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Successful Tips For Achieving You Goals

SUCCESSFUL TIPS FOR ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS

With the new-year upon us, it inevitably is a time for many people to experience the exhilaration of renewed hope and, sadly, the loss of esteem that comes from self promises and resolutions which were un-kept.  As I have talked with people over the years, I have come to learn that one of the primary barriers to achieving ones ideals is a basic confusion about what a goal actually is.  Ask yourself, have you ever had the idea that you were going to accomplish something in the new-year and by March, the idea, which was a great idea to begin with, never materialized.  Well to begin with, it is extremely important that you understand the basic difference between an idea and a goal.  Simply stated, “ideas are thoughts about something desirable but WITHOUT UNRELENTING ACTION toward the idea.”  Goals on the other hand are “ideas WITH UNRELENTING ACTION.”  In other words, if you truly plan to announce to yourself and others that you are pursuing a goal, make absolutely sure you completely know the task at hand.  If you spend some time actually laying out all the steps required to achieve your stated goal, you may find yourself modifying your goal or, preparing emotionally for the task at hand.  Either way, by understanding the difference between ideas and goals, you are more likely not to make false promises to yourself.  If, you are still ready to proceed with your stated goals, then here are some absolute truths, common to those who are accustomed to setting and achieving their goals.

 

1. Be Realistic – Don’t overshoot.  The best way to achieve a goal is to plan backwards.  In other words, start with the end point and identify each step that would need to be achieved.  For your information, as the NASA was struggling with trying to figure out how to send men to the moon, they figured it out by first thinking of was required at the end stage and they then worked it backwards.  Once you have identified the steps, create as your first goal, step one.

 

2. Set a Schedule- Once you have defined the steps, you need to plan for the action required. No goal is ever achieved without having a very specific schedule.  Goals are achieved by actions and these actions require a defined time and place when they will occur.

 

3. Do Not Be Directed by Emotions – Trust me.  No goal is ever achieved by following our emotions.  The person who sets as a goal running a marathon, can never follow how they feel.  On that rainy Saturday morning when the alarm goes off a 6 am and it’s time to train, don’t think for a second that every once in their being wants to bury themselves under the covers and sleep in.  If you follow your emotions, you’ll never follow your goals.

4. Find People to Support You – If you work with another all the better.  Good support people will believe in you and not allow you to make excuses.  We all make excuses so having someone around to remind us of our B.S can be a great help to staying on task.

 

5. Grow from Set-backs – Set-backs are likely to occur and probably will.  Know this going in and use them as opportunities to learn and possibly realign yourself.  Remember, goals are achieved by unrelenting action.  Set-backs are not the time to quite, just times to discover what the next action is to be taken.

And remember, whether you achieve all of your goals or some of your goals what will ultimately matter at the end of the day is knowing that you stayed in the game, even when quitting seemed very desirable.  And by staying in the game you will discover there is more to you than you ever imagined.

 

February 15 2005

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