How To Conquer Your Goals With One Easy Trick
I want you to think right now, what are your goals? We all have them -- for some of us our goals are a plan for the day, for others they can be a plan for the whole year.
Some people set simple goals that are easy to reach, others set goals that make them work hard to achieve. If you don't have goals now, it's likely that you'll be forming all kinds of ideas for your New Year's resolution by the end of the month. The end of the year is goal-setting time for most people. However, whether they follow through or not is a different story.
How many times have you told yourself, "I'm going to workout more next year"? Yet when it comes time, you never go to the gym past those first weeks of January?
We don't set goals only during the new year though. Goals are everywhere in the life of determined individuals or creatives looking for their big break.
Maybe you're an artist looking to finish your next painting by the end of the week. Perhaps you're a writer looking to write a novel for your deadline. It could be that you're an entrepreneur trying to make a record year with sales.
Short-term, long-term, or anywhere between: most goals or resolutions are the same in nature.
It is because all goals are the same that every single person benefits from applying one simple trick to goals. With one simple change of how you set your goals you can begin to improve your chances of actually achieving them. With one simple change you can add yourself to the top 3% of people with goals.
When I asked what your goals were, did you look somewhere else to see them, or did you have to pull them from your mind? If you had to think hard about them I can tell you right now you are missing the opportunity to make setting goals easier. Are you ready?
Write your goals down.
It sounds simple, right? That's because it is, yet so many people don't do this with any of their goals.
In the United States, studies have shown that only 3% of people write down their goals. Writing down goals is what sets this 3% apart. Writing down their goals makes these individuals more consistent in achieving what they aim to do - this is because it makes goal real, because there they are in pen, staring back at you from the page, demanding to be acknowledged.
Alongside your goals you've got to combine each one with an intent as well. Having an intent written next to your goal is part of the key to this strategy. Your written intent will keep you motivated while working on your goal and it will maximize your potential for success.
Writing down your goals is easy to do, and is seems simple, yet it still accomplishes more than you might think. Doing just this one little task will:
Create a Vision.
When you go to write down your goal, you'll be actively thinking about what this goal means to you.
You create a vision in your head about what it actually is and what your future will look like when this goal is achieved, and this creates a mental reference to return to when you revisit your goal.
Encourage Your Subconscious.
One of the best ways to achieve your goals is to get your subconscious on track, on the same page as your conscious thought.
By writing down your goal and visualizing it, you make it clear to your subconscious that this is truly what you want.
Soon enough your mind will be driving you toward achieving that goal even if you're not aware of it.
Keep You On Track.
Having a goal with your intent written down will help you hold yourself accountable to finish it and will help you say no to other, distracting things.
By having your goals in a physical form you're more inclined to finish them before moving on to the next thing - when goals are written down, there is an element of permanence to them until they are completed and you can crossthem off; they are always visible.
You'll also be less likely to push them off to the side or forget them entirely.
Allow You To See Progress.
There are few things I know better or love more than the feeling of crossing off a goal I've been pushing myself to achieve. It is incredibly satisfying and fulfilling to finally be able to cross off that goal.
Writing down your goal, especially when it's written in specific steps, allows you to see where you are and what to do next.
Once you've got your goals written down, you're well on your way to success -- but it doesn't stop there. The best way to make this strategy work for you is to go back and revisit written goals again and again. Do whatever you have to to make sure you see these goals. You can hang them on your wall, make them your phone lock screen, your desktop screensaver or place them anywhere else you'll see them on a regular basis.
I've always been a firm believer in keeping my word -- this applies to others and myself. Think of goals as promises to yourself - not something you aim to do, but something you will do. Don't cheat yourself out of success; take a few minutes and write down your goals.
If you do this one easy trick I can guarantee that you will see increased success with your goals, you have my word on that.
