Goal Setting and Results

Nothing worthwhile is accomplished without goals and planning. An occasionally wish may comes true and one erroneously think a goal has been set and attained. Here are strategies to move you beyond hoping and wishing to a plan with results.

Be all-inclusive. We are a composite whole and cannot separate ourselves from ourselves. Since one’s core foundation is all encompassing, focus on your whole life rather than a specific area. Include family, career, social, financial, intellectual, spiritual and recreational.

Set goals that are clear and concise. Make them specific rather than general. General “I will set aside some money each payday.” Specific: “I consistently set aside four percent of each pay check.”

State each goal in positive, present tense verbiage. Adding to the above example, “I enjoy consistently setting aside four percent of each pay check.”
Re-read often. Under gird your habit mind. Nurture your ability to dream, explore, reach and grow.

Catch yourself doing right. Pay attention to your behavior that it matches your goals. To reinforce continued success, stop and literally give yourself an “atta boy” or “atta girl”. Bask in your accomplishments. Positive feelings propel forward.
Stay the course. Set benchmarks along the way. There will always be course corrections.

Do not dwell on past successes or failures; both paralyze. Reveling in past success lends to current procrastination. Wallowing in failures lends to paranoia and being your own worst enemy. Today is a new day; make it count. Succeed again and again and again, each time in different and better ways.

Visualize. Practice what great achievers; see and feel yourself accomplishing the putt or closing the sale in your imagination. Productive daydreaming allows you to growing to meet the challenges of the goal. Get excited; words and images create energy.

Continually evaluate. Look at goals set and follow through and honestly ask, “Does my behavior match my goals?” Resolve those things you have put off and get back on track. Relish the journey and the personal growth.

Refuse to plateau by continually setting newer, more far-reaching goals. Moving forward necessitates courage and focus. There will be moments of fear and doubt, but recognize this as a natural process of growth. Hold on to your excitement and determination until the feeling sticks.

Saying “Yes” to one thing sometimes does means saying “No” to another, but that is not an absolute. Sometimes the “Yes” or the “No” advances endless possibilities.

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