10 Great Tips For Setting And Achieving Smart Goals
Goal setting is crucial for getting what you want, but most goal setting articles lack that extra oomph to really get you taking action and achieving your goals faster than you thought possible. I wrote this article to fill that gap. Not only will you learn how to set smart goals, you will also learn how to program your unconscious mind to propel you into action and success.
Whatever your reasons used to be for not setting goals, it’s time to set them aside and use goals to dramatically increase not only how much you get done in life, but how fulfilled you feel. Obviously goals aren’t going to automatically make your life better or make you rich.
It’s up to you to set goals that make you happy and that are right for you. Goals help you gain clarity on what you truly want in life. One of the most effective ways to set goals is to utilize the S.M.A.R.T criteria, and that is what the first five tips in this article are all about.
The rest of the tips come from my personal experience and the things I’ve learned of how you can enhance your goal setting. If you find it difficult to set goals properly these powerful goal setting quotes may help you achieve your aim.
1. Specific
One of the most important things for setting and achieving goals is to set specific goals. Think about where it should happen, when it should happen, what you want to accomplish, what you need to get there (if you know), and why you want to achieve the goal.
Most people set vague goals because they want to “stay open,” but we both know that the people who set vague goals never go anywhere. If you want to earn a specific amount of money every year doing what you love, set a specific amount, such as $50,000 a year, or $5,000 a month.
2. Measurable
Making your goals measurable will help you know when you’re making progress, when you’re on the right track, and it will motivate you to take action. The important question you should be asking yourself is: How will I know when I’ve achieved my goal?
How do you know when you’re making progress and how will you know when you’re heading in the right direction?
3. Attainable
Your goal has to be attainable, and you have to believe that you can achieve it. Now, sometimes you may have beliefs that bring you down. That’s normal, and these negative beliefs can be eliminated if you wish to do so.
Set goals that you can attain and that excite you. Boring goals are not the best motivators if you want to take massive action and change your life for the better.
4. Realistic
If you set an unrealistic goal, it will discourage you from taking action and even taking the first step. If you want to run a marathon, an unrealistic goal might be to prepare for a marathon in two weeks. It’s just not going to happen. So remember to set realistic goals that are both attainable and that excite you to take action right now.
5. Timely
Setting a deadline will dramatically enhance your focus and motivation. If you’ve ever worked under the pressure of time, you know how fast you can produce great quality work. I use deadlines repeatedly when writing articles.
I set a time limit for each article, and I challenge myself to set new records of how fast I can get a first draft done. I highly recommend you get an egg-timer or whatever you want to use, and really challenge yourself to do more than you think you can. You will be surprised at the outcome.
6. Model
Now we’re getting to the really good stuff. The first five tips are essential to good goal setting, but the tips that follow will catapult you toward your goals. One of my favorite ways to reach goals is to find people that have already done what I want to do, learn what they did, and take the same steps they’ve taken.
There is no need to reinvent the wheel, when there is almost always someone that has already gone before you that you can follow. This is not to say you should follow them blindly, only that you can pick what feels right and make much faster progress than if you were learning everything from scratch.
7. Visualization
Visualization has been proven over and over again to not only be effective in improving performance, but also in changing behaviors and achieving big goals. When you imagine your most important goal as already being achieved, you will feel good and you will be telling your unconscious mind exactly what you want.
I recommend you visualize for a few minutes early in the morning and before you go to bed. Imagine your goals as already being accomplished, and really enjoy the feeling of success that comes from that.
After you’ve seen your goal(s) as already accomplished, try visualizing your next step. For example, if your goal is to write a book, visualize sitting down, and writing. Transfer those positive feelings into an action step.
8. Affirm
You’ve probably heard of affirmations. There has been a lot of bad press about them, but what people think of them doesn’t change the fact that they remain effective. However, please don’t force yourself to do them if they don’t feel right. Listen to yourself first, and take what resonates from this article.
For example, if you have a goal of writing 1,000 words every day, your affirmation might be “I easily and consistently write 1,000 words each and every day.” You then repeat this information to yourself throughout the day.
But don’t just repeat them in your head, remember to see the result, and feel getting your 1,000 words in every day. Affirmations do not work for most people because:
- They aren’t used consistently
- They aren’t used properly
- Their doubts take over
- They don’t FEEL them
What I mean by your doubts taking over is that when you say your affirmation, your mind may go “Yeah right, you’re not going to earn that amount of money. You don’t deserve it.” That instantly destroys the power of your affirmation.
9. Release Doubts
Most people are great at talking negatively to themselves all day long. They are telling themselves that affirmations do not work while using the exact opposite of affirmations. Here are a few examples of common negative self talk:
- I’m not good enough
- I’ll never amount to anything
- I am not worthy of $100,000 per year
- Why do bad things always happen to me
- Why did he/she do that to me
- Life is not fair
The more you tell yourself that things will happen, the more they will. As you think, so shall you become. Releasing these doubts can be done in many ways.
10. Read, Listen and Learn
Setting goals is not about accomplishing things as much as it is about personal growth. You see, when you set goals that are challenging, you will have to become a better person in order to accomplish those goals.
That is why it’s important that you read, listen and learn about personal growth and how you can become better in every area of your life. If you want to make a million, don’t do it for the money, do it for the person you will have to become.
