Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
How to Make Time For Your Goals
Got goals? Also got people or pets who need you, a demanding job, complicated life situations that take up your precious time? What do you do with your goals when they perpetually get pushed to the end of the day when you don't have enough energy left to care if you accomplish them or not?
What happens when day after day the plans you make fall prey to emergencies and urgent distractions? If you aren't having this discouraging experience, then you have figured out some crucial keys to organizing your life. If you are, you are right there with many of the talented and ambitious, yet frustrated, goal seekers that roam the earth.
The following are some effective ways to evaluate what is going on if you are chronically time and energy challenge. First, if something you want to do is not getting done (and is being pushed aside by other activities), ask yourself some questions and journal your answers. This will likely start a flow of writing that will provide the insight you can't get from merely thinking. Writing allows for your heart to answer while thinking is dominated by your head. Both are necessary for authentic and truthful answers to show up.
Are you sure the goals you are setting are what you really want?
- What is the "big why" behind the goal?
- What would it really mean to you if you achieved it?
- Is it a false goal? Meaning, are you going after it because you think you have to, should, or to please others?
- What words do you use when describing your goal to yourself - are they positive or negative?
- What if you took a particular goal out altogether? Would it free you up to do something else that is more meaningful?
- What else could you let go of to create space for this goal to develop?
- Why haven't you made progress to this point? Answer this question without blaming anyone else and see what comes up.
- Have you truly decided that you want the goal and are you willing to do what it takes?
Be careful of what you see as a "sign." Avoidance is not necessarily a sign that you shouldn't be pursuing a particular goal. It may mean that the goal represents playing a bigger game than you've become accustomed to playing. In this case, avoidance is more related to hiding.
Keeping the next version of your hidden feels safer, unconsciously you will be drawn to that option. There is a magnetic pull in that direction that stems from the part of your brain that cares most about safety and survival. Recognizing this will allow you to exercise your conscious will to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Through this vulnerability, you can come out on the other side, a few steps closer to your desired outcome.
That's how breakthroughs happen. Knowing you did it (not perfectly, mind you), is the experiential information the brain needs as fuel to do it again. And again. At a point, it is far less uncomfortable and you have suddenly transformed who you are, which sets you up psychologically and emotionally to achieve the grander targets you set for yourself.
With this awareness, you are in a better position to determine whether avoidance is a form of "flight or fight" response or a positive decision.
Once you are more clear on your aspiration, why you want it and what it means to you, chunk it down into small, here and now pieces. Your goal may be huge and audacious, but in order to tackle "eating an elephant" you must do it "one bite at a time." Whatever you want to do, break down the process into smaller and smaller steps so you can clearly see the tasks and the proper order of what needs to get done. Create a timeline and schedule time for each chunked down piece of the process.
Schedule the time for the pared-down, individual activities in the smartest way possible, as if this time is precious (which it is, to build the confidence you need in your ability to do what you say you want to do).
- Schedule the activity for a reasonable amount of time (an hour to two).
- Find a time when you are at your best (if you are most creative in the early morning, and it is a creative task, schedule it for an hour in the morning).
- Even the chunked down activities do not have to be completed in an allotted time slot, allow for task one, part one, then schedule the "to be continued" portion as soon as possible to not lose momentum.
- Set a timer and get rid of all distractions for that allotted time (it's not that long, you can do it. If it is that long, rethink it once again).
- Just sit down to do the work, for the allotted time, even if very little happens. Do not judge your result. Congratulate yourself for making the time. The habit is as important as the outcome at this point. Continuing the habit will bring about the results you seek.
- Get yourself some accountability and fast. Do not attempt to do this on your own in secret.
This is a great start, but you aren't done. The problem isn't solved immediately even by the recommended introspection and organized action planning.
Try the ideas above, and then observe yourself. What is happening now? Have you made progress? Where is this great plan still getting messed with? What has changed for you and what is still a challenge?
Remember to set your intentions daily for what you want to see happen or who you want to be. Then act "as if" you are that person (even if you don't fully buy it yet).
Change Your Habits to Achieve Your Goals
I am my own worst enemy! BUT I'm not alone, in fact, most of the time everyone is their own worst enemy.
We all stop ourselves from achieving our goals and often from reaching our true potential with negative self-talk. It's the little voice in our heads that says; 'I can't', 'I'm not clever enough / pretty enough/ confident enough', 'I'll fail' and an endless list of faults. You know the voice I mean? We all hear it daily.
Well, effectively we are what we think. By thinking negatively we let a seed grow in our minds that we aren't capable, with time it grows and smothers our growth and success. By concentrating on the negative outcome the outcome is usually negative and a vicious cycle begins. However, if we concentrate on positive outcomes then it's much more likely that's what we will see.
It's time for us all to stop limiting our potential and instead tell that negative voice inside us to shut up.
Here are a few tips to start cultivating your positive thinking in order to help you achieve your goals:
- Decide to be positive: Make a conscious decision to stop thinking and being negative, instead focus on being more positive in your outlook and your decisions.
- Be Your Own Cheerleader: You can do anything you want to do and be anything you want to be as long as you believe you can. Develop a positive state of mind and keep it filled with daily affirmations to encourage it. Write your affirmations somewhere you can see them regularly every day.
- Avoid negative people: You need to surround yourself with positive people, those who support and encourage you, who lift you up. Like attracts like and negativity is contagious. If your day is filled with negative people then it's hard to remain positive.
- Action Cures Fear: Often the fear of doing something can seem crippling but the reality is that more times than not the fear is worse than the result. I'm not talking about parachute jumping here (although why jump out of a perfectly functioning airplane). It could be something as simple as picking up the phone to make a call; nerves and fear of the outcome of the call could prevent you from making it. However, by taking action you usually find that it wasn't as bad as you feared. Repeat often enough and that action becomes second nature.
You've had years of that negative voice inside your head, it's time to reprogram your brain to positivity and ultimately to the success you deserve.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7798131
Create SMART Goals
The acronym S.M.A.R.T. outlines the set of criteria that your goal must follow in order for it to be a well-focused and achievable goal. That set of criteria is:
Specific: Do you know exactly what you want to accomplish with all the details?
Measurable: Are you able to assess your progress?
Attainable: Is your goal within your reach given your current situation?
Relevant: Is your goal relevant to your purpose in life?
Time-Sensitive: What is the deadline for completing your goal?
Create Specific Goals
Jack Canfield in his book, The Success Principles, states that “Vague goals produce vague results.” There is no place in your life for vague goals. Your subconscious mind will fulfill whatever it focuses on and if your goals are ambiguous or incomplete, then you will achieve results that are also ambiguous or incomplete. You want to make your goal as detailed as possible in order to achieve the specific results that you desire. A specific goal is one that is clearly defined in such a way that anyone could come by and understand what you intend to accomplish. Your goal should contain a detailed description of what you want to accomplish; when you want to accomplish it by; and the action(s) you will take to accomplish it.
Bad example: “I want to write a book.”
Good example: “I want to write a book on time management that is at least 200 pages in length and have it done by December 16th. I’ll commit myself to write at least 2 pages every workday until I reach completion.”
Create Measurable Goals
Always set goals that are measurable in some way. You need to establish a measuring stick for assessing the progress towards your goals because if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. A good measurable goal will be one where anyone can come up to you at the deadline and, by viewing the results, determine whether or not you have completed your goal. You also want to be able to see the progressive changes that you make on your goal so that you can judge whether or not you are reaching the completion of your goal. Select a standard unit of measurement that will enable you to see exactly how far you have come from the start of your goal and how far away from the completion of the goal you are.
Bad example: “I want to be rich.”
Good example: “I want to generate $100,000 in passive income within 5 years from this date.”
Create Attainable Goals
Having high goals that stretch you is important, but you need to also need to create goals that are realistic for your situation and skill level. Many people, unfortunately, set their goals and dreams so high that they are just not very realistic and, as a result, they never seem to reach their dreams in life. Creating goals that are not attainable is very disempowering and will only serve to demotivate you in life. Remember to set high goals, but be realistic about your goals. On the same note, goals that are too easily accomplished do not stretch you or make you grow as a person because they are not challenging enough. You will want to find that right mix of goal that is challenging, but not extreme.
Bad example: “I want to become a millionaire in 2 months.”
Good example: “I want to become a millionaire within 10 years by starting my own personal development company and doing seminars all over the world and by creating a line of passive income products.”
Create Relevant Goals
Having goals is great, but what is the underlying purpose of those goals? You want to create goals that are in-line with your personal mission statement or your purpose in life. Relevant goals ensure that you are dedicating your effort towards goals that are focused on who you are as a person. It is similar to a college curriculum that focuses on specific courses for each major. All of us should create a mission statement for ourselves which is basically our purpose in life and all of our goals should spawn from that mission statement. Goals are just a means of achieving that mission in life. A goal can be very evil in nature and still abide by all the other criteria, but relevancy is the ethical check on that goal to make sure that this particular goal fits within your purpose in life.
Bad example: “Within one year, I want to become a warlord and have many loyal soldiers who will commit acts of terrorism on my behalf.”
Good example: “By the end of the year, I want to build a philanthropic foundation that helps feed the homeless.”
Create Time-Sensitive Goals
Every goal that you create must be time-sensitive in nature. Not having a time element attached to your goal breeds procrastination. We would simply be motivated to put the goal off for a later time and never get around to it. Goals must have definite starting points and ending points and milestones along the way.
Bad example: “I am going to do my homework.”
Good example: “I am going to finish my homework by 8pm tonight and I’ll achieve this deadline by spending one hour on each subject.”
By spending some time towards making sure that your goals fit the SMART criteria, you will ensure your success.
Article Source: https://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/TristanLoo5.html
How to Write Your Way to Achieving Your Goals!
Many of the most successful and famous people in the world have one thing in common - they have spent time every day writing down their thoughts and goals! Learn how writing down your goals will increase your ability to be successful.
Recently a book came out in my country about the early life of one of our most famous political leaders.
I found the reviews of this book very interesting, because as a very young teenager, this boy who later became a famous prime minister, used to write constantly in his letters and journals such thoughts as, "I must become a great man". Or he would write "It is very important that I become a great leader of this country."
This man did something that is very common among people who later become successful and achieve their goals: he started writing down his goals, his thoughts, and ideas, on paper from a very young age.
Researchers who have studied what makes people successful have discovered that writing down goals and ideas is very common among those who later become successful.
In general, only about 1% or 2% of the population ever writes their ideas and goals down on a regular basis.
Yet, among those who become famous or successful, writing every day about their goals and ambitions is very common.
So, does this mean that people who later became successful were always so ambitious and conceited that even from a very young age they believed they would be important and they wrote about it constantly?
Or does it mean that writing about what you want to accomplish helps you to achieve your goals?
When I was researching my book on how you can be smarter, I came across the ideas of Dr. Win Wenger who has studied many techniques to improve intelligence and has written several books on the topic.
Dr. Wenger noticed this connection between writing out your goals and later success in life, and he believes that the very act of writing about your goals and thoughts will stimulate more development in your brain and will help you achieve your ambitions.
So, if you have had any goals that you have been putting off because you don't have confidence, or don't know where to start, why not start writing down every day what you want to achieve, and why, and how you will achieve it?
Writing by itself isn't going to be enough to make you successful, you still have to go out and do things to accomplish your goals, but very often, writing about your goals every day can be an important part of giving yourself a boost of mental energy and confidence.
Now you may be wondering, can't I just type out my innermost goals and aspirations on my computer? After all, this is the modern age. Wouldn't a computer work just as well, or maybe even better, in expressing my goals as writing them out by hand on a piece of paper?
Well, the answer is, nobody knows for sure. We don't know yet whether using a computer to type your thoughts will stimulate your brain, in the same way, to achieve your goals as you would get by writing out the words by hand using a pen and paper.
You see, computers are so new in the history of human beings that we haven't yet been able to sort out all the effects of computers on our development.
We don't yet know whether people who type out their ideas on a computer will have the same sort of positive results as people did in the past when they wrote their ideas out on paper. It's just too early to tell.
However, it is quite likely that writing out what you want using a pen and paper will work better than typing out what you want into a computer.
When you write with pen and paper, especially if you try to make your writing neat and legible, and if you try to make your thoughts complete and grammatically correct, you will use more of your body, and more of your brain than when you simply sit at a computer and type out words.
You are probably activating more of your brain when you write words out by hand.
Here is one way you can get started using the act of daily writing to stimulate yourself to accomplish your goals.
First, decide what goals you want to work on. They might be personal goals or professional goals, spiritual or financial or artistic. You decide what you would like to accomplish in your life.
If like most people, you have a lot of goals, and you don't know what to tackle first, write them all down, and then choose from your entire list, ten goals that are practical, achievable, and important to you.
Then, out of your top ten goals, choose one to work on at a time.
And this is important: start to work on the easiest one first!
Why? If you choose a difficult or vague goal, you may get bogged down for many years trying to accomplish it, getting frustrated, while other more easily attainable goals get ignored
.
When you choose an easily attainable goal, you will feel encouraged by your success to move on to something more difficult later.
Make sure that you express your desired goal in simple language, with all the details you require to visualize it clearly.
Every day, for ten minutes in the morning, and ten minutes in the evening, commit yourself to write about your goal. Write about your goal as if it is easy to achieve. Write about how you have all the talent and willpower necessary to achieve this goal. Write about how it will benefit those around you if you achieve it, and how it will benefit you.
Never write as if your goal is difficult, or as if you doubt yourself or as if you doubt your talent or your right to succeed.
You can even write about your goal as if you have already achieved it, and you are happy about how easy it all was.
Every day, take some time to read out loud, with feeling, what you have written.
Feel within yourself the same sense of happiness and relief that you would feel if the goal was successfully accomplished.
Once you have successfully achieved your first goal, go back to your list and pick another goal to write about and to work on.
In this way you can eventually work your way through your entire list!
Article source:
The 9 obstacles that keep you from achieving your Goals
While you may have spent a lot of time working on your goals for the next year, there are plenty of things that are going to get in your way to achieving them.
Before we go any further let’s establish the use of language here. Goals can be substituted with objectives, targets, outcomes, achievements, resolutions, aims, ambitions, and any others you can think of. For the purpose of this report, the writer will use Goal.
How often have you started off the year, or next phase of your development with good intentions, and some goals of what you want to achieve, only to find that somehow you never see to achieve them? What I will cover in this article are the 9 biggest obstacles that will get in your way. I will take each one in turn and explore what is behind it, why it is there, and more importantly the action you can take to put it to one side.
What I will also do is evidence this be using the responses of a survey conducted with Sole Traders, and owners of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), identifying the challenges they face in the coming year.
Although there are arguably hundreds of potential obstacles, 9 appear most commonly.
1. Lack of information
2. Lack of skill
3. Limiting beliefs
4. Well being
5. Other people
6. Own motivation
7. Time
8. Money
9. Fear
2. Lack of skill
3. Limiting beliefs
4. Well being
5. Other people
6. Own motivation
7. Time
8. Money
9. Fear
Why have a Goal?
If you needed more reason do set your own goals, in a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program, only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing, and 84 percent had set no goals at all.
Ten years later, the findings revealed that 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning up to 84 percent compared to those who had not set any. For the three percent who defined their goals and wrote them down, they were earning on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.
They don't know how to set goals. Some set goals that are too general. These are, in reality, fantasies common to everyone. Goals, on the other hand, are clear, written, specific, and measurable.
They fear failure. Failure hurts, but it is often necessary to experience failure in order to achieve the greatest success. Do not unconsciously sabotage yourself by not setting any goals in which you might fail.
They fear rejection. People are often afraid that if they are unsuccessful at achieving a goal, others will be critical of them. This is remedied by keeping your goals to yourself at the outset; let others see your results and achievements once you've accomplished your goals.
What is a Goal?
Other names that are used, explore others' use of language. Why do we have them? Different types of goals – towards/ away from.
Some goals are called away from goals. These are usually framed in the negative. Here are a few examples.
• I don’t want to smoke any more
• I don’t want to be unfit
• I don’t want to be overweight
• I don’t want to be broke
• I don’t want to be unfit
• I don’t want to be overweight
• I don’t want to be broke
Now let’s reframe them in the positive
• I am a non-smoker
• I am fit and healthy
• I am at my ideal weight
• I can cover my bills
• I am a non-smoker
• I am fit and healthy
• I am at my ideal weight
• I can cover my bills
Notice the difference. They are stated in the positive and take on the assumption that you have achieved it already. By assuming “as if” your behavior changes so that you are acting like to have already achieved what you wanted to do. What a great feeling to have even before you have got there. It also bolsters your motivation.
So now we have determined if our goal is towards something, or away from something. We have now stated it in the positive. This, however, is still not a very well detailed goal. We will now look at how we can make it more specific.
An ideal goal should be expressed in the positive, be time-bound, and specific. You may also like to consider, how will you know when you have achieved it, what will it feel like, what will the people around you be like? What will you do to celebrate it?
A goal must be time-bound. When do I want to have achieved it? If that’s when I want to achieve it, then when must I start? What is the first step I need to take? Who should I tell? Should I tell that person to be the first step? What skills or knowledge do I need to acquire along the way?
Goal size, is the goal too big to achieve? If so then breaking it down into smaller bite-sized pieces may be the right approach.
How serious are you about this goal. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being low and 10 being high), how committed are you to this goal? If your answer is less than 7 you are unlikely to follow it up completely. What would you need to do to this goal to move it from a 7 to an 8?
Now that you have really defined your goal you are ready to go. Aren’t you? So what’s stopping you?
I will take each one of the potential obstacles in turn, and elaborate.
Lack of Information
Information can have one of two effects. With too much, you can be overwhelmed and can stop you from making a decision or taking the next steps. With too little information you are not able to put things into perspective or look at the bigger picture. Identifying where you have gaps in your knowledge, and including this as part of your goal will move you closer to achieving it. There are several ways to obtain new information. Research, planned reading, listening to CD’s, DVD’s on a specific topic, or networking with individuals who have the knowledge to share with you.
Lack of Skill
In order to move forwards, you may have to pick up skills along the way. This need not be an enormous challenge. As part of your goal setting, understanding what skills you need to acquire, and how you will acquire them will form steps of your plan. This does not necessarily mean that you need to enroll in a course, although that is a great idea. Other alternatives such as on-line study, planned reading, shadowing a colleague in the workplace, or seeking advice from a friend can also help you obtain the skills you need.
Limiting beliefs
We all have a set of beliefs by which we live our lives. These are set in our subconscious at an early age. Sometimes these beliefs can hold you back and limit your ability to achieve your goals. Some common examples may be familiar to you. Indecision or Procrastination- should I do one thing or another? This often results in you doing nothing. The limiting belief manifests itself as “I am not able to make decisions”.
Unable to make progress or stuck – when a way of working is no longer effective, you continue to use it and often forms a comfort zone, the limiting belief here could be “ I can’t/ won’t change”. Often people will state that “I don’t deserve to be successful”, or “that shouldn’t work for me”. Here we are seeing self sabotage and not valuing themselves and their own ability. These are only a few examples, but listen out for them and notice how many times you hear yourself saying things like this.
Well being
Despite your best efforts, there may be times when you are simply not able to pursue your goals. A sudden illness or injury can put set you back. When this happens you need to be realistic.
Beating yourself up will not help, nor simply giving up. Take a little time to reassess your goal and consider what your options are now. How important is it that this goal is achieved within the original timeframe. Also consider how else your goal can be pursued, and who can help you during these times.
Other People
Quite often the people that are closest to us fear us achieving our goals. For them, this means that you may change and that will also mean change for them. They may not be aware of how important your goals are to you.
If the people you share your time with for example family, friends, colleagues to not understand and support your goals, there is a chance that you may be influenced by this. If these people are averse to change then they may well sabotage your plans.
Own Motivation
Although you may see out with the best intentions, after a while the novelty may wear off or there are other distractions. This may be down to a number of factors. Perhaps the goals that you set were too large and needed to be broken down into smaller manageable chunks.
Perhaps you are not getting the results, and need to consider what you doing that is are preventing you from moving forward. After the continued effort, you may feel that the goal is now actually something that you do not want, or at least the outcome.
In this case, the goal needs to be reassessed. If it requires modification because circumstances have changed, then change it. If it no longer serves you, then don’t waste your energy following up on something just because you started it.
Time
We all live in a world where we don’t seem to have enough time. Many of us are “time poor”, which means that we do not manage our use of time to get the best results. Quite often I hear from the people around me “I just don’t have time to do x”. How true is this statement really? Have we taken on too much, overcommitted ourselves, and are embarrassed to say no? Perhaps, but I have another view.
If we approach our use of time without any structure we may just leap from one thing to another in no particular order. Without priority, we will move from one thing to the next urgent thing.
There is also the aspect of distractions. This can be a distraction from others who do not have the same aspirations as you. There is a distraction of telephone calls and emails. Quite often we busy ourselves with those things that are nice to do, but do not take us any further forward to achieving our goals.
Money is a common reason for not pursuing your goal. Usually, it is the lack of money that stops you. When you hear someone say “I can’t afford it” or “I just don’t have the money”. These statements are usually offered up without much hesitation.
While I agree that it may well be true to some extent, what alternatives have they really explored and how else could the money be found? If you are really serious about achieving this goal, what lengths would you go to in order to find the money (legally)!
Let’s turn this around and look at it from another perspective. What is it costing you do not have that goal in your life right now? For example, being in that bad relationship or enduring bad health. If in achieving this goal it was going to get you that next job or mean that you would get that 10% performance bonus at work, what efforts would you go to?
Fear
What do I mean by fear? There are more straightforward examples. If you need to do something that takes you right outside of your comfort zone for the first time, which may well install fear into you.
Then there is the fear of failure. What will those around you think if you don’t achieve your goal? How will you face them and maintain your integrity? Better to quit now that to see it through right? That way no-one will be able to judge me.
Another type of fear is the fear of success. What if I actually do it, and people find out I am a fraud? Is this goal something that I really want anyway? Self-doubt comes into play and you try to talk your self out of it.