Do you have goals that you want to achieve? Do you set goals in your life?
Most of us want to be successful, however, the majority do not set goals at all and do not know what they want in life, so they end up not achieving much. Studies show that people who set goals achieve ten times more than the people who don’t have any goals in their lives.
To help you become successful and to achieve your goals, follow the below steps:
1. Specify what you want clearly-
Your goal has to be clear and specific. To get to a certain place, you first have to know where you are headed exactly.
2. Your goal has to be realistic and achievable-
Can you imagine yourself sitting down and saying you want a million dollar by tomorrow without doing anything to get it? Can you imagine yourself winning the lottery without first buying the ticket? This would be illogical and unrealistic, despite the fact that you have specified clearly what you want. Always make sure that your goal is realistic after your specify your goal.
3. You should have a burning desire-
How can you achieve your goal if you don’t have strong burning desire to get it? When you set your goal, you should have a strong desire to achieve it and that no one can stop you.
4. Visualize and live your goal-
When you define your goal, try to see all the details and visualize yourself living it as often as you can. Visualization is very crucial and has powerful effects. Napoleon Hill says, “What the mind can conceive, and believe, the mind can achieve,” so make sure you spend some time daily focusing and visualizing your goal as if it is happening already.
5. Write down your goal-
Studies show that written goals on a piece of paper are stronger than goals that are only in the mind. Studies also show that those who wrote their goals down have accomplished a lot more than those who did not write their goals, so get into the habit of writing your goals down.
6. Specify time frame-
Can you imaging a swimming competition or a football match that does not have a specific time? You have always to specify the date of when you want to accomplish your goal. The time frame has to be realistic and based on your abilities.
7. Take action-
Now it is time to take action. The first step is usually hard, but once you take the first step, you will get used to it. Learn to take the first step without hesitation or delay.
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”
Kahlil Gibran
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Outstanding job once again Dia,
I used to use the SMART method for setting and determing goals. Although, it was effective I wasn’t seeing the results I was hoping for. That is why I enjoy #3 in this post so much. Now when I select goals for myself I make sure they have a purpose behind them and that helps me maintain my motivation. I had to get away from making a meaningless list of things I wanted to do and made a list of things that have to be done.
This has inspired me. Great Job!
Hi Frank,
For sure my friend, burning desire helps us to achieve our goals and it helps us to keep moving forward. We should always prioritize and focus on what we want to accomplish.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Goal setting is an art. Well, let me say it this way…goal setting and achieving those goals is an art!
The tips your provided are great Dia. I tried to add value by including something unique…but in my eyes you covered it all.
I find that when I actually incorporate all of these parts into my goal setting – my I achieve my goals.
Great Job Dia!
Hi JK,
For sure my friend, setting and achieving goals is an art, unfortunately not many people do. When we set goals and take action to accomplish those goals, we will achieve what we want.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Great tips, Dia. All very important. When we follow these steps we develop faith… faith in what? Faith in ourselves! Placing our faith in our self makes it possible to take action and move straight ahead. When you learn to trust and have faith in yourself, you receive wisdom from a much deeper dimension of you mind. Goal setting becomes goal ‘achieving’ when we practice these principals.
Hi Rob,
Exactly my friend, once we set goals and take action, we develop faith. It is faith that we should all seek to have. When we have faith that we can achieve our goals, then we will get everything we want.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Tip #5 about writing your goals down is crucial. But it only works if what you write can be seen regularly, preferably without you having to make the effort to find it to read it.
I’m a teacher, and I’m constantly telling my students to write down the grades they want to achieve, then to post them on the wall somewhere they’ll see them each day without having to try.
I firmly believe that this ongoing exposure reinforces subconscious desire, serving them as a constant reminder of what they want and, often without them knowing, encouraging them to study more.
At least that’s the theory!
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Hi Tim,
You are right, writing goals down is really helpful. Studies show that people who write their goals down achieve a lot more than people who don’t write their goals down. It is a habit that I believe everyone should master.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
It’s so true. Working with your goals is a great job. All these steps need to be done in order to be successful. Many intelligent people talk about importance of settings and achieving goals. There is a great book “Think and Grow Rich” where you can find even more about goal setting. I think it’s classic. Thank you for reminding.
Hi Jane,
Exactly, if we really want to be successful, then we do need to set goals. That is why people who set goals and take action achieve success. Think and grow rich is an excellent book for sure.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
You´re so right there Dia. Since I started to use the method of setting goals and approaching them step by step I can see myself making progress. Everything is much easier and more fun if you can see the progress. But there is one thing to watch out for and that is if we get too realistic. Because there is a risk of letting realism stop you from expanding your boundaries. There are things I have done in life I wouldn´t have done if I had been realistic.
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Hi Tom,
For sure once we set goals, it makes the process of achieving our goals a lot easier. In regards to watching out for realism, of course, there is nothing is impossible and we do need to watch out so we don’t get “too” realistic to some degree.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Hi Dia
Welcome to CYT authors, it’s great to have you here. I’ve been reading some of you work in the last few months and really like what you have to say on a lot of topics, so it’s great to have you write for CYT.
I think you have set down a great set of principles for goal setting, it’s always good to be reminded of the steps for goal setting and you have done a great job here.
I also loved the quote by Kahlil Gibran.
Thanks again Dia.
Hi Steven,
Thank you very much for this opportunity. It is a pleasure to write for your site. I really appreciate it
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Dia,
This is a remarkable statistic: “Studies show that people who set goals achieve ten times more than the people who don’t have any goals in their lives.” It makes me very enthusiastic about applying the 7 excellent steps you recommend here!
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It would also be lovely if it were true, but it’s an urban myth. There are reasons in terms of how the brain is wired up why writing goals down can help, but there is no empirical data suggesting anything else that I have ever heard of.
Most people (including Brain Tracy who should an does know better) refer back to an apocryphal story about research in the 1950′s at either Yale or Harvard (I forget which now) on how the 3% of people that had written goals out performed the 97% of students who didn’t. It never happened.
Tim Brownson recently posted..Lets See Some Commitment
Hi Dia -
I like this post as it is clear and effective on how to set goals. One thing I found is that setting goals can feel scary for a lot of people. A goal becomes a standard to be judged against and an opportunity to fail. Seeing goals as something exciting and fun that enhance life seems to shift the focus and make it easier to achieve them.
Phil
Phil – Less Ordinary Living recently posted..Finding your Mojo
Hi Phil,
Exactly, we should think of goals a someting exciting as it will help us achieve what we want when we break things into steps.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Hi Dia
Nice post. I would suggest one more point. Check out that it is your goal – not one that someone else would like you to achieve and you find yourself helpfully obliging to fulfill their dreams not your own
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Hi Marion,
For sure, our goals have to be ours based on our wants and needs, not someone elses. Otherwise, we will lose ourselves trying to fulfill someone else’s dreams instead of ours.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Great post. I enjoyed reading both the post and all the comments. I believe there’s one step that comes before writing your first goal and that is to know where you’re headed. Before you set a single goal, you must have a destination. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there,” and you may end up someplace you don’t want to be. Think of a leader you know, or any leader in our society; the one thing all leaders share in common is they know where they want to go. They have the ability to create a vision. To be the leader of your own life, you have to know where you want to go. You must create a vision for yourself. (If you don’t know what you want, what chance to you have of getting it?) Once your vision is complete, you then create the high-level goals that will ultimately make your vision a reality. High-level goals (I prefer 12-month goals) are then broken down into monthly goals, which are broken down into weekly actions, which are broken down to a daily to-do list. Bottom line: hooray for goal setting as it truly is the master skill for success.
Hi Valerie,
For sure, we have to know where we are headed, otherwise, we won’t get to our destination
Having a vision in our mind is needed, so we know what we want to achieve, then make specific plans and set goals to achieve them.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
I’m going to look like a complete ass here, but I feel I have to say something after following a link on Twitter. I have read one too many posts on goal setting that are not only inaccurate and superficial, but can actually impede peoples growth and make them think they’re weird because they don’t fit the cookie cutter approach.
1. True.
2. Nonsense – every single achievement of mankind was considered unrealistic at some stage in history. Sure it has top be physically possible and the lottery example makes that point. Other than that, realism is for accountants and the really top achievers are constantly being told to be more realistic.
3. Nonsense – I have had dozens of clients have goals that they weren’t passionate about, but wanted nevertheless. I have set goals that were a pain in the ass and achieved them. Is passion more likely to help? Of course it is, but to tell people they have to be passionate is going to stop people going for things that they’ll wish they did afterward.
Have you ever worked with a client that told you they weren’t passionate about anything? I have, dozens of times, am I supposed to tell them there’s something wrong with them?
4. Partly true – You miss one CRUCIAL point and that is to explain what visualization is. Some people cannot visualize per se and then they start thinking there is something wrong with them and quit. But they can use their other senses and that is what visualization is, the integration of all sensory information. For example a sense of smell can often trump a visual construction as it has no filter like images do.
5. That does help because writing utilizes a different part of the brain than does purely thinking about something. However, the research you refer to doesn’t exist to my knowledge although people often say it does. If you have a link to an academic paper that ‘proves’ what you say, I’d not only like to read it, I’d also offer you a full unreserved apology.
6 & 7. True, although with 7 quite often goals can get harder the closer you get to the end. Ask an athlete whether it’s easier to do a training session or win an Olympic medal. Or ask an author whether it was easier to write the outline or get the publishing deal. Or maybe even ask Obama whether it was easier running for local office or running for President.
Tim Brownson recently posted..Lets See Some Commitment
Hi Tim,
Thank you for your reply.
In regards to step 2, I will explain to you what it is meant by “Your goal has to be realistic and achievable” by giving an example. Let say someone’s goal is to have one million dollar within one month from his new job. The chances are that this person will be lying to himself, but if he sets specific goals, let say, for the next 2-3 years, then it could be done.
Another example, if someone would like to lose 50 pounds within one week, most chances that he/she won’t be able to lose 50 pounds within one week. However, if they make specific goals and take action, they will achieve what they want within a few months.
In regards to step 3, the chances are if some people are not passionate about something, they won’t go after it. Yes, they might want something and try a few different ways to get it. However, if they are not passionate about what they want and fail, most people will give up, hence strong desire is helpful. Of course, there is always an exception to every rule.
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Has anybody ever $1m within a month from a new job? If the answer is yes, then it’s not unrealistic. It is crazy hard? Sure it is, but it’s possible so a pretty good plan is going to be needed, not a coach telling them they are unrealistic.
About 4 years ago I had a guy come to me who had a goal to earn $3 billion. Yep, that’s right $3,000,000,000. That’s fairly unrealistic by most peoples standards for somebody that didn’t even own his own home.
2 years later he had sold his software company to the Singaporese Government and was relocating there to run it. Has he hit $3b? No idea, but I do know he’s well on his way.
Losing 50lbs within a week is physically impossible without the use of surgery so that comes under not physically possible category.
Strong desire is helpful, of course it is, but you said “You should have a burning desire”
If you coach people, how do you cope with the clients that don’t have that? There aren’t rare you know. One of the most common things I get told is “I just don’t know what I’m passionate about” I swear to God I’m not making this up, but a client this morning said exactly that to me.
What do I do, fire her and tell her she’s screwed, or look past the obvious and try and help her look a bit deeper?
Your post may well be helpful to some people, of that I have no doubt. But I also have no doubt it will embed the belief in some people that there’s something wrong with them.
You are stating opinions and offering generalizations as facts and they are not the same thing.
Tim Brownson recently posted..Lets See Some Commitment
Damn it Steve you need an edit facility
I missed an earned out at the beginning.
Tim Brownson recently posted..Lets See Some Commitment
Tim,
Of course, there are many people who don’t know what they want and what they are passionate about. No, I won’t fire them or tell them there is something wrong with them, on the contrary, will help them dig deeper to find what their true passion is as I think everyone has passion for something if we really dig deep inside
A few weeks ago, I had a client who didn’t know what she wants in life and what she is passionate about, but after we started digging up deep inside, she managed to get on the right track, so there is nothing wrong with anyone who doesn’t know what they want or passionate about. They just need to be guided
Blessings
Dia recently posted..Seven principles for goal setting
Dia,
Overall great goal setting tips. I’m glad you included tip #6 set a time frame. I think most people have goals in mind but never take the step of putting a time frame on it. That’s most likely the number one reason why new year’s resolutions fall by the way side.
On the other hand a major tip you should add is;
Make yourself accountable to someone. A goal that only you know about is much less likely to be completed than if you make yourself accountable to someone else. Ever watch Biggest Loser. I don’t doubt that every single one of those contestants had a goal of losing weight at some point of time.
I think the change happened when they were held accountable by a team, coaches, and America.
Just my 2 cents.
These are great steps to achieving goals! Visualizing the goal is very important because then it makes it more real for the mind which will in turn bring more motivation and more belief that the goal can be accomplished.
Along with visualizing I also like to use affirmations to really cement the right outcome into my mind.
Taking action is also very critical. One small step will lead to many bigger steps.
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Great post, Dia. But I wish you could expand more on each of these principles, which many people know something about, but not enough, to really make a difference for them.
Hi Dia,
The goal setting formula you have set out seems to be the most common one doing the rounds. I like, being “very” specific about my goals including details, regarding number two, I think the person who is setting the goal has to believe it, also I believe the intensity of desire for the goal supplies the drive to take action, to break through procrastination. Writing the goal down and then reading it repeatedly (out loud, if possible) with emotion and belief, associating into how you will feel, imagining what you will see and hear, after all if we are to engage the creative process, then we have to fuel it.
Personally I am not too sure about adding a time element for the accomplishment of the goal, I can see the reason why a time element is added, to act as a catalyst and motivator, to set a target to shoot for etc but it occurs to me that a goal should be held lightly, I want to enjoy the journey in achieving my goal, not to apply stress to the process.
I like the NLP way of thinking, that when we set an outcome for what we are going to do, we are much more likely to achieve it.
Hi Dia, the idea of writing down your goals is new to me and i never know that those who did write down their goals have better achievement. Now that’s thought provoking, instead of just dreaming or motivating ourselves in our mind, gotta try write it down
thanks~
Solid post!! I’m not sure how anyone can advance in life without making goals tangible, specific and concrete. Take a simple example. Two people want to paint a room. The first thinks about it every so often. The second sets it as a goal in his task list AND sets a time and date , thus making a time commitment in his calender.and informing his family. Who has a better chance of painting the room?
A few more reasons
# Goal setting helps us realize what we really want to accomplish in life.
# Goal setting helps us to commit and take the necessary steps to make our desires a reality.
# Goals setting give us direction and purpose.
# Goal setting reduces the clutter in our mind and makes it clearer as to where we are heading.
# Once we commit goals to paper or a computer, it makes them more tangible, specific and concrete.
# Goals that are written down can be easily reflected on, changed, admired and analysed.
# As you change you can change your written goals.
# Once goals are written down they can be broken into manageable parts.
# Goal setting allows us to look at our present, past or future and learn from mistakes.
# Goal setting helps us get over the fear of change.
# Goals can help boost your confidence as you reach them.
Yeah… Number 2 says a whole lot! Many people just set goals and push themselves too hard to get something that’s just not “doable”. This is not to push anyone down, it’s all about reminding them that “goals” are to be equated with one’s desires, capabilities and potential. No one can be a doctor without studying the required academics, and no one can be a writer without much love for words or the discipline to really sit down and write. In short, one should get real before setting a goal.
In all, the tips are simple and yet are the essentials to achieving goals. Keep it up!
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I think Tim Brownson missed the point when it came to your list, here’s how i see it….
1…I agree, your goals do have to be specific….it’s very important to know exactly what you want, if your goals are vague, then your focus to achieve them will also be.
2…I agree…Unlike Tim, i understand what you meant. some people set unrealistic goals and become disheartened when they don’t see results.
3…I agree to a point…Goals are far easier to achieve if you have a burning desire (it’s not rocket science) however, I have set goals and achieved them without having a burning desire. the bigger the goal, the more desire you must have.
4…I agree…visualization is very important but you must also get your other senses involved in the process. If visualization is difficult for a certain person to do, then they can feel how they would expect to feel if they achieved their goal.
5…I agree…Goals that are not in writing are just wishes…i think there was a study done in the late 70′s on MBA graduates at Harvard university…(Mark McCormack’s book – ‘what they don’t teach you at Harvard business school’) Apparently, the graduates that had their goals in writing earned ‘on average’ ten times more than the other graduates who hadn’t written out their goals.
6…I agree to a point…setting a time frame for your goal is important but the chances are you may not achieve your goal at set time. (you could have married this point into number (1)
7…No action…no results.
8…Affirmations are very important also…should have been included with the visualization point.
Good job Dia…have a wonderful day.
Declan O’ Flaherty recently posted..Success requires setting goals
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Good summary of goal setting. Although it sounds easier than it really is. Setting goals is only step one. You have to be reminded of your goals as much as possible to keep the motivation going. Post your goals on your bathroom mirror or some other place you look alot at.
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