviewing Your Results
The final step is to review your result. Most people don’t do this because when they fail to achieve their goals, they feel demotivated and decided to give up.
Not you, you are different from these people. You are serious about reaching your goals and live a successful life. So never let failure to determine your destiny.
Instead, treat failure as feedback. Look at it as signals telling you that something is not working and you need to change your approach.
Do you know that you can achieve any goal you want as long as you follow the right strategy?
If you use a $10,000 strategy, you will achieve exactly that, $10,000. If you follow a $1 million strategy, you will earn a million dollar.
Therefore, if you fail to achieve your goals, it simply means that you are following and using the wrong strategy or approach. Hence, change your strategy.
If you want to earn a million dollar, make sure you follow the right million-dollar strategy and apply it to your work and life.
This is why you need to review your results from time to time. You can never know if what you are doing is working unless you review the results you are getting.
In the journey to achieving your goals, you will definitely face a lot of difficulties, setbacks, and challenges. However, never let them pull you down. Instead, use them as feedback to grow and push you to a higher ground.
These are the how to set and achieve goals with ultimate accuracy. Anyone can achieve the things they want in life. Just follow these seven steps and apply them into your life right now.
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