Crafts

Go towards your goal. Correct goals: how to set a goal? Resources to achieve the goal

13.04.2015 11 147 8 Reading time: 13 min.

Today we will talk about how to set a goal and what they should be the right goals any person. In order to do anything, you should start by setting goals. Therefore, what exactly you will strive for and what you will achieve as a result depends on how correctly and competently the goal is formulated. Thus, this issue must be approached very thoughtfully and responsibly. Next, I will tell you what the right goals are and describe the important rules for setting goals and objectives that should be followed.

Rules for setting goals and objectives

1.Good goals must be specific. When thinking about how to set a goal, try to formulate it as specifically as possible, so that there are no uncertainties or vague concepts in it. To do this, I recommend following three rules:

Specific result. Setting a goal should include a specific outcome you want to achieve.
Measurable result. The goal you want to achieve must be expressed in some specific measurable quantity - this is the only way you can really control its achievement.
Specific deadlines. And finally, good goals must have specific deadlines for achievement.

For example, “I want” is an absolutely non-specific goal: there is neither a measurable result nor specific deadlines. “I want to have a million dollars” - the goal already contains a measurable result. “I want to have a million dollars by the age of 50” is already the correct goal setting, because... contains both the measured result and the time frame for its achievement.

The more specifically the goal is formulated, the easier it is to achieve it.

2. The right goals must be realistically achievable. This means that you must set goals, the achievement of which is within your power and depends mainly on you. It is unacceptable to plan something that is completely dependent on other people or some external factors that you are not able to influence.

For example, “in 5 years I want to have a million dollars, which my American uncle will leave me as an inheritance after death” is a completely wrong and unacceptable goal. In order to sit and wait for 5 years for your uncle to die, you don’t need to set goals. And the most interesting thing will be when it turns out that he bequeathed his fortune to someone else. Well, in general, I think you understand.
“I want to earn a million dollars in a year.” The right goal? No, if you don’t have a penny to your name right now, you simply won’t achieve it.
“I want to increase my income by $100 every month.” This is a realistically achievable goal, of course, if you have calculated and understand exactly how you will increase your income.

Set realistic goals for yourself and you will be able to achieve them.

3. The right goals must come from the soul. When thinking about how to set a goal, you should choose only those goals that you are really interested in and need, that attract you, that you really want to achieve, and the achievement of which will make you truly happy. There is absolutely no point in setting goals to do something through force, without desire, simply because it is “necessary”. There is also no need to pass off other people's goals as your own. Even if you complete these tasks, you are unlikely to get anything really needed from it.

For example, you don’t need to set a goal to get a legal education if you want to become a pop star, but your parents are “pushing” you to become a lawyer because it is a “money and prestigious profession.”

Set goals that will inspire you, not stress you out!

4. The right goals must be positive. The same task can be formulated in different ways: with both a positive and a negative connotation. Therefore, when thinking about how to set a goal correctly, avoid negativity and use exclusively positive expressions (you write everything down!) - this will psychologically motivate you more strongly to achieve results. There are also 3 important rules here.

Good goals should show what you want to achieve, not what you want to get rid of;
Correct goals should not contain negations (“I don’t want”, “I wish I didn’t have”, etc.);
Correct goals should not contain even a hint of coercion (words “should”, “must”, “necessary”, etc.).

For example, “I want to get rid of poverty,” “I don’t want to live in poverty,” “I want to be debt-free” is an incorrect goal formulation, because contains negativity. “I want to become rich” is the correct formulation of the goal, because... contains positive.
“I must become rich” is the wrong goal setting: you only owe money to banks and creditors; it is much better to formulate the goal like this: “I will become rich!”

Positive goals are much easier to achieve than getting rid of negative ones!

5. Goal setting must be written. When your goal is written down on paper or in an electronic document, it will psychologically motivate you much more to achieve it. Therefore, when thinking about how to set a goal, keep in mind that you need to record your goals in writing. And it is a mistake to believe that you will already remember well what you have planned. Even if you have a good memory, a goal that you haven’t recorded anywhere is the easiest to change or abandon it altogether.

Goals in your head are not goals, they are dreams. The right goals must be written down.

6. Break down global goals into smaller ones. If your goal seems too difficult and unattainable, then break it down into several intermediate, simpler ones. This will make achieving a common global goal much easier. I will say more, if you do not break important life goals into intermediate ones, then you are unlikely to achieve them at all.

Let’s take our first goal, “I want to have a million dollars by age 50,” as an example. If this is all you set for yourself, you will not complete this task. Because it’s not even clear how exactly you are going to earn this million. Therefore, it is necessary to break this strategic task into several smaller, tactical ones, showing exactly how you will go towards the intended goal. For example: “Save $100 a month for”, “Within a month”, “Open by age 30”, etc. Of course, these are just approximate goal trends; the correct goals should look, as you already know, more specific.

A global strategic goal will be achieved if you break it down into several intermediate, tactical ones.

7. Goals can be adjusted if there are objective reasons. If you have already set a clear and specific goal, this does not mean that it cannot be adjusted. However, and this is very important, adjustments to goals can only be carried out if there are objective reasons. Reasons like “I can’t do it” or “I’d rather waste this money” cannot be considered objective. Anything can happen in life and in the world around you that will have a significant impact on achieving your goal. And when such force majeure circumstances occur, the goal can and should be adjusted, both in the direction of weakening and in the direction of strengthening.

For example, you set a goal to save $100 a month in a bank deposit in order to collect a certain amount. At the time the goal was set, the deposit rate was 8% per annum. If bank rates drop to 5% per annum, you will need to adjust your goal: either save more, or, if this is not possible, reduce the amount you want to collect. But if rates rise to 10% per annum, you will be able to adjust the goal towards increasing the planned result.

There is nothing wrong with adjusting goals for objective reasons—circumstances may arise in life that could not be predicted.

8. Believe in achieving your goal. It is necessary not only to set the goal correctly, but also to believe in achieving it. This will psychologically help you go towards your goal and overcome all obstacles encountered along the way.

Belief in achieving your goal is the most important factor on the path to success. There is no point in setting goals for yourself that you do not believe in achieving.

I hope this article helped you understand how to set a goal correctly and what your good goals should be.

In other publications on you will find many more useful tips and recommendations that will become your assistants on the path to success, and will also teach you how to competently manage your personal finances, because achieving almost any life goal has its own financial side. See you again on the pages of the site!

Estimate:

All successful people know how to set goals and achieve results. Read about the basic rules for setting goals and achieving results that will help you make your dream come true.

Making dreams come true consists of 2 stages: correct goal setting and an effective process for achieving results. First of all, let’s look at how to set a goal correctly.

Why you need to be able to set goals correctly

make your dreams come true;
correctly distribute energy and time;
motivate yourself on the way to results;

When you have set a clear goal for yourself, your actions become as effective as possible, because... subordinated to a completely specific idea. A correctly set goal will not only show you the simplest and most effective path to achieving results, but will also give you the necessary motivation when the desire to work leaves you.

The ability to set goals correctly is a habit

Some successful people have dedicated their lives to the study of achieving goals effectively. Brian Tracy, the author of more than 70 books on self-development, paid a lot of attention to the study of this art. Of the Russian writers, Gleb Arkhangelsky, the author of the book “Time Drive,” especially stands out. Each of them came to the conclusion that the ability to correctly set goals and achieve them is a habit that can and should be developed. We will touch on some of the thoughts of these authors in this article, but to a greater extent the article will be based on my personal experience in achieving goals. Writing this article is also a small goal, a step towards achieving a more global goal - creating a useful Internet site for self-development. And the fact that you are now reading this article suggests that the result has been achieved quite well. Here we go?

How to set a goal: 5 rules

In total, I have identified 5 basic rules that affect the quality of the goal. If you follow each of them, you will be able to formulate a correct and motivating goal with which you will undoubtedly be able to achieve results. Let's begin.

The goal must be in writing

A verbally stated goal is just a thought. Only a specific formulation written down on paper is a real commitment to oneself. A written statement of a goal presupposes the presence of some convenient tool to record it. There are 2 convenient tools for formulating goals:

Diary

The most effective and convenient tool. People who use a diary do business much more effectively than those who neglect it. A diary is convenient because goals can be formulated for the year, month, week and day and you can always have it at hand. At the same time, short-term goals (for example, a plan for the day) should always be based on long-term ones (goals for the year).

Vision board

This is a small board with the ability to draw and erase, which is hung in a visible place at home or at work. It is not suitable for daily task planning, but for formulating global goals, for example, for the coming year, it is an ideal option.

For myself, I chose a diary.

The right goal should be as specific as possible

One of the reasons many people don't achieve their goals is that they aren't specific enough. Because of this, it is not clear whether you are getting closer to your goal or how far you have come. Let's look at the example of losing weight.

Bad wording: lose weight

Good formulation: lose 10 kg in 10 months, losing 1 kg monthly, by November 1, 2018;

The more specific the goal, the more clearly you can imagine the end result in your head, which means you can effectively motivate yourself.

The goal must be measurable

A measurable goal should be as detailed as possible. It must indicate the period during which you plan to achieve this goal. If the deadline for achieving the goal is not set, then you give the brain an instruction: there is nowhere to rush, and therefore it is not necessary to make every effort to achieve the goal.

The deadline does not have to be set exactly the first time. It may be subject to adjustment, becoming shorter or longer. Simply assessing your strengths right away is not an easy task, but as you work, you will understand it better.

The goal should be divided into as many subtasks as possible

This is especially true for global goals, which may take more than one year to achieve. Gleb Arkhangelsky voiced a very good association on this issue. He compared a big goal to an elephant, and the process of achieving a result to eating an elephant. Eating an entire elephant seems like an impossible task, but if you divide the elephant into small pieces - “steaks”, and eat them gradually, you will soon see that your impossible task has been completed in many small steps.

The goal must be achievable

You should not set yourself impossible tasks - they greatly weaken motivation on the way to the result. You must constantly see progress and realize that you are getting closer to your goal. Therefore, first of all, you need to assess your strengths and decide what result is truly achievable for you.

The goal should inspire

Even just the wording itself that you compose should make you want to make efforts to achieve results. Closing your eyes and seeing yourself having achieved your goal, you should literally be filled with strength and inspiration. And remembering her early in the morning, when you don’t want to get up, you fly out of bed.

To make your goal inspire you as much as possible, do a simple exercise. Take a piece of paper and write down the 10 most desirable changes that achieving your goal can bring to your life.

An example of a well-defined goal

Let’s take for example a goal: buying a car.

If this is your cherished dream, then you should choose which car model can inspire you to great deeds. For example, Chevrolet Lanos.

I am buying a black Chevrolet Lanos on June 30, 2020 at a price of 180,000 rubles.

To do this, I need to save 5 thousand rubles every month for the next 3 years, which I will put into a special bank account, with interest accruing.

When I buy a car, I will realize my dream of car travel, I will be able to travel to work in comfort, I will get rid of the need to travel by public transport, I will listen to my favorite music loudly, I will be able to drive around an empty city at night late at night, go out onto an endless highway and drive , drive, drive...

Let's move on to the next stage.

How to achieve results: 5 rules

Even the most correct and inspiring goal will not be achieved if it is not supported by action. Once the goal is correctly formulated, it is necessary to move on to the most critical stage - the process of achieving the result.

The first thing you will encounter is a lot of fears in your head, most often fictitious. Let's look at the 3 most popular fears and how to deal with them:

Work with fears

1. “I can’t do it”

A very common thought, and extremely harmful. Take a look around. Look at the incredible results those around you achieve: they create a million-dollar business, become screen stars, popular performers. Imagine that one day one of them would say to themselves - I won’t succeed. It would have stopped him and he wouldn't have even tried. Who would he be now? You don’t want to deprive yourself of future victories, success and achievements, simply because you are afraid of defeat?

In fact, It's not defeat you need to be afraid of. In any case, it will be experience, practice, effort. But what you really need to be afraid of is not even trying. Drive this fear out of your head, and constantly repeat to yourself - “I can do it!” Soon you will believe it yourself and achieve results that you only dreamed of before.

2. “The goal is unattainable”

You need to figure out why you think this way. If no one has achieved such a goal before you, then be the first. Many people were once the first in something, and this did not stop them.

And if someone has already achieved a similar result (especially if many), then you have every chance. You are no worse. Most likely even better. Now you are working on yourself, reading useful material. And this speaks of your determination. You simply cannot fail. I believe in you!

3. "It's too late"

A dangerous and very destructive thought. I liked to tell myself that too. When I was a student, this exact thought stopped me from achieving an important goal. And after many years, I finally returned to my goal and began to work towards achieving it. And I have already achieved good results. It turned out that even after many, many years it was not too late, and after many more years it would not have been too late. But then, when I was at university, it was the perfect time. It's a pity that I didn't understand this then.

If you now give up on achieving your goal, because... It seems to you that it’s “too late,” but many years later you will be very sorry and realize that it was “the right time.” Believe me.

To achieve results - take action

The key to successfully achieving results is constant movement forward. Have you broken your goal into many subtasks? You need to take a step towards your goal every day, no matter how small. But be sure to do it. If you don’t have the strength, or you want to put it off until tomorrow, remember that the same thing will happen again tomorrow.

Think about this.

If you write only 1 page a day, then in a year you will write a book.

If you save 100 rubles every day, by the end of the year you will have 36,500 rubles.

If you do 100 push-ups every day, you will do 36,500 push-ups in a year.

Thinking about this, you realize what enormous power constants have, even if small steps to achieve your goal, and what great results can be achieved through small but regular actions.

Control the achieved result

Your constant companion in achieving results is tracking progress. If you decide to use a diary, then it would be correct to report to yourself every day about what results you have achieved.

Such reports help you not only see progress, but also feel responsible to yourself if you have been slacking. Are you really ready to accept what you have today and give up your dreams? I'm sure not. Report to yourself every night, analyze your mistakes and think about what you can do better.

Get inspired by success stories

Here is a very important point - there will probably be people who have already achieved the result you are striving for. Find their success stories - these could be books, personal blogs, forum posts. The stories of people who have conquered the peak you are striving for will not only inspire you, but will give you the opportunity to gain experience and valuable knowledge; learn about the mistakes they made and avoid making them yourself.

That's all, friends! Believe in yourself and you will succeed!

In order to correctly set a goal, a person needs to pay attention to each of the following concepts:

1. Needs;

2. Beliefs;

3. Values;

4. Self-identity.

Human needs

Two things regulate elementary human behavior - need and motive.

For example, if a person has a need to eat, then he will be motivated to satisfy this need. But as soon as he eats, the motivation will end and the activity will stop. Because the primitive needs of a person are a short-term regulator of his activity. Unfortunately, the “after eating, you can sleep” pattern is a common behavior model, according to which about 80% of people live.

However, in the modern world, in order to stand, you need to walk, and in order to walk, you need to run, otherwise you will be hopelessly left behind. Therefore, a person needs more long-term regulators.

Human Beliefs

A more long-term regulator that allows a person to navigate space and move forward are beliefs. They are able to correct and guide a person’s path when he still has needs, and he himself rushes through life without a rudder or sail.

A person's beliefs answer the question - why? Why am I like this? Why are others like this? Why is the world like this?

However, beliefs can play a cruel joke in matters of goal setting, because most people have beliefs that are limiting or weakening. For example, beliefs from the series: “I’m somehow different. Others are not like that. The world is somehow different.” Such beliefs can become a cage for a person.

And if he feels captive of such beliefs, before setting goals, he should start removing the negative programming attitudes that hinder his movements.

Human values

Then, you can move on to deeper work on yourself: identifying and correcting values. A person’s values are what he agrees to spend time, money and his life for.

Values are determined by the question - what does life itself mean to me?

When working with your goals, it is also important to understand whether there is a contradiction between goals and values? Ask yourself a question - are you firmly convinced that the values by which you are guided are optimal for creating good motivation?

For example, one can assume that a person will never marry if there is no such thing as a family in his value system. Or, a person will never transfer from the subway to an expensive car as long as there is no point about material well-being in his values.

When working on criteria and values, it is important to identify missing but important values for a person in order to fit them into the overall structure and, thus, change the picture of the world, change the filters through which a person looks at the world.

If the work is done correctly, then a person should immediately have needs that did not exist before. For example, go on vacation with your family, start improving your own efficiency, undergo training to gain new knowledge and skills, etc.

Human self-identity

The next stage of the motivational factor is the concept of self-identity. It is determined by a person’s firm conviction: “I am who I am, I cannot do otherwise. This is what I have stood for and will continue to stand for.” For successful self-identification, it is important to learn to understand your individuality and make plans in accordance with it. This means the ability to accept yourself as you are, and not as you will be later, as well as the ability to be reasonable and calm about your shortcomings.

To successfully set a goal, it is necessary that all points flow from one another and successfully complement each other. With the correct formulation of your identity, values will be chosen accordingly, beliefs will be appropriate and motives will begin to be realized in an optimal way.

In order to feel that life is filled with meaning, you need to have clear goals. Until they are set and then achieved, there is no point in talking about luck. Plans for the future make up everyday existence, which makes a person’s destiny happy. Until he learns to set achievable goals and then achieve them, he cannot be called successful. Vague life guidelines prevent you from achieving important aspirations. In this regard, people lose self-confidence, cannot decide on their priorities and rush from side to side. They feel that they are unable to achieve anything and become depressed.

Resources to achieve the goal

The following requirements must be presented for setting goals:

definition;
absence of insurmountable difficulties;
at least minimal accessibility;
availability of opportunities for implementation;
clear time frames;
specificity, etc.

For example, if the goal is to become healthy and in good physical shape, it is worth clearly defining what diseases you want to get rid of.

It is very important to bring out the realism. If a plump woman wants to become thin despite the fact that all the representatives of the fair sex in her family were obese, then the desire has no prerequisites for fulfillment while maintaining good health and beautiful appearance.

If a brunette intends to be a blonde, then she needs to think about why she needs such changes and whether she is ready to accept the fact that her hair will be hopelessly damaged in order to attract the attention of a person who in six months will become indifferent to her.

If the goal is to improve the functioning of the body, then you need to meet a specific time frame, for example, three months. If after a period of time no improvements are detected, you should consult a doctor or change specific tasks.

It is also necessary to consider the availability of funds, the availability of certain procedures, or the actual need to achieve the goal.

Personal components

In the list of personal qualities, the following behavioral models should be highlighted.

Honestly and frankly answer the question of why you need to achieve such a goal. If the result is an improvement in the quality of life or the acquisition of health, then it is necessary to begin its implementation immediately. If a person seeks to prove something to others or gain a higher status, then there is hardly any need to waste time on these things.
Assess the resources that a person has. The ideal option would be if to achieve the goal you initially do not need to have anything; it is already available. It’s more difficult if you want to buy something or save money. Another obstacle will be the complete or temporary impossibility of acquiring initial funds. In this case, it is necessary to reorient the final goal, focusing on obtaining the required minimum.
Ability to focus on achieving goals. First, it is advisable to clearly imagine the results of implementing plans, and then weigh whether they are really needed.

How to set goals to achieve them

You should daily and continuously try to move towards your goal, at least in small steps. Every free minute must be devoted to fulfilling your plans.

There is no need to try to achieve everything at once and without much effort. It is necessary to distribute forces and allocate a time period. Afterwards, it’s time to set your motivation correctly. Necessary:

Write down your goal.
Break it down into stages.
Indicate the required steps.
Evaluate what is available.
Draw up a rough plan for moving towards your goal.
Indicate the amount required for this.
Estimate the time frame.
Find out what is missing to achieve.
Think about ways to get what you need.

For example, the desire is to visit Italy. Then it is worth clearly defining in what capacity the trip is planned: a vacation at sea, a city cruise or a visit to friends.

Then you need to understand exactly what steps need to be taken and how feasible they are. Available financial resources and the possibility of obtaining leave should be assessed. You need to realize what is missing and whether such things can be compensated. If the issue is resolved positively, then it is advisable to set intermediate goals and again think through ways to implement them. If everything is considered real, then it is necessary to set an approximate date for visiting the country.

If all the points are completed, it turns out that the goal is too cumbersome and difficult to achieve, then you need to postpone your plan or focus on achieving intermediate results. It is also possible to change it. For example, instead of visiting Italy, plan a trip to Turkey or Georgia.

Sequential steps

After the intermediate task is completed, each item should be filled out and thought through carefully.

If there are a lot of them, you need to sort through the list and bring some tasks together. Then it is advisable to arrange them in accordance with. Sometimes they are broken down by ease of achievement. What cannot be done under any circumstances must be removed from the list or replaced with more realistic plans.

Then you need to mark those that can be done right now and immediately do what you have planned, without delaying for a minute.

If a person has no idea how to get started, he needs to look on the Internet for ways to achieve his goal or consult with knowledgeable people. Only those items that have been highlighted as the most important or accessible should be acted upon without delay. You can’t take on the most difficult tasks right away. Most likely, it will not be possible to fulfill them, and the person will lose.

If something doesn’t work out, you need to re-read the list again, note the difficulties that have arisen and add to the list of desired resources. It is also necessary to imagine alternative plans or how to fill in what is missing. Goals must be achievable.

Motivational components

In the future, you should determine those moments that will allow you to achieve the required.

You must have:

wish;
the ability to find the right sources;
the ability to not give up in the face of difficulties;
flexibility;
openness;
the desire to achieve a lot;
realism;
hard work, etc.

In order not to deprive yourself of motivation, you should highlight those components that can be completed in the next hundred days.

It is necessary to determine the importance of the task, think through what awaits a person if the plan fails, identify all the risks and reflect on why the goal is so important to achieve. It is worth having a clear idea of how realistic it is to achieve results. If they are very doubtful, then you need to weigh whether you need to take them on.

If it is decided that they are required, then it is worth considering ways to retreat in case of failure and developing alternative ways to implement the plan. They should be extremely specific, not far-reaching plans, but a task that must be completed today or in the coming days.

Evaluation of results

You don't need to demand too much from yourself or from life. In this case, every failure will be perceived very painfully.

You should prepare in advance for the fact that a number of factors will be difficult or unforeseen circumstances will arise. On the other hand, you shouldn’t be discouraged by every difficulty. The fact that they appear only means that it is advisable to take up the compiled list again and correct it.

Review of the first completed items

There is no need to set yourself a maximum goal. Fulfillment of plans is a matter of chance or luck. It is better to set small goals for yourself, but clearly achieve their implementation.

You need to allocate enough mental and physical strength to achieve results. If they have to risk their well-being, finances or health, then it is advisable to think about the correctness of the chosen path. It is necessary to pay attention to unexpected obstacles that arise along the way. If any parallel tasks appear, they need to be taken into account.
It should always be remembered that there are only one hundred days left and the countdown has already begun. At the same time, do not panic if you cannot meet the allotted deadline. It is advisable to understand what exactly has been achieved and again adjust the goals taking into account the lengthening time frame. If nothing definite was achieved during the specified period, it is necessary to consider the option of canceling or reorienting the goal.
You need to improve your skills and constantly be on your toes. It shouldn’t be that a lucky break comes along and the person has no desire to move forward.
All tasks must be completed strictly. Nothing should be left for later or considered unimportant. You should prepare for the fact that you will have to do a lot, sacrificing your free time.
If, in the process of striving for a goal, a person discovers that he has become bored or uninterested, then he should again take his list of priorities and reflect on the desirability of achieving his plans and ultimate success. If they have lost importance, then you need to consider potential abandonment.

List adjustment

Even if there are no obstacles to achieving your plan, you should take the list compiled in connection with the intended goal, re-read it and mark what has been accomplished. Sometimes it turns out that a person is already halfway to fulfilling it or, conversely, unnecessarily overestimates his successes.

You should not fall into extreme optimism or pessimism. Everything must be thought out very clearly and specifically.

It is necessary to honestly admit to yourself what feelings a person is experiencing. If passion or stubbornness, you need to understand whether they are required in this case. If the mood is defeatist or doubt arises, then it is also worth recognizing where it came from. It is advisable to constantly listen to your intuition.

Realism of the goal

After summing up the first results, it is necessary to think about whether the task set was a goal, a difficult aspiration, or remained just a pipe dream. It is necessary to analyze each of the concepts and think about how they fit the plan.

A large amount of energy is subconsciously allocated to the goal, much less to the desire, and the dream is sometimes completely divorced from life. Therefore, it will most likely remain unfeasible.

Only if the aspiration is conscious and has a clear goal, it has a chance to come true.

Moreover, if a person has no idea what he wants to achieve with his plans and what the benefits of achieving them will be, he will not put in too much effort. He will mark time until he is convinced that nothing is changing, and then he will retreat from the goal. Therefore, it is better to weigh its realism in advance before wasting physical and mental strength.

Achieving Your Goals: A Step-by-Step Guide

In order for your plan to have every chance of being realized, it is necessary to limit it to clear boundaries. Records should be re-read and corrected daily.

Fixation of intention

You need to keep a diary where you will record the steps and the usefulness of your progress along the intended path. You should also check how much they bring a person closer to the final result.

It is required to indicate the degree of movement towards the goal as a percentage. All failures, unforeseen circumstances and difficulties encountered must be recorded.

When achieving an intermediate result, it is also worth noting what exactly contributed to it.

It is advisable to praise yourself, reward yourself when you spend a lot of effort, and consolidate the resulting effect.

You should also communicate your success to others in order to increase your self-esteem. It is precisely this circumstance that most often forces people to stop moving along the intended path.

You should understand in advance that there will be a very large number of individuals who will try to pull the rug out from under your feet. You shouldn’t ignore them completely, but it’s also unacceptable to tune in to the negative. It is advisable to note their opinion and try to get rid of your real, not imaginary, shortcomings.

Under no circumstances should one think that a person is unworthy of his desires. If he wants it, it means they are important to him. You just need to find a realistic approach. There is nothing that is unworthy if it is legal and achievable. Even the greatest people started small and also heard doubts about achieving their goals at the beginning of their journey. Of course, there is no point in persisting in a project that is obviously hopeless. But there is no point in giving up what you have planned either. You just need to correlate it with reality and find common ground.

Clarifying the direction of movement

You should define your goal as accurately as possible.

Therefore, it is necessary to write it down in the form in which you would like to see it come true.

For example:

I am well.
I work in Moscow.
My earnings are one hundred thousand rubles a month.
I live in a large apartment.
I have a car.
My children go to the best school.

You are allowed to have multiple goals at once. They can flow from one another or be parallel.

Fixing the time frame

Then a clear deadline for achieving them is determined. It should not be limited to too long a time. If clear results are obtained, it can be extended. In their absence, the goal should be removed from the priorities.

For example, the task: “I work in Moscow” should be given six months. A person must understand that he does not have many years to procrastinate with his intentions.

In addition, the desire may turn out to be extremely difficult to implement due to the presence of difficulties that he was not aware of from the very beginning. Therefore, if after six months he has not come a step closer to what he had planned or even lost something of what he had already achieved, plans must be abandoned or made more realistic, for example, “I am looking for a job in Moscow.” For a new goal, you again need to allocate a deadline, and a fairly short one.

Specification of goals

It is very important not to get distracted by vague ideas. They cannot be formulated like this: “I am a respected person.” The task should look like: “I work in a bank” or “My children go to a prestigious school.”

Again, you should think about what exactly you would like to achieve and what benefits the realized goal will bring. If there is nothing other than stroked pride, then it is not worth making efforts in such a direction.

“I work in a bank” also needs to be divided into several stages. For example, you can set the following conditions in parallel: “I serve as a bank manager,” “I earn seventy thousand rubles a month,” and “I have mastered the necessary computer programs.”

Be sure to include deadlines for each task. If it was not possible to meet them, then you need to understand what prevented this and whether it will become an insurmountable obstacle in the future. If such a circumstance arises, then the goal should be reconsidered. For example, not “I work as a manager,” but “I serve as a cashier at a bank.” Not “I get seventy thousand rubles,” but “I get fifty thousand rubles.” “I have mastered computer programs” change to “I am fluent in English.”

Drawing up a detailed plan

In order not to get stuck halfway, it is advisable to think through a set of steps to achieve the goal. They should be small and quite achievable.

When planning “I work in Moscow”, they need to be divided into stages:

I visit the city to study the situation.
I allocate the required amount for travel to interviews.
I'm looking for free time to travel to Moscow.
I'm researching vacancies in the region.
I determine what I need to get a job offer.
I am looking for contacts with friends who have moved to the capital.

For each task, deadlines and completion criteria are determined. If you haven’t been able to find friends in three months, then you should expand the task (look for mutual friends or try to communicate with city residents) or abandon it in favor of studying the issue yourself.

Usually, in cases where the goal is feasible, achieving the result is not too difficult. The occurrence of an increased number of difficulties indicates that the chosen path is unrealistic.

Adjusting goals

Constantly, even at intermediate stages, it is necessary to weigh the desirability and benefits of achieving the goal.

If a person seeks to unite with a family or get a job that simply does not exist in his region, then the goal is well worth the effort and can be achieved.

The goal of becoming successful or finding balance should be immediately discarded as not leading to a certain result. You only need to set yourself specific tasks.

If the end result is an increase in well-being, then you should think twice. Most often, a person simply does not take into account increased expenses when increasing income.

As already mentioned, the desire to stand out or prove something must be eliminated immediately. If moving to Moscow is aimed at increasing self-esteem or the goal of becoming no worse than a friend, then there is no need to spend your life achieving this intention. Even if it is successfully implemented, it often turns out that the situation has become even worse than it was before.

Checking yourself

In order to assess the degree of progress towards the goal, the final result should also be broken down into minimal components. For example, “I work in Moscow” must be divided into:

I have a place to live in the capital.
My job is no worse than what I did at home.
I am officially registered at my workplace, etc.

Naturally, the goal cannot be considered achieved if a person finds temporary employment or lives in inhumane conditions. If in order to get a vacancy in Moscow you had to change from a department head to a courier position, this result does not become a step up.

On the other hand, if the goal was to unite with the family, then such achievements would be justified as a temporary measure and if there were clear benefits from one's new position.

If the plan was to stand out among their classmates, then those who have successfully settled in their city find themselves in an advantageous position compared to those who work in Moscow as a cleaner or janitor. In this case, you need to adjust the goal again, changing it from the desire to be better to very specific things.

At the same time, you should ask yourself why such an intention is needed and how long it will be important. If moving is desirable in order to fulfill the dream of the parents, then there is no need to persist too much on this path. In the end, it turns out that this is not what they dreamed of at all, and the person himself will spend completely meaningless efforts to achieve a goal that was not set for him.

Interference Analysis

When making plans worthy of attention, it is also worth considering what prevents progress on the path. Impatience, criticism and doubts must be discarded immediately.

You need to think about your every action and what makes it difficult to move towards your goal. Such things include understatement, painful experiences in the past, uncertainty about the future, or temporary setbacks.

When giving up bad habits and cravings for helplessness, you should think about the benefits of achieving your goal every time and concentrate on them.

It is imperative to understand that there have always been and will be unforeseen circumstances, mistakes and illusions. It is worth very clearly separating them from failure or, conversely, success.

When successfully moving towards a goal, it is advisable to keep in mind changing economic conditions, one’s own health, or basic luck.

There is no need to strive too hard for an unshakable result. It must be weighed and refined or changed.

In order to reduce the effect of unforeseen factors to a minimum, you should constantly study the issue, check the stability of the situation and communicate with people. Everything that enriches knowledge must be mastered thoroughly.

If there is no one to expect help from, then you need to explore ways to achieve the goal on your own, and if you are unable to, abandon it or postpone it until you obtain the desired resources. In this case, the goal also changes in accordance with new circumstances.

If you do not learn to set goals correctly, identify ways to achieve them and consistently move in this direction, then it will hardly be possible to achieve anything at all. There is no need to confuse your dreams and goals. Even a very strong desire to become a millionaire has no chance of being realized in the absence of the necessary data. Nevertheless, the goal of ensuring a decent existence for yourself and your family deserves some effort.

Assessing your capabilities

It is also very important to count on yourself first. If the fulfillment of a plan depends entirely on other people, then the slightest change in intentions on their part immediately nullifies all the efforts made.

On the other hand, the intentions of others cannot be controlled, so building your life around them is very dangerous.

A goal will only become meaningful when a person acts in accordance with his own needs, aspirations and abilities. You should count on the support of other people only within very limited and adjustable limits.

The effort expended should also bring satisfaction to the individual himself, and not to anyone else. A clear understanding that he is acting in his own interests, and not in order to prove something, help someone else, or please his parents, will allow him to clearly achieve what he wants.

There is no need to think that the final goal is something unshakable. It can change, expand or, conversely, contract. It may well follow a parallel path or degenerate into a completely different desire. Such changes do not mean a retreat from one’s intentions, but simply reveal a clear understanding of the path along which to move forward.

Today I will teach you how to set goals very effectively from both a physical and metaphysical point of view.

Setting goals is one of the most common habits of successful people.

Attention! Read the biographies of some of the most successful people in history and you will find that they had specific dreams, visions or goals for what they wanted to achieve and successfully achieved >>>

I believe that when you set a goal, you need to do three things to achieve the result.

Firstly, you must have burning desire get there.

Secondly, you must firmly believe that the goal is possible and accessible.

Thirdly, you must be able to expectations, that is, you should expect to receive a result.

While this may seem a little philosophical, there is plenty of evidence in the scientific community to support it.

The best documented example is the placebo effect.

Doctors have discovered that patients can cure themselves of illnesses when they are prescribed powerful drugs that are actually sugar pills.

The placebo effect has also spread to cancer research, and doctors are experimenting with treatments for patients in an attempt to get rid of cancer naturally, where patients visualize themselves healthy and cured.

Could the same psychological factors that cause the placebo effect be applied to goal setting and thus help make a person or business more successful?

I believe in it.

Perhaps nothing else will give confidence the idea of burning desire, faith and expectation more than the next story.

The Sam Walton Story

Sam was a poor child who grew up in the heartland of America during the Great Depression.

Times were hard, and the little boy worked hard to help his parents make ends meet.

He got up early in the morning to milk the cows and sell the milk to his 10 to 12 customers for 10 cents a gallon—a lot of money in those days. He also went door to door selling magazine subscriptions when he was just eight years old.

Sam had one good character trait - ambition. His mother always told him that he should try to be the best he can in whatever he does. That's why Sam always did everything that interested him with real passion.

Even as a child growing up in Missouri, Sam was determined to set bold goals for himself. He was so ambitious that when he became a Boy Scout, he made a bet with all the other kids in his troop that he would be the first among them to reach the rank of Eagle Scout. Earning the Eagle Badge was no easy task and required extreme courage. Most of the Eagle Scouts were a year older than Sam.

Sam won a bet when, as a 14-year-old, he saved a man from drowning in a river.

At that time, little Sam became the youngest Eagle Scout in Missouri.

In high school, Sam was elected student council president and was active in many other clubs. Even though he was short, Sam joined the basketball team and was thrilled when he won the state championship. Sam also became the quarterback of the football team, which also went undefeated.

Setting high goals came naturally to him.

His ambition and positive mental attitude stayed with him when he graduated from high school. By the time Sam got to college, he even had thoughts about one day becoming President of the United States.

He decided that he should first try to become chairman of the university's student body. So he won in every community he came to, and by the time he graduated from college, he was elected president of the senior men's honor society, an officer of his fraternity, president of his senior class, and president of his Bible class. He also served as captain and president of Scissors and Blade, an elite military ROTC organization.

While doing all this, he also ran his own newspaper business and earned between $4,000 and $6,000 a year, which was quite some serious money at the end of the Depression.

“Sam was a little distracted at times,” said the circulation manager of one of the newspapers Sam delivered in college, “he had so much to do and wanted that he kept forgetting everything. But when this boy focused on one thing, he certainly got what he wanted.”

Sam graduated from college with a bachelor's degree and got a job at J.C. Penney as a management trainee for $75 a month.

But Sam wasn't satisfied with becoming a management trainee and soon began looking for other opportunities.

At the age of 27, with a loan from his father-in-law, he bought a small discount store in Newport, Arkansas.

Despite initial poor sales and strong competition from larger stores across the street, Sam set a goal for his small Newport store to become the best, most profitable store in Arkansas within 5 years.

Sam worked hard for five years and achieved his goal. Soon he had the largest store in Arkansas. But he didn't have enough time to enjoy his success.

Soon his world collapsed.

The lease had expired and the owner of his building refused to renew the lease. He knew Sam had nowhere else to go and decided he wanted to take over the store so he could pass it on to his son.

“I couldn’t believe this was happening to me,” Sam said, “It was like a nightmare.”

But Sam was not the kind of person who could easily resign.

He and his family moved to another city. There, in Bentonville, Arkansas, he opened a new store. He recalled overhearing some people commenting on his new venture: "Let's give this guy 60 days, maybe 90. He won't last that long."

Well, Sam lasted over 90 days. And his new store became successful. He soon began expanding his business and opening other stores throughout the state.

In 1962, at the age of 44, he opened his most ambitious store yet. He called it Wal-Mart.

The rest is history.

In 1985, Forbes named Sam Walton the richest man in America. A child who had to go shopping selling milk and newspapers founded the largest company in the world.

Wal-Mart has made millionaires of thousands of shareholders, provided jobs for millions of Americans, and helped improve the quality of life in many developing countries by lowering the cost of goods.

In 1992, Sam Walton received the Presidential Medal of Honor, the highest civilian honor that can be awarded to an American citizen.

From his childhood until the time he died in 1992, Sam Walton was successful in everything he undertook. It's hard to say what qualities make people like Sam Walton successful in so many different endeavors. But in his autobiography he talks about why he considers himself so lucky.

“I don’t know what makes a person ambitious,” Sam later said, “but the fact is that I was full of enthusiasm and ambition from the day I was born.”

I expect victory. I enter into difficult tasks from which I always intend to emerge victorious.

It never occurred to me that I might lose, it was almost as if I had the right to win.

This kind of thinking often seems to turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

How to Set Goals: The Sam Walton Method

There are several lessons to be learned from this story.

1. Set clear, specific goals for what you want to achieve.

Sam motivated himself by knowing what he wanted and setting a specific goal within a time frame. When he opened his first store, he decided that he wanted his store to be "the best, most profitable store in Arkansas within 5 years."

2. Set high goals

We create our own limitations. Most of us are guilty of aiming too low rather than too high.

Sam Walton dreamed big—even as a child. With each achievement, his confidence grew and his goals became bigger and bigger. He didn't limit himself.

When you set a goal, remember: “A good goal should scare you a little and excite you.”

Think about your current tasks and test them against this rule. If your goals don't scare or excite you, try something more challenging.

The mind is your limitation. As long as the mind can imagine that you can do something, you can do it—as long as you truly believe it 100 percent.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, world famous actor, athlete, former governor of California.

3. Don't let defeat deter you from your path.

Sam liked to smile when he thought about one of his early bosses at J. Penney who told him, “I would fire you if you weren't such a good salesman. Maybe you're just not cut out for retail."

He did not allow other people's negative ideas to influence him. When he lost his first store, he overcame his depression, then packed his bags, moved to a new city and started again.

Perhaps if Sam had not lost his first store and was forced to start a new one in Bentonville, Wal-Mart would not have been founded.

Failure, when viewed from a different perspective, is often simply a mechanism to set us on the right path or teach us a valuable lesson.

4. Desire - Faith - Expectation

Your goals must meet the criteria of Desire, Belief and Expectation.

The goal should be something that you strongly desire. The greater your desire, the stronger your will to achieve your goal.

Napoleon Hill said, “If your desires are strong enough, you appear to have superhuman powers.”

It depends on your belief system. As you achieve more in life, your self-confidence increases. It increases your confidence and fuels you to achieve even greater results.

Finally, you should expect the end result.

The waiting is the hardest thing.

But a creative visualization tool helps tremendously.

Your subconscious mind cannot distinguish between real and imaginary experiences. By frequently visualizing the end result you desire, you force your subconscious mind to perceive it as real. This causes the mind to draw this situation into your life. Perhaps no one expressed this point more accurately than Gandhi when he said:

“The person I want to become, if I believe that I will be, then I will become.”

How to set goals for life?

Now that you understand the principles behind goal setting, it's time to take everything you've learned so far and understand how to set goals in practice.

I'll show you a simple yet powerful method you can use to create a life plan around your goals.

Step 1 - Determine what is important to you

Think about different aspects of your life. Health, Family, Friends, Career, Spirituality, Finance, Charity, Education...etc.

Determine which of these areas are most important to you. Perhaps your main concerns are family, spirituality and career.

Step 2 - Set long-term goals in each area

Come up with a vision of where you would like to be five to ten years from now in each of these areas.

Perhaps your career vision is to run your own business. Your family vision may be to travel the world with your spouse and children.

Your financial vision might be to have $250,000 in the bank.

Think about what you want.

Remember the rule - a good goal should scare you a little and excite you.

By thinking about where you want to be five or ten years in the future, you've created a long-term vision.

Step 3 - Decide what you need to do this year to achieve your long-term vision

So you want to have $250,000 saved in the bank by next year. What do you need to do this year to achieve this goal? You may need to take an investing course, get a better paying job, or start looking for new business opportunities.

Do this with every long-term goal. This exercise will help you focus on long-term and short-term planning.

Many people tend to make only short-term plans and lose sight of the long term.

Others set long-term goals but then forget what they need to do right now to achieve those long-term goals.

To be effective at setting goals, you need to have a long-term vision and short-term plans to achieve that vision.

Step 4 - Write it down on paper

I'll show you a simple method called Life Cycle Planning. You can see a photo of such a diagram below.

The first horizontal line represents time. The first vertical bar represents each focus area - in the table below, the focus areas are Family, Health, Career, Creativity, and Finance.

Now divide the sheet in half. Use the first half to write down your short-term goals—goals you need to accomplish this year. Please note that each goal corresponds to a time period.

The second half is used to list longer-term goals—what you want to achieve in the next year and then over the next five years.

Learn more about life cycle planning in the video. Dream checklist.

First, you start looking at your long-term goals. Write down your long-term vision for each focus area in the appropriate row and column.

Then ask yourself:

“What do I need to do this year to make sure I’m on track to my long-term vision?”

Write down your short-term goals in the appropriate row and column.

This document may be modified. Go ahead and add new goals as you come up with them. You can also delete old goals if your plans change.

Step 5 - Begin the Creative Visualization Process

The lifecycle planning worksheet should be placed in a place where you are likely to review it daily. It could be in the office drawer you open daily, as a file on your computer desktop, or in a frame on the wall.

When you meditate, spend a few minutes visualizing yourself achieving each goal.