It is necessary, first of all, to correctly define the goal, and then clearly move towards achieving it. The fact is that without it, neither spiritual nor any other personal development is possible. When you know what to strive for, you are going in the right direction. Otherwise, you are simply marking time.
Goal setting starts small: in childhood, a child wants something and understands that something needs to be done for it. As a person grows up, aspirations and their achievements simply change. But the essence remains the same: there is a final point that needs to be reached, and a path that is worth taking.
Each person must remember that the statement must be clear and specific. For example, if you want to buy a car, you must know what brand and color it should be. And don’t forget, when defining your aspirations, ask yourself the question: “Why do I want this?” Sometimes, having found the answer to it, a person simply changes his goal.
After your task has passed this check successfully, you need to proceed to the next stage. Try to determine how much money and time you need to spend on For example, if you want to start a business, decide what start-up capital you will need, what will be best suited for this, how many employees you will need, etc.
Remember that any goal setting is not a game of “make an unrealistic wish”: here you need to clearly understand what you want from life, and then begin to overcome existing obstacles.
Another important point is how much effort this will require: finances, time, emotional costs. According to psychologists, you can achieve even the most unrealistic goals: you just need to choose the right path for this. Aspiration is half the success. The remaining half depends only on actions in the right direction.
To make goal setting more structured, it is best to display all your judgments on paper. It is best to make cards later, when you have chosen the most basic ones. There can be about 5 of them: write down the task at the top, below - the steps taken to achieve it. It is best to place them so that they are constantly in your field of vision. The most important thing is that the one on which your main goal is written should be placed in the place where you are most often: a car, a desk, and finally... a restroom.
Setting goals correctly is the key to successfully achieving them. To achieve this, you need to adhere to certain criteria, some of which were described above. You can also add that:
- The wording should only be in the present tense.
- Remember that you should not use the negative particle “not” when describing a task. This diminishes its importance and delays achievement.
- Do not use details: detail can stimulate the implementation of the goal in a completely different way.
Self-made leaders believe that goal setting should be done according to the following criteria:
- A person must be interested in achieving them.
- You can achieve your goal through intermediate, small steps.
- Everything needs to be limited within a time frame.
- The end result must be clearly defined.
Remember that your life depends entirely on you and your aspirations. You cannot rely on chance, because it may never present itself. Take the initiative into your own hands, strive and achieve everything on your own, without relying on chance or the Russian “maybe”. This is the only correct path, and your task is to become one as quickly as possible.
We do not achieve all of our goals - and often the matter is not laziness and weakness, but the inability to correctly formulate tasks and determine priorities. Mann, Ivanov and Ferber published a book by self-improvement consultant Robert Sipe about how to use brain science to increase productivity and focus on the practical implementation of your ideas and desires. “Theories and Practices” publishes a chapter from the book.
Reduce the number of goals
Write down the 5-6 most important goals you want to achieve in the next 90 days. Why exactly so much? The main thing at this stage is to reduce: the duration and number of items on the list. Why? There are five or six goals, because, as we already know, consciousness is not able to effectively cope with excess information. It is easy for him to focus on only a few tasks at a time. Of course, there is a right time and place for what is called dream creation, when you get rid of all the limitations of thinking and time and indulge in bold and crazy thoughts. This exercise is useful for expanding your horizons and the capabilities of your mind, but now we will do something else. Take a calendar and determine your next milestone in about 90 days. Ideally this is the end of the quarter, the end of the month is also suitable. If the end point occurs in 80 or 100 days, that's normal; the main thing is to be close to 90. Why is this important? Because for about that long, a person can be very focused on one important goal without hitting the reset button and still see real progress.
It’s not for nothing that almost all diets or workout programs last approximately 90 days. A great example is the insanely popular at-home fitness program P90X. "P" stands for "power" and "X" stands for "Xtreme." Essentially just a marketing ploy. But behind the number “90” there are serious scientific justifications. The program is not called P10X, because you won’t achieve much success in 10 days, but it’s not P300X either: no one can stick to the program for that long without a break. Why do you think Wall Street places so much importance on companies' quarterly financial reports?
Because it is in this period of time that significant changes can be introduced without losing focus. In any important endeavor, a period much shorter than 90 days is too short to see real progress, and much longer is too long to clearly see the finish line. Study the next 90 days and write down numbers from 1 to 6 on a piece of paper. You will write down 5-6 most important goals that you want to achieve in 90 days. Now look at all areas of your life: work, finances, physical health, mental/emotional well-being, family, community involvement - so that your list is comprehensive.
While you're writing down your most important goals for the next 90 days, let's review what makes a goal effective. In the previous chapter, we looked in detail at the five essential characteristics of your goals, and here I will again list them briefly.
1 . What you write down should be meaningful to you. These goals are yours and no one else's, so be sure to record what you really want to achieve.
2. What you write down must be specific and measurable. We're talking about a 90-day program with a clear end date, so general phrases like “increase income,” “lose weight,” or “save money” are inappropriate. Be clear about what exactly you intend to achieve during this period. How much money can you earn or save? How many kilograms to lose? How many kilometers to run? What will your sales be (define specific numbers)? Your numbers or details themselves are not important to me, but specificity is necessary. By neglecting this step, you will miss out on most of the opportunities this process gives you.
3. Goals must be of a suitable scale: requiring effort, but at the same time achievable from your point of view. Remember: you have about three months to do everything, and then you’ll have to sound the all-clear. So choose goals of a suitable scale. When performing this exercise, you will have to choose between the options “a goal that is bolder so that you have to strain” and “a goal that is more modest so that you are on the safe side.” The choice depends on your experience and previous successes. If you are used to easily achieving the main thing or you are a little bored, then choose a more daring goal. If you are doing this for the first time, then you should choose a more modest goal.
4 . Even if it is obvious, I will emphasize: goals need to be recorded in writing. You will be doing both yourself and me a disservice if you read all this and do nothing. I didn't say "think about what you want to achieve in the next 90 days", I said "write it down." I assure you that the coordinated work of the eyes, hands and brain raises the selection and design of goals to a whole new level. So, get your goals down with pen and paper, not just in your mind.
5 . You'll be reviewing what you write on a regular basis, so be honest with yourself and create goals that you're excited to achieve. Once you've laid the groundwork, we'll develop a whole plan with accountability to ourselves and programming elements, so keep in mind that you'll be interacting with those goals.
Enough descriptions - it's time to work! Take a pen and paper and write down your 5-6 most important goals for the next 90-100 days. Give it as much time as you need, and then get back to reading.
Define your key goal
Now you need to determine which of these goals is key for you. You may ask, “What is a key goal?” And that's great, because you've probably never looked at your goals like this before. Your core goal is the one that, when seriously pursued, supports most of your other goals. As you look at your short list, you'll probably notice that there are connections between many of the goals; you might even realize that some are competitive with each other. But I have found that in almost all cases there is one goal that, if pursued persistently, is most likely to achieve the desired results in all areas. I don't want to overcomplicate this. You may already know which of your goals fits this description.
Often, when a person gets to this stage, one of the goals he has written down will jump out at him and seem to shout, “Hey! Make my dreams come true!” If you have already found this goal, simply mark it on the list and then continue reading. If the key goal is not immediately visible, that's okay too. I myself often had to figure out which of my goals was key and where to direct my main efforts. You want the one that is most likely to help you reach the others.
There are several options. Sometimes achieving a key goal indirectly causes the implementation of others, almost automatically. It happens that a key goal requires the achievement of others as an intermediate stage or an auxiliary tool. And sometimes a core goal can impact your life so much that you gain the strength, confidence, and energy to crush any wall you encounter. Here's an example. Recently I started to figure out what I want to achieve in the remaining 100 days of the year, and I came up with the following:
1 . Personal selling.
2. Personal income.
3. Pay the debt off.
4 . Run 355 km and do 35 strength training sessions.
5 . Meditate at least 50 times.
6. Take 14 days of guilt-free vacation by disconnecting from everything.
These were the most important goals. Please note that they are all specific and measurable. I knew I needed to boil them down to one and get serious about it. Strictly speaking, there is no right answer; none of them were better or worse than the others. Deciding where the major effort would yield the greatest return was entirely up to me. Guess which target I chose? Sales. The number itself wouldn’t tell you anything, but I’ll describe my line of reasoning. By fulfilling the sales plan, I would thereby receive income and ensure repayment of the debt. Achieving my goals would also allow me to find time to take a vacation. What is the connection with training and meditation? I knew that maintaining physical, mental and spiritual health would give me the energy I needed. So all these goals are interconnected.
If the main effort is directed towards a key goal, the subconscious mind actually takes on all these goals and the likelihood of achieving them increases significantly. Do you understand? Your next step is to do this with your goals: determine which one is the key to the others. If you have not yet selected it, then choose slowly. Make sure you are confident in your key goal before moving forward.
Confirm the reason
Now that you have one goal to focus on, it's time to answer the most important question: why? Why is it important for you to achieve it? The answer can be suggested by intuition. Sometimes the stars align in such a way that it dawns on you. You say to yourself: “I don’t need unnecessary reasoning. I have never felt such enthusiasm before, I am eager to fight!” If so, great! Just write down your thoughts as a guide. If insight does not occur, try to stimulate your thinking with these questions:
Why do I want to achieve this?
What will achieving this goal give me?
How will I feel when I make this goal a reality? Self confidence? Delight? Peace? Inspiration? Strength?
How will achieving this goal help me become better or stronger? What do I need to grow in?
What else can I do after getting this result?
There are no wrong answers to the question “why”, and the more you have, the better.
Visualize your goals
To focus and tune your mind, you need to visualize your goals. So far, all your actions have been related to making plans. Most people don't even get to this stage of thinking about their goals, so you're already ahead. But there is still a lot you can do to speed up the process. Your subconscious is billions of times more powerful than your conscious mind. It thinks and works differently in many ways. As we have already said, one important key to the subconscious is to understand that it operates with images. The conscious mind controls coherent, linear thoughts, one after another (which even sound like sentences in your mind), and the subconscious, in fact, just sees pictures and persistently strives for them.
Take advantage of this: give your brain something to look at! Give him images to work with. Sometimes I have clients store images in a notebook or folder. Sometimes - create a dream board and hang it in your workplace so that you can see all the images at once. Many of my clients place pictures of their goals on cards along with affirmations. There are many ways to visualize your goals. Experiment and choose what suits you best.
Create supporting rituals
You won't have to sing hymns or sacrifice a lamb. To create a ritual, you consciously build certain automatic patterns of behavior that become tied to your goals. This is not just a technique I made up. Here are three books that convincingly proved its benefits to me:
The first two books helped me understand the science behind habits, and the third helped me create a step-by-step program that is now bringing great benefits to me and my clients. Do you know that most of your thoughts have become habits? Dr. Deepak Chopra claims that more than 99% of the thoughts we have today are repetitions of yesterday, and 99% of tomorrow will be repetitions of today. Actions are determined by thoughts, and many of them - at work, in relation to health, finances - are carried out out of habit. They are brought to the point of automation. Think about what you do in the morning from the moment you wake up until you go to work: how often is one morning similar to another? You put your feet on the floor, stand up unsteadily, brush your teeth, shower, drink coffee, get dressed, eat breakfast (maybe), drink coffee again, check email, drink coffee again, wake up the kids, make them breakfast, drink coffee again and leave .
Track your morning activities for a few days, and you might be surprised at how similar each day is to the next. So you already have automatic behavior patterns; I advise you to do them consciously for a while, and then replace them with new ones. There are two periods during the day when this will need to be done.
The first is as soon as you wake up in the morning. The first hour - or rather, the first few minutes - is a very good time to program your brain for success. During this time, it moves from sleep to wakefulness, and its waves are configured in such a way that your subconscious mind is extremely receptive to the “thought seeds” that you sow. Have you noticed how the first minutes after waking up can set the tone for the whole day? Have you ever gotten up on the wrong foot? Be mindful and you'll begin to see practical connections between starting your morning effectively and your results throughout the day.
Most people miss this opportunity: in the morning we either get nervous for various reasons, or move in a fog, not fully understanding what is happening. And many successful people purposefully use the beginning of the day to prime their minds and focus on their dreams and goals.
The second period when you need to program yourself is the last few minutes of your day. They are important for many of the same reasons as the first hour of wakefulness: it is a transitional phase for the brain. During the last hour before going to bed, find an opportunity to repeat your goals and some affirmations in the form of images, and then express gratitude for all the good things that happened during the day.
It seems that we feel the difference between a dream and a goal... But how can we concretize our vague dreams and desires so that they become an achievable goal? How to remove fears? How do you know what the first step is to take?
Nowadays there are quite a lot of methods and trainings to achieve the goal. But anyone who has started to realize their dream knows that it is not at all easy. Let's turn to psychologists for a hint: what techniques do they use to successfully achieve their goals?
I use the well-known common formula: “A goal is a dream inserted into a time frame.” The main thing is to allow yourself to dream about what seems daring and unattainable. Break it down into time intervals and stages. And - perform each stage.
Visualization is very important. This is the most basic thing. If you imagine clearly, what exactly you achieve, then the vector of movement towards the goal will already be set.
Moreover, I am not a supporter of focusing on detailed elaboration of target visualization. It seems to me that it is more important to have a vivid, deep emotional “imprint” of your goal. And then it is necessary to break its achievement into stages, otherwise the final goal may be perceived as unattainable.
And be sure to set a time frame for achieving it. Otherwise, not limited by any time, you will achieve it and achieve it for the rest of your life. And this means - not to achieve. Or achieve what you want when it is no longer relevant.
Another point - you need to be realistic and understand that in any situation and position there are both pros and cons. This is the law of life. You need to think in advance what disadvantages may await you after you achieve what you want, so as not to be disappointed after achieving your goal.
Setting goals is an essential condition of human life. Often a person who does not have a goal loses the meaning of life. You can say this: how many people, so many goals.
But in society you can meet people who have no purpose, no meaning in their lives. Therefore, such people seek the meaning of their existence in destructive forms of behavior - drug use, alcohol, gambling.
When we talk about goal setting, in my opinion, it is advisable to consider it through the structure of the activity. The works of the famous Russian scientist A.N. Leontiev describe the theory of activity, which I will present below. So, how to set a goal and achieve it? Before answering this question, let's look at the structure of the activity.
In the structure of activity, the following characteristics are distinguished: motive, goal, subject, structure and means. Motive- this is what motivates us. For example, to increase your status, that is, your position in society.
Target- this is the ideal result we strive for. The goal may, for example, be a person’s desire to increase the productivity of the organization due to his status.
Actions. This is a completely independent conscious goal of a person. If we are talking about increasing one’s status, then the actions may include: organizing and planning the working day and free time, overcoming fear in communication, performing functional duties, etc.
Operation in the structure of activity there is a method of carrying out an action. For example, this could be learning foreign languages, which will improve a person’s status.
By means activities are those tools that a person uses when performing certain actions and operations. The means of activity may include obtaining an elite higher education, advanced training courses, and recommendations from colleagues.
Returning to the round table question “How to set goals and achieve them,” we can give the following recommendations:
- Decide what you want and who you want to be.
Know and don’t be afraid to set goals for yourself. - Identify resources, opportunities, conditions, means,
that you have to achieve your goal. - Think about what you need to do to achieve what you want.
What actions do you need to take? - When faced with difficulties, analyze them.
Think about what needs to be done and changed to achieve the Goal.
But don't give up under any circumstances. - Take action.
I would say that there are strategic goals, and there are short-term goals.
Strategic goal- this is, rather, not a specific result, but the direction in which I am moving. For example (relatively speaking), we come to the station and choose a train to any city, but at the same time we may not go all the way - we can get off at any station of our choice, change direction.
Strategic goals largely depend on our spiritual values and our professional choices. Such goals are more related to the meaning of life. Let's say at a certain stage I decide to devote myself to my family and move in this direction. Then the desire to develop in the profession comes, and I devote more time to my business.
Goals for the near future- these are more specific steps related to planning my life for a day, a month, a year. I set these goals for myself, taking into account my interests, and the interests of the people around me, and my material capabilities, and the meta-opportunities of my location and other places.
And, of course, when setting specific goals for myself, I think not only about the possibilities, but also about the limitations. If I see that my financial situation does not allow me to attend any expensive seminar now, most likely I will postpone this venture and find another source of knowledge. That is, I try to set realistic goals for myself.
Flexibility in goal setting is the key to health, moreover. By setting ourselves difficult to achieve goals in advance, we doom ourselves to exhaustion of the nervous system. Hence our dead ends, disappointments in ourselves and people, deep experiences.
On the other hand, if we always set goals based solely on convenience and comfort, using only those methods that we master perfectly, then such an approach will not develop us much personally. Therefore, when choosing goals, I also allow reasonable risks. Mostly it concerns my interests, my dreams.
The practice of psychoanalysis shows that the main thing is not to set a goal, but to understand whether it is really yours, whether you really want this and not something else.
And if you want, what prevents you from achieving this goal.
After all, we are often guided by completely different motives, and whatever the rational plans and methods of achieving goals, they may be ineffective until a person understands what is really stopping him and how to deal with it in each specific case.
I once borrowed the formula for moving towards achieving goals that are born from my dreams and interests, and are realized thanks to my certain activity, from my excellent teacher, psychologist Irina Vitalievna Streltsova. I still use this formula to this day.
Formula: D=f(p*v), Where
D - human activity, some action, movement;
f is a certain function, that is, what exactly needs to be done;
P is the value of the goal that a person sets for himself;
V is the probability of its (goal) implementation.
As you know, water does not flow under a lying stone. The above formula shows what the very activity that will help achieve the desired (goal) is born from. If we take into account all the parameters of this formula, then many “pipe” dreams will first turn into goals and then come true.
A phrase from the film "The Magicians", where a young man in love saves his bride and receives instructions from friends who teach him how to walk through walls, perfectly illustrates this formula, and it goes like this:
See the goal, believe in yourself and not notice obstacles.
In my article, I dwell in detail on the importance of having the mindset to achieve your plan (goal).
How to set goals correctly is a very good question. The key word in it is “correct”. Usually, when they talk about this, they mean goal setting technologies, that is, SMART, visualization, etc. But this is far from the main thing.
The most important thing is to set a goal that is important for the soul, our true Self, and not for the false Ego. Because the goals that we set from the false Ego, when achieved, turn out to be soap bubbles that do not bring happiness.
How to distinguish the goal from the true “I”, and not from the false Ego?
The goal is set not because something is missing for happiness, but because it expands happiness even more. When thinking about a goal and achieving it, the soul rejoices, even if the false Ego experiences fears associated with achieving this goal.
Goals from the false Ego always proceed from the fact that now happiness is not enough, and if something new appears in life (the result of the goal), then there will be more happiness. It won't, it's a trap :))
Further. There is a good way to test a goal - write “I want...”, then cross out “I want” and write “I’m afraid” on top and read what happened. Surprisingly, reality manifests itself - fears that may not be realized, but block the achievement of the goal. And working with these fears allows you to remove the blocks that prevent you from realizing your goal.
If the goal is correct and the fears have been worked out, then everything is simple - be sure to have these goals written down, plans for achieving them (also written down) and pay attention to these plans every day. And also close all the “emergency doors” so that there is no temptation to leave through them.
And also - from experience - you should not talk about your goals to people who may envy you. Their negative energy can really hinder your success.
4 most important parameters:
1. Checking the goal for the “mine is not mine” criterion.
If the task at hand is really necessary for me, interesting and important, it will be easy and joyful for me to invest in its achievement. Motivation will be internal. I won't need any "kicks" from outside. If I set a goal from the words “must” or “must”, its implementation will be complicated. You need to change the goal or look for bonuses in the existing one.
2. The goal should not be scary.
Let it be exciting, but not scary. Don't set the bar too high. When we know in advance that we most likely will not get what we want, there will be no motivation to achieve it. This applies to execution time, essence, and force majeure.
3. Praise and reward yourself not only for achieving the final goal. It is necessary to notice all the small steps that bring us closer to what we want.
4. Give yourself the right to make mistakes.
Error is one more step. Perhaps it was made a little in the wrong direction as planned. If I accept only an ideal result, it will be difficult and scary for me to approach new and complex tasks.
Time management teaches how to set goals and achieve them. Thanks to the quality of solving the assigned tasks, we achieve or fail to achieve our goals.
So, divide a sheet of paper into four parts and distribute tasks by degree of “importance” and “urgency”. You will end up with a list of four items:
1) tasks are important and urgent;
2) tasks are important, but NOT urgent;
3) tasks are NOT important, but urgent;
4) tasks are NOT important and NOT urgent.
You need to start things by solving important and urgent tasks, without deviating from the goal. And if there is time left, do things that are not important and not urgent.
LAZINESS and PROCRASTINATION can overcome the mindset of rational behavior. Therefore, to achieve a goal you need WILL, PERSISTENCE and MOTIVATION.
In order not to burn out along the way to the goal, you need to maintain your resources and motivation to achieve the goal:
- thank yourself
- praise for what has been done
- “reward” yourself, for example, by going to the movies with friends.
You can write down in detail what will happen when the goal is achieved, and re-read this list every day. You will definitely want to finish important things as soon as possible in order to realize what you have planned!
I wish us all purposeful activity!
From "Alice in Wonderland" by L. Carroll:
Alice asks the Rabbit: “Where are you running?”
Rabbit: "I don't know."
Alice: “If you don’t have a goal, you will definitely come SOMEWHERE.”
And we need “Where?” and when"? And how important is our goal to us?
It’s just wonderful if you have formulated your goal for work, and every word and wording as a whole resonates and motivates. Now I offer you a tool that will help you deepen your understanding of the goal and the steps to concretely bring it to life. To do this you will need a form ( see photo below), a pen and, of course, time.
First, try to find the maximum number of answers to the question: “Why do you need this?”
You need to think purposefully and write down each question from bottom to top. When you feel like you've exhausted all your options, rest and move on to the downward vector section.
Example. The goal is: “I want to be brief.” Why do you need this? To:
- respect yourself more;
- be an example to your children;
- effectively manage your team;
- stand out from the mainstream;
- to be heard;
- be a successful negotiator.
By the way, there is another option for working with this purpose.
This is a chain of questions and answers arising from the previous version. Why do you need this? To:
- respect yourself more.
Why do you need to respect yourself more? To: - achieve results faster.
Why do you need to achieve results faster? To: - progress successfully up the career ladder.
Now is the time to think and answer the question: “Why don’t I have this?”
Write from top to bottom all the possible reasons why you still don’t have what you want:
- there was no opportunity to develop this skill;
- there were no good examples;
- there were not enough public appearances;
- there was no dedicated time for awareness and training.
There may be a different number of answers, the most important thing is to be honest with yourself and collect them to the maximum.
Now look at the work done with fresh eyes and read what you wrote again.
Only after this are you ready to understand the deep meaning of this instrument.
- Vector up or answers to the question “Why do I need this?” show what can become your real motivation. Now that you know exactly why, are you ready to continue working, making efforts, sweating for these ultimate goals? If yes, then your answers are truly sincere and your motivation is high.
- Vector down or answers to the question “Why don’t I have this?” - this is a real action plan. If you know exactly what you haven’t done so far, it’s time to get to work. Now you know exactly what to do!
How to set goals correctly and achieve them is an interesting topic; for me it all starts with the desire to develop and help those who are looking as much as possible. And then everything goes by itself.
I noticed this interesting pattern: the more I help those in need, the simpler and easier it is to solve my questions and problems. And through this the achievement of set goals occurs.
Correct goal setting depends on what a person is guided by, whether the goal really coincides with his true desires - or whether this goal is based solely on fears, stereotypes and the desire to prove something to someone.
Setting a goal and achieving it is not the most difficult thing. As you know, thoughts are material, and for a long time there have been quite effective techniques that work well and quickly in the area of achieving goals and realizing what you want.
Indeed, in this area, the more important questions are not how to achieve or set a goal,
- and how ready a person is for this goal,
- whether he matches it or not,
- how harmoniously and environmentally it coincides with the surrounding world,
- and whether a person is finally ready to take responsibility for his actions.
How often do people at the beginning of their journey ask themselves the question - do I really need this?
What's next - now you've achieved it?..
And the question is certainly appropriate: are you moving TO or FROM?
Setting a goal, checking for environmental friendliness and truthfulness, working through to the smallest details (after all, as you know, there are no small things, and if you don’t think it through, it will somehow happen anyway), the question is whether you will like it, just a little effort , well, an important component is time.
In order for the road to be passed, you MUST walk along it. Step by step, even through “I don’t want to”, even when there is no strength at all.
Go and at the same time think about what and how to change in order to optimize this process if possible. Somewhere on foot, somewhere on a cart. And somewhere you can already drive a high-speed sports car.
Go, even when you're scared.
Go when you're lazy.
Walk when there are no fellow travelers nearby.
Rest on time. But don’t turn your vacation into an eternal stop.
Notice when you have lost your way and turned into the roadside reeds. Get out of the thickets back onto the road.
If you have chosen a path that no one has chosen yet, acquire tools that will help you cut this path. In some places you will just have to trample the grass with your feet, but in others you need a mining drill to make a tunnel in the rock.
So go ahead. Until you reach your goal.
And when you get there, don’t forget to rejoice :)
And don’t lose optimism along the way, enjoy the process. Otherwise, why was this whole campaign necessary? :)
Good luck to you and interesting roads on the way to a worthy goal!
A goal is a mental representation of a fulfilled desire.
Therefore, the most important thing at the initial stage is the ability to clearly identify the desired goal, formulate it, the ability to separate the main from the secondary, the ability to visualize the goal. (It will be a good idea if you write down what you are aiming for.)
Many people are afraid of goals that are too global and require enormous and lengthy efforts to achieve. The need to take many actions often forces a person to give up on a goal because he does not believe in his own capabilities.
And the point here is not only that a person underestimates his strength. It’s just difficult for our psyche to imagine all the difficult stages on the way to achieving a goal at the same time. Therefore, in order to facilitate the visualization of the goal, as well as its implementation, it is necessary to break down the entire voluminous process of completing the task into stages.
Limit each stage to a certain period. Follow your goal gradually, take breaks to rest, and proceed to the next stage only after completing the previous one. Stay firm in your decisions, don’t give up what you started midway.
Remember that on the path to realizing what you want, you should not wait for outside help, you need to rely only on yourself, since there is no guarantee that the other person will not let you down. Confidence will give you strength, use self-hypnosis formulas: “I can”, “I want”, “I will achieve”. Don’t even come close to such thoughts, for example: “I don’t have enough strength”, “the game isn’t worth the candle.”
“But the grapes are green,” said the fox from Krylov’s fable, because she could not get them.
This is how many people refuse to achieve goals for which they lack the strength, knowledge, skills, time, and motivation.
My job as a (non-medical) psychotherapist is to help my clients choose their goals correctly, find ways to achieve them and know what to do if obstacles arise.
There are many different ways to set a goal correctly.
If you were taught as a child to finish things you started, then there is hope for results in life. Everything is simple here: from the ages of 3 to 6 years, your parents should help you do what you do best and complete the actions. Another technique that you need to learn from your parents is not to leave things for later.
So, if you are lucky with your parents, then you will immediately succeed in life, and by the age of 30 you will become a good specialist in your field.
And one more good thing that we can learn from smart parents and in a good school is working on mistakes. Then progress will be faster, and you won’t have to constantly step on the same rake.
What to do if you are unlucky with smart parents? From the age of 18, you can learn anything yourself (perhaps except ballet) and develop the resources that you will need in life.
As for parents, at a certain stage of my life I realized that most parents do not take care of their own children. It’s good that children don’t remember much from childhood.
As for me, I had to do different things in life, and everything always worked out. Since I don’t put off until later what I can do now, I always end up getting more than I planned. For me as a doctor, psychologist, psychotherapist, teacher and coach, it is important that all my clients develop. Therefore, the vector of the future must always be present in any activity.
There should be many goals, but, in any case, not just one. Often the result of one goal is suicide.
Goals need to be structured into tasks and implemented.
Today I read the thought of one of my clients in her old letter that even if you realized late what you need to do, you must definitely do it. The result will be in any case.
Previously, in any job I worked as if I were working for myself. I got tired of it, started working for myself, and the results became much better. In any of my programs, I pay attention to understanding what you want and what needs to be done for it. Over the past 20 years, he has conducted special trainings on this topic: Training for personal and creative development, Training for building a professional career.
And the last thing today: the main thing is not to be afraid of anything - everything will work out. And if not immediately, then a little later.
Colleagues noted important points in achieving the goal:
Competent formulation of the goal, using the SMART rule, formulation in a positive way without the particle “not”;
Using tools to help determine the truth and value of the goal;
Dividing goals into short-term, medium-term and long-term;
Using a reward system when achieving a goal.
I would like to add a couple more points in working towards achieving the goal:
- Set goals for each area of our life, identifying a leading goal, the achievement of which will favorably influence the achievement of others. Very often, in practice, a different picture is observed - a person sets one goal, which concerns only one area, for example, work, actively and successfully moves towards it, but other areas suffer along the way (family, friends, recreation). Therefore, it is important to set goals for each area of your life.
- Periodically return to your goals. Formulating a goal once is not enough; it is important to return to it - sometimes write it down, sometimes pronounce it, sometimes visualize it. And what you can do every day is to ask yourself the question every day: “What did I do today to achieve my goal?”
In achieving your goals, enjoy not only the result,
but also from the process, not forgetting to just LIVE!
There is always a goal in every person's life. Even if it is not realized :))
A goal is a guideline that helps us fulfill our desires.
Therefore, the most important thing is to feel your desires, because the fulfillment of desires is the main task of the goal. When, when setting a goal, a person is guided by the desires of others, he does not have the energy/strength to achieve this goal, and even having made extreme efforts and finally reaching the finish line, such a winner will not experience joy: (((Or maybe, even on the contrary, he will feel pain from disappointment that I wasted my energy on unnecessary things.
Laziness often protects us from such false goals. So don’t rush to blame yourself or your neighbor for the fact that “laziness was born before you/me,” clarify what’s going on with your desires. Does the goal have a sufficient reason to achieve it...
Striving for a goal in life in itself is meaningless. It is important what the goal leads to, what values are brought to life. There are goals - dreams that everybody wants, and there is little benefit from achieving them. And even more so, there is no point in putting them on – they don’t motivate.
Look at this list of goals on the MYTH blog:
Such goals give rise to flawed motivation. You can’t set goals like that. You can get crazy when you reach them, or it’s not at all clear why someone needs them in the present tense.
The list of goals is typical, which is offered to blog readers. The authors, trying to give readers examples of long-term goals, give a set of loops. To strive for such goals without having anything behind them is an inquisition of the remnants of a healthy psyche.
Vital Goals
The goals that we set for ourselves should develop us, bring us experience, increased awareness and personal responsibility. And don’t send him to a mental hospital, intensive care unit or a cemetery.
Vital goals are those the pursuit of which will develop us. Expand our capabilities, increase our sense of happiness, improve our psyche and relationships with others.
The world needs a hundred space explorers. If someone truly aspires to be an astronaut, go ahead! Better is a happy, wise, responsible person, and at the same time also our messenger from the Earth. What an astronaut is - unhappy, scared, training and tormenting himself, only because he is not ready to love himself and understand his desires.
I am not against struggle and “achievement”, but struggle especially with oneself should not be meaningless. There's no need for a dummy in a spacesuit taking a selfie with the Earth in the background.
The main vital goal of a person is to be healthy physically and psychologically.. There are not so many people who are self-confident, with positive self-esteem, who know their worth and are able to realize their desires. They are able to set a goal in life, to take on the solution of a vital problem for all humanity. They have the courage and strength to solve it and live happily.
Human development goals
To realize the goal of life, a person needs only average abilities, but not enough average courage. Strength of mind is needed less than courage to resist the circumstances and prejudices of others.
A person is ineffective at achieving a goal that does not lead him to something greater than the goal itself. Therefore, it is so important to practice understanding your desires, needs, values, know your strengths and be able to work for pleasure.
Set short-term goals for self-exploration, searching for your untapped talents. Learn to overcome preconceptions about yourself and what you already “know.” Develop self-confidence, form an opinion based on personal experience. Develop courage and ability to work. You will need all this when you are ready to solve an important problem or implement a complex project.
Example: list of 50 goals
Coming up with goals can be difficult if there is little practice and awareness. Therefore, it is useful to look through examples of general development goals and adapt the ones you like.
We offer examples that lead to personal development, to the acquisition of experience, and to the expansion of ideas about oneself and the universe. It is advisable to have something else behind these goals, but they will already develop you if you decide to achieve them. I collected goals that are more environmentally friendly for our little head.
Health, sports
- Swim 500 meters. Dive to 8 meters.
- Eliminate 2-3 unhealthy foods from your diet.
- Run 10 km.
- For a whole week, eat only home-cooked food.
- Build consistently strong self-esteem. Love and respect yourself.
- Strengthen your position in life: I am ok, others are ok.
- Learn to play table tennis and tennis.
- Rocking chair. Work out for 2–3 months. Get a rank.
Goals in work, in career. Financial goals
- Understand the element of your calling: man - man, man - machine, man - symbols.
- Increase your income by 2 times.
- Live a week without urgent matters (outside of vacation).
- Passive income. 100$+ / month
- Work for a company. The company's goals help you realize your dreams.
- Financial control. Record expenses and income for six months.
- Gain experience in hiring and firing employees.
Surroundings, friends
- Public performance. Perform in front of an audience of 30+ people.
- Get the hang of getting to know each other.
- Be able to listen to your interlocutor.
- Organize a board game evening.
Personal relationships, family
- Attend a group therapy training session with an experienced psychologist. Make your own opinion.
- Loving is life-affirming. Cure neuroticism.
- Marry or get married for love.
- Take on the role of father or mother. To raise, not raise, a child.
- Arrange a “spontaneous” trip.
Rest, brightness of life
- Visit another continent.
- Swim in two oceans.
- Live 2+ months in an unfamiliar country.
- Be spontaneous. They are not afraid to look stupid.
- King of the hill - climb the pyramid.
Personal development goals, intelligence
- Read 12+ popular science works in a year.
- Get a driver's license. Drive along the serpentine road.
- Learn English. Speaking level is above average.
- Learn a second foreign language at a basic level.
- Live according to your goal plan for the year achieving 70%+.
- Write 10 articles.
- Dine at the top restaurant in the city and leave no tip.
Creation
- Learn to draw. Paint 5 pictures.
- Choose a hobby and think about how to earn income from it in the future.
- Know how to dance. Do a choreographed dance for 1+ minutes.
- Sing a song at karaoke or in the studio.
- Learn to play a musical instrument. Play a melody on the flute, keys, guitar, drums.
- Handmade creativity. Crafts made from paper, fabric, clay, plasticine, leather.
Spirituality
- Develop the ability to overcome conviction. Learn something new that I was so sure of.
- The ability to overcome an old habit. Retrain yourself in something.
- Formulate your purpose.
- Practice meditation. Take a course or seminar.
- Bring the life balance wheel to 7–10 points.
- Read the New Testament. Form an opinion.
- Learn to overcome fears. Overcome 5 fears.
- Get an unconventional experience. Astrology, out-of-body experiences, constellations.
A man's life goals
Business is the main goal to which a man devotes his time. Idle, he is incompetent.
Ideally, this is some kind of enterprise with a humanistic idea, aimed at helping and developing other people.
It is vital for masculine nature to explore the world, seize territories (markets), compete with others, promote new goods and services. By realizing his undertaking, a man realizes himself in this world. Business is the second face of a real man.
One of the most important goals in a man’s life is his BUSINESS.
List of examples of goals for a man and a guy for 5–10 years:
- Explore business management methods from your own experience.
- Set 50 intermediate or medium-term goals and achieve them.
- Develop the company to a turnover of $1 million
- Create a service that makes life easier for other men.
- Become an expert in your specialty.
The most important goals of a woman
A woman is not obliged to earn money for her family. This is a man's concern. A woman can also do business. The main thing is that this does not become her main job. She can do her own thing for the soul, but remain true to her feminine nature.
A woman’s vital goals are in the following areas: relationships, beauty, home comfort, giving love to the world, spiritual practices. Family and caring for children are the most important thing for a woman. This makes her happier.
Examples of girls’ long-term life goals:
- Become a spiritual midwife. Popularize “Natural Childbirth”.
- Open a psychological assistance center.
- Help other women, build harmonious relationships.
- Inspire a man to achieve feats in his business.
- Become a teacher by vocation.
- Be an example for girls - what an older woman can be.
- Explore alternative perspectives on the question “What does it mean to be a woman.”
List of women's goals for the year:
- Lotus birth of a child.
- Creative development: dancing, music, painting.
- Create a blog. Debunking myths about child development.
- Go on a trip and write an adventure novel.
- Learn interior design.
- Learn to sew. Create a design for your collection.
- Become happy. Clear your emotional blocks.
How to write your 50 goals in life - answer
Keep lists of example goals and ideas. Introduce all sorts of different dreams and goals. Break down your goals into categories: short-term (up to 1 month), medium-term (1 year) and long-term (2-5 years). When you have accumulated 50 or more goals, re-sort them and add important ones to your list of goals for the year. I keep lists on Evernote and in a notepad.
To determine your goals, we recommend the exercise “50 goals and 50 desires”. First you need to determine the range of your desires and begin to realize them. Then, where you most want to continue working - look for a more global goal. The ideal is to look for a problem, a need of humanity, and satisfy it.
Formulate not just selfish goals in life, but also those aimed at benefiting people. The goal of “Becoming a famous chef” will not bring as much satisfaction as organizing a children's center. The very wording “Become famous” speaks of an unhealthy psyche, of dislike in childhood. If you suddenly want fame, first satisfy your need for love. So save the world after you save yourself. First, cultivate strong egoism, and altruism will appear on its own, there is no need to force it.
The ideal goal of a person’s life is when you give yourself to the universe and get high from it. All you need is the freedom to do what you like. You don't have to get approval, recognition and fame. You don't need to know five languages to earn respect and admiration. You feel good both alone and in a team, doing what you think is right.
Choose your vital goals and go on your way to yourself.
Today we will talk about how to set a goal and what they should be the right goals any person. In order to do anything, you should start by setting goals. Therefore, what exactly you will strive for and what you will achieve as a result depends on how correctly and competently the goal is formulated. Thus, this issue must be approached very thoughtfully and responsibly.
Rules for setting goals and objectives.
1.Good goals must be specific. When thinking about how to set a goal, try to formulate it as specifically as possible, so that there are no uncertainties or vague concepts in it. To do this, I recommend following three rules:
– Specific result. Setting a goal should include a specific outcome you want to achieve.
– Measurable result. The goal you want to achieve must be expressed in some specific measurable quantity - this is the only way you can really control its achievement.
– Specific deadlines. And finally, good goals must have specific deadlines for achievement.
For example, “I want” is an absolutely non-specific goal: there is neither a measurable result nor specific deadlines. “I want to have a million dollars” - the goal already contains a measurable result. “I want to have a million dollars by age 50” is already a correct goal setting, because... contains both the measured result and the time frame for its achievement.
The more specifically the goal is formulated, the easier it is to achieve it.
2. The right goals must be realistically achievable. This means that you must set goals, the achievement of which is within your power and depends mainly on you. It is unacceptable to plan something that is completely dependent on other people or some external factors that you are not able to influence.
For example, “in 5 years I want to have a million dollars, which my American uncle will leave me as an inheritance after death” is a completely wrong and unacceptable goal. In order to sit and wait for 5 years for your uncle to die, you don’t need to set goals. And the most interesting thing will be when it turns out that he bequeathed his fortune to someone else. Well, in general, I think you understand.
“I want to earn a million dollars in a year.” The right goal? No, if you don’t have a penny to your name right now, you simply won’t achieve it.
“I want to increase my income by $100 every month.” This is a realistically achievable goal, of course, if you have calculated and understand exactly how you will increase your income.
Set realistic goals for yourself and you will be able to achieve them.
3. The right goals must come from the soul. When thinking about how to set a goal, you should choose only those goals that you are really interested in and need, that attract you, that you really want to achieve, and the achievement of which will make you truly happy. There is absolutely no point in setting goals to do something through force, without desire, simply because it is “necessary”. Also, you don’t need to pass off other people’s goals as your own. Even if you complete these tasks, you are unlikely to get anything really needed from it.
For example, you don’t need to set a goal to get a legal education if you want to become a pop star, but your parents are “pushing” you to become a lawyer because it is a “money and prestigious profession.”
Set goals that will inspire you, not stress you out!
4. The right goals must be positive. The same task can be formulated in different ways: with both a positive and a negative connotation. Therefore, when thinking about how to set a goal correctly, avoid negativity and use exclusively positive expressions (you write everything down!) - this will psychologically motivate you more strongly to achieve results. There are also 3 important rules here.
– The right goals should show what you want to achieve, not what you want to get rid of;
– Correct goals should not contain negations (“I don’t want”, “I wish I didn’t have”, etc.);
– Correct goals should not contain even a hint of coercion (words “must”, “must”, “necessary”, etc.).
For example, “I want to get rid of poverty,” “I don’t want to live in poverty,” “I want to be debt-free” is an incorrect goal formulation, because contains negativity. “I want to become rich” is the correct formulation of the goal, because... contains positive.
“I must become rich” is the wrong goal setting: you only owe money to banks and creditors; it is much better to formulate the goal like this: “I will become rich!”
Positive goals are much easier to achieve than getting rid of negative ones!
5. Goal setting must be written. When your goal is written down on paper or in an electronic document, it will psychologically motivate you much more to achieve it. Therefore, when thinking about how to set a goal, keep in mind that you need to record your goals in writing. And it is a mistake to believe that you will already remember well what you have planned. Even if you have a good memory, a goal that you haven’t recorded anywhere is the easiest to change or abandon it altogether.
Goals in your head are not goals, they are dreams. The right goals must be written down.
6. Break down global goals into smaller ones. If your goal seems too difficult and unattainable, then break it down into several intermediate, simpler ones. This will make achieving a common global goal much easier. I will say more, if you do not break important life goals into intermediate ones, then you are unlikely to achieve them at all.
Let’s take our first goal, “I want to have a million dollars by age 50,” as an example. If this is all you set for yourself, you will not complete this task. Because it’s not even clear how exactly you are going to earn this million. Therefore, it is necessary to break this strategic task into several smaller, tactical ones, showing exactly how you will go towards the intended goal. For example: “Save $100 a month for”, “Within a month”, “Open by age 30”, etc. Of course, these are just approximate goal trends; the correct goals should look, as you already know, more specific.
A global strategic goal will be achieved if you break it down into several intermediate, tactical ones.
7. Goals can be adjusted if there are objective reasons. If you have already set a clear and specific goal, this does not mean that it cannot be adjusted. However, and this is very important, adjustments to goals can only be carried out if there are objective reasons. Reasons like “I can’t do it” or “I’d rather waste this money” cannot be considered objective. Anything can happen in life and in the world around you that will have a significant impact on achieving your goal. And when such force majeure circumstances occur, the goal can and should be adjusted, both in the direction of weakening and in the direction of strengthening.
For example, you set a goal to save $100 a month in a bank deposit in order to collect a certain amount. At the time the goal was set, the deposit rate was 8% per annum. If bank rates drop to 5% per annum, you will need to adjust your goal: either save more, or, if this is not possible, reduce the amount you want to collect. But if rates rise to 10% per annum, you will be able to adjust the goal in the direction of increasing the planned result.
There is nothing wrong with adjusting goals for objective reasons - circumstances may arise in life that could not be predicted.
8. Believe in achieving your goal. It is necessary not only to set the goal correctly, but also to believe in achieving it. This will psychologically help you go towards your goal and overcome all obstacles encountered along the way.
Belief in achieving your goal is the most important factor on the path to success. There is no point in setting goals for yourself that you do not believe in achieving.
I hope this article helped you understand how to set a goal correctly and what your good goals should be.
In other publications on you will find many more useful tips and recommendations that will become your assistants on the path to success, and will also teach you how to competently manage your personal finances, because achieving almost any life goal has its own financial side. See you again on the pages of the site!