7 Secrets For Achieving Your Goals

Goal setting can be an incredibly effective tool for achieving change. But successful goal setting takes more than stating a goal. Try applying these 7 secrets to achieving your goals and be well positioned to create the future you seek. Secret Number 1 - You Have to Really Commit Many of us set goals casually as if we’re creating a shopping list of things that “would be nice” or “would make us healthier” or “would make us happier” or “would somehow make us better people.” You know the kinds of goals that fall into this category – the resolutions to lose weight, exercise more consistently, quit smoking or drinking, and on and on. We’re definitely interested in these things when we set them as goals – after all, who wouldn’t want to be healthier, happier, or rid of a problematic habit. But interest isn’t enough. “There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” Art Turock, Performance Specialist To succeed be resolved – commit to doing whatever it takes to achieve the goals that you set – and mean it. Secret Number 2 – Make a Plan Making change is hard work – not magic. Planning takes time but you to need to plan if you want to actually achieve anything. Think about what you need to do to get where you’re going, and when and how you’ll do it. With a good plan you are left to execute – not start from scratch each time. Can you see how this makes it much easier to achieve your goals? Secret Number 3 – Put It On The Calendar Many people who fail to achieve their goals feel they didn’t have time to work on them. What this really means is they didn’t make time to work on them. If you want to succeed you need to do something differently. If your schedule is already full to the brim, or overflowing -- and whose isn’t – you will have to change your schedule if you are going to make time for the action you want to take. Plan to schedule the time you need. And then go ahead and put it on the calendar. Secret Number 4 – Procrastination Will Not Lead To Success Once you’ve got that time set aside to work on the goal you made you’ve got to actually keep the appointment. Failure happens when you put the time blocked out for goal-keeping in the “optional” category. We think of “optional” appointments more tentatively. We schedule other meetings in their place, or don’t give them a set time, or push them from one time to some indefinite “later” that may or may not arrive at all. Have the discipline to do what you commit to doing when you commit to doing it. Doing so will bring you the progress, and the results, you want. Secret Number 5 – Keep Your Goal Front and Center Once you’ve made a goal write it down and put it somewhere prominent so you can look at it every day. Post it on the refrigerator or tape it to your desk or put it on a card in your wallet. And then take the time to look at it daily. Look at that goal every day until it’s absolutely a part of you. The more you remind yourself of what you want to achieve the harder you’ll work to achieve it. Secret Number 6 – See Yourself Succeeding Elite athletes across all kinds of disciplines share a similar strategy for success. They all regularly visualize themselves achieving the win they strive for. And that detailed visualization carries them through the endless, repetitive work of daily practice, regular training, and yet more practice and training. Visualization can work the same way to keep you on track to fulfill your goal. Think about your moment of success. How will it feel? Will you celebrate? How? Why will you be better off? Flesh out your vision in as much detail as possible. Revisit these images regularly especially when you feel your motivation and commitment slipping. Play them over and over in your mind until you know them as well as your favorite movie. They will give you a reason to keep up the hard work. Secret Number 7 – Enlist Some Support When it comes to keeping goals – two are better than one. Going the distance feels easier when you share the journey. Tell someone what you’re trying to do and how it is going. Let them cheer you on or give you a boost when you falter. Or pair up with someone with a similar goal so you can keep each other on track. Join a live support group or one that meets online. You may feel like you can’t keep going but that doesn’t mean you have to quit. When you’ve got support you can express your interest in giving up and get some help keeping at it instead. Which means this time you might actually achieve the goals you set. Go for it!