Goals 3: Reach For The Stars And Avoid The Mud

Last week, we started to examine the required features needed for effective goals using the mnemonic 'SMART'.

This week I will complete the list ready to apply the rules to my own goals.



SMART: Goals Must Be MEASURABLE


How can we understand when we are getting close to the goal and indeed when we reach it?

One of my goals is to replace my conservatory on the house. But how do I know when I am safely able to do this? I could do it now, as long as I am willing to take out a loan for the full amount. That solution, however, does not agree with my values, which include financial discipline with no debt. Therefore my goal is to pay for the conservatory with cash.

This is why being specific about your goal on every detail is key. Monetary values are a very useful gauge of your goals. I asked a conservatory company to give me a quotation and they stated a cost of GBP16 000 for the job. My goal is now to raise this amount of money in order to replace my conservatory. A measurable goal.

The second advantage of this approach, by the way, is the salesman was also able to provide me with detailed features of the conservatory so I had a better picture of my goal too.


MyGoals.com says it well: "Your goals should be measurable and specific enough for you to know unambiguously whether they have been completed yet or not."

Bob Urichuck makes this observation in his blog: "One of my greatest lessons while working in sales is the discovery that we are constantly setting sales targets and objectives and being measured alongside them. This is a good practice and keeps us focused on our sales targets. Why not apply these same goal setting and monitoring strategies in our personal lives? Consequently, we can stay focused on our dreams and end up where we want to be."



Write Your Goals Down


Writing goals down somehow makes them more real and embeds them in your mind. It seems to me that this also helps you to plan your short term goals leading to the larger long term goals - and helps you measure your progress towards them.

Keeping your goals in front of you also seems to increase the chances of achieving them, so write them down and then put them where you can easily see them. Again, this is something we will refer to later, but find pictures that show the exact goal you want and put them where you can see them every day. The most popular place suggested seems to be on the refrigerator, but I think it is anywhere you will see it most often.

Bob Urichuck again: "Record keeping is important in goal setting. Writing down your goals and action plans represents a commitment. Otherwise you are merely wishful thinking. You can re-read and visualise written goals. They are credible and legitimate. They live and lead onward. When you write you have begun to act. Inertia is gone. You sense accomplishment already."

"Imagine your pencil, pen or keyboard is a magic wand and everything that you write down will become a reality. If it is not written down, it will not become a reality. Just the mere act of writing it down crystallises the dream."

Writing your goals down shows you are serious about achieving them. It helps you focus on them and starts the laws of nature working in your favour.

SMART: Goals Should Be ACHIEVABLE


Here we come to what I consider the most difficult aspect of goal setting. How do we know what is achievable? What is realistic?

MyGoals.com is helpful: "A goal is realistic if you stand reasonably good odds of accomplishing it, given enough time and effort - and, indeed, mountains can be moved if given enough time and effort."

"The majority of the goals you set should be very realistic or you risk becoming frustrated if you do not accomplish any of them. However, there is nothing wrong with attempting things that defy the odds or that you expect to be extremely difficult."

One of the skills that will probably be useful here is the including of small goals building up to the larger goals - baby steps, if you like.

For example, as I want GBP16 000 for a conservatory, I could set monthly goals to build the amount required by perhaps GBP1000 the first month, GBP2000 the second month and so on. Concentrate on the smaller goals and you may be amazed how easy it will be to hit the larger target.

I guess the ideal is to end up knowing every day what you need to do to achieve your goals.

Bob Urichuck : "Create a plan of action taking small steps to build and maintain a successful momentum. If your steps are too large, there is room in between to procrastinate. I recommend you take baby steps and allow for growth."

Zig Ziglar : "It is wiser to set the goal high but reachable."

MyGoals.com puts it well again: "it's worth noting that many of life's most difficult accomplishments are also some of the most worthwhile...if something were easy, then everyone would be doing it and it would no longer be very noteworthy."



How Can We Achieve Our Goals?

As mentioned in the blogs on Dreams, when you set the goal, life will provide the method to achieve it. It is a strange fact of life but if you focus on a goal, the 'how' will appear.

Jim Rohn : "Reasons come first, answers second."

The answers seem to appear to those who have the inspiration to look for them.

"When you know what you want and you want it badly enough, you'll find a way to get it."

Maxwell Maltz in his fascinating book, 'Psycho-Cybernetics' tells us: "It is the function of the automatic mechanism to supply the 'means whereby' when you supply the goal. Think in terms of the end result, and the means whereby will often take care of themselves."

The truth is, your abilities will grow as you pursue and achieve your goals. It seems you will be more fulfilled, motivated, inspired and, dare I say, happy the more you chase your goals.

Jim Rohn : "Your abilities will grow. You'll draw on untapped potential and talents you never know existed."


There are ways we can help the process, however.


Be Prepared To Pay The Price


To achieve anything worthwhile you need to pay the price.

On occasions, you may even need to temporarily sacrifice the very thing you are aiming for in order to achieve it - another paradox.

For example, to earn extra money, you may need to initially invest money or to spend more time with your family, you may have to spend less time with them whilst you work for your goal. In that last example, you may find you can be smart and include your family in your goal setting so they become your greatest helpers or supporters.

To prevent becoming disillusioned when effort is needed, it might not be a bad idea to understand the price that needs to be paid before setting the goal.

Bob Urichuck : "The price has to be identified before the goal is set. The price could be in the form of money, but can also be other things as well. It could require additional education, a change in habits or require more effort, or time, than what you are normally used to."

Keep It Simple, Sunshine


MyGoals.com : "It is better to keep your number of goals down to a manageable amount."

Keep the number of goals you are working on at any one time at a minimum so you can concentrate or focus on one at a time and you will not get overwhelmed.


Perseverance Is Key


Your goals will be achieved with dogged determination. Do something every day towards your goal and this will keep you focused. Discipline is key.

Bob Urichuck : "Stick to your plan and do what you have to do, even when you don't want to do it. Discipline is the key to your success and to achieving your goals. It is a commitment to the most important person in the world."

We will talk more about discipline and persistence later.



Don't Do It Alone


Again, we will refer to this later but it is easier to chase your goals when you are in the company of like-minded people who have high expectations of you (not the plonkers who wouldn't recognise a goal if they fell over it).

If you know people like this and you can spend time with them, fantastic. However, this may not always be easy. If you have the time, ideally, you may pull a group of people together and meet maybe once a month to discuss your goals. This will make you accountable to them and give you an extra reason to chase your targets.

At the very least you could read books, listen to cds or watch DVDs from people who are a positive influence on your attitude to goals. Okay, I have a vested interest but Success University is a source of such material, but there are other such bodies, including Amazon of course.

Otherwise, there are plenty of online groups and forums to help you, including Horatios Dreaming (one of mine again).





SMART: Goals Should Be RELEVANT


You goals must be relevant to YOU and nobody else. They have to be selfish for them to work. If you had a goal to satisfy someone else, the moment your relationship with them deteriorates, the goal becomes irrelevant. Never set a goal for someone else.

This also refers back to our values as discussed in the Dreams blog. Our goals must be relevant to what we consider important in life. I have already referred to this when I talked about my goals to replace my conservatory - my value there was financial discipline.

Your goals must not clash with other goals either. If you want to leave work, you obviously cannot also have a goal to be promoted at work.

Bob Urichuck : "Our goals guide our actions and help us plan at work and at home. When we focus on our goals (resolutions), our present is determined by our future...not our past. Keep in mind that your resolutions (goals) are an extension of your values."

This is a short section, but the last thought is from MyGoals.com :

"The more fully you understand why you want something, the more motivated you will be to keep working at it until you have accomplished it."

SMART: Goals Need To Have A TIMETABLE



For a goal to work it needs a deadline or you will be able to delay its attainment.

We have decided where we want to go now we need to define when we want to get there.

Again, you need to be honest with yourself in deciding the best time frame. Give yourself time and examine your feelings to understand what you know to be achievable. Bear in mind you will need to balance goals in different areas of your life (career, family, sport etc.) so you need to keep the whole picture in mind.


Long Term And Short Term Goals


You should by now have a detailed list of dreams you want to achieve.

Jim Rohn suggests writing next to each goal the number of years you expect it will take to achieve it (use 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years).

Check you have a balance between long term and shorter-term goals. If you have too many shorter-term goals then maybe you are not dreaming big enough. If you have too many long-term goals then either you need to look for shorter-term goals or examine what 'baby step' goals you can set to drive you towards the larger goals.

I know we have discussed the idea of 'baby step' goals before but this passage from MyGoals.com might help:

"Almost any goal, no matter how difficult, can be made easier by breaking it down into several smaller goals, to be tackled one at a time. The completion of so-called 'baby steps' is one of the best ways to build confidence, momentum and a track record of performance."

An example here is if you had a goals to be an internationally renowned concert pianist and yet you can only play 'Chopsticks' now. Clearly you could not achieve your goal tomorrow but you could in five years. In the intervening period you could get smaller 'baby step' goals such as 'find a top piano teacher','get my piano exams','play in the local community centre,' and so on.

Such smaller goals leading to the larger goals prevent you from neglecting your goals, as the excitement builds, otherwise you will find, as the elephant keeper did, the work will start to pile up.


Now pick out four of your goals you feel are the most important from each time category. For each write:

1. A detailed description of the goal (include the five senses again)

2. The reasons why you want it.

You may now find you do not really want the goal after this. That's okay: find another one that is important to you.

If you struggle with this, Bob Urichuck includes an excellent 'Goal Log' to help you.

Achieve and Reward


As you plan your goals, ensure you include both a method to track your progress towards your goals and a reward for achieving each goal.


For a reward, think of something you enjoy you can treat yourself to celebrate your success. Maybe it could be a trip to the cinema, a DVD you have always wanted, a meal in a restaurant, or even a restful evening at home. It must be something that will be a delight to you to say 'I have achieved something.'

It does not need to be expensive; you don't want the pleasure of your success tainted by guilt!

Also you should have the discipline of 'delayed gratification.' If you have promised yourself perhaps a new coat if you achieve a goal DO NOT buy it until you have achieved the goal and it will feel so much sweeter and the whole process much more fun.

Jim Rohn reminds us that goal setting is a continual, life-long process and we should review our goals and progress weekly. If you have them in front of you all the time then this should not be at all difficult.

Just think how good you would feel if you could see how you are progressing through your goals!


Bob Urichuck : "You need to measure and monitor your progress on an ongoing basis. Without some form of monitoring you will not be able to recognize your progress and reward yourself accordingly."



Conclusion


"It's exciting to know that as long as you're reaching for the stars you won't end up with a handful of mud. You need to see life as something big and exciting and your goals as big ones."

Zig Ziglar


It is clear now how important goals are in giving us direction, a purpose, in life and in helping us to decide what we should be doing at any one time.

Goals help with time management too: if you have your goals in front of you and you are moving forward, you will have a better grasp of your time.

Zig Ziglar again: "Time can be an ally or an enemy. What is becomes depends entirely upon you, your goals and your determination to use every available minute."

"Killing time is not murder - it's suicide."

There is no doubt that goals can change your life massively.

I just want to make a comment on the possibility of failure here. If you do not achieve your goal in the time allotted, reset the goal and move on. You only fail if you stop trying. You will know if you have put the effort in and, if you feel you haven't, then the answer is clear: if you want to improve your life, immerse yourself in your goals and pursue them with everything you have.

This has been a long blog this week and I apologise for that. Next week (gulp) I will present the results of applying all this to my own goals. I hope you will have a go yourself.

In the meantime, my very best wishes for great week.


Keith


http://www.keithbraithwaite.com/

Dreams 2: Dreamers Are The Saviours Of The World

The dreamers are the saviours of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers.
Humanity cannot forget its dreams; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as their realities which it shall one day see and know.

James Allen (As A Man Thinketh)

Last week I wrote an introduction to the all-important subject of Dreams. Next week I will start to identify my, and your, dreams to begin the process of achieving success.


There are three subjects I would like to cover before we start.



Materialism and Money


Okay, let's get this one out of the way.


Many times in the past I have been told (and I repeated it myself to others) that 'the best things in life are free' and, in theory it is true.


However, after much consideration, I realise in practise that very little in life is truly free. We live in a materialistic society. Later, among my dreams, you will see non-materialistic aims like 'spend more time with my family and friends', hill walking and charity work. These things take time.


We all need money to pay for food, housing, transport and so on and, at present, I work long hours to pay my bills. This means I have very little time to have 'a life'. So I don't have enough time for these non-material activities.


The truth is I have to find enough money so I don't have to attend my job and thus have time to undertake the important things in life.


Don't tell anyone, but another dream is to have a family and, boy, do they take money!


I was once privileged to hear a great speaker, former Vice President of IBM, Bill O'Brien, say it best: "Money is not important, I just put it up there with oxygen."


On the subject of money, I find I am disagreeing with some authors who suggest you should picture the amount of money you want. I realise it is more important to concentrate on what the money would bring you. Seeing yourself with $1 million is not as powerful, in my opinion, as seeing yourself in your $1 million house, for example.


Influential speaker and youth leader, Pat Mesiti, says, "There is something far greater than money - it is purpose."







SNIOP - Negative Thinking


This is a theme that will occur time and time again in these blogs. Other people stuck in the stressful grind of day-to-day life will not understand the idea that your dreams can set you free (I was out during rush hour recently - what a great time to see how the lives of so many are out of control!).


The danger with encouraging your dreams lies in with who you share your vision. I have several 'friends' with who I would never consider discussing the future, as they would only attempt to undermine my efforts. I guess the problem is finding those who would be empathetic - that is the point of this blog, I suppose.


The great teacher, Zig Ziglar coined the expression 'SNIOP' - Susceptible to The Negative Thinking Of Others.


Some years ago I had the honour of hearing a talk by Morris Goodman, the Miracle Man. Morris' story is told within the book and movie 'The Secret'. In short, Morris was desperately injured in a plane crash, died and was revived. Every part of his body was damaged, much beyond repair, but he taught himself to breathe, speak, eat, walk, indeed everything we take for granted. I have a signed copy of his book in front of me here.

The time had come for me to see how intense my belief in myself was. There could be no room for doubt, no hesitation or uncertainty. Not achieving this goal meant not achieving any other goal - ever.

Bob Proctor, a motivational speaker, often came to mind during this trying period. I recalled two phrases that would give me strength to ignore the dire prophecies of my caretakers: 'If you can't see yourself doing something, you will never do it' and 'We cannot outgrow the limits we impose on ourselves until we enlarge our image of ourselves.' If my expectations were going to govern my life, I was going to aim high!

But I not only had to be determined to reach my goals, but I had to ward off the negative anticipations of my doctors. Their desire to avoid fostering any false hope could have killed me. They meant to save me from disappointments. They knew the odds and tried to explain them to me. They wanted me to be realistic. I refused to accept their reality; I was going to create my own.

Zig Ziglar, the motivator who has inspired me more than any other, has a term for this situation, SNIOP'ed. It means to be 'susceptible to the negative influence of other people.' Studies show that other people's negative expectations often become self-fulfilling prophecies - teachers, bosses, spouses, parents, doctors - they can lock you in a cage of limits. If you accept these limits, you'll never go beyond them. But you have the key. Unlock the cage with self-confidence, and you can go a far as you desire.

As Morris indicated, don't be too hard on those who will not understand your dreams - they think they are doing you a favour by preventing you 'getting your expectations too high'. But, as James Allen puts it: "He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart will one day realise it."






Solitary Meditation


As we head towards identifying our dreams, and then later, our goals in life. I would quickly like to look at the role of solitary thought. Particularly in considering our life's purpose, sitting quietly alone and thinking has a lot to recommend it.

I find I have too little time to stop and consider my life and situation but, when I do, I feel refreshed and ready to face the world. A little gentle music seems to help if you are at home (one piece I love is Elgar's 'Nimrod') but sitting in a tranquil countryside setting is even better, I believe.


James Allen was a great champion of quiet reflection (he used to sit on a headland and stare out to sea):

Meditation is the intense dwelling, in thought, upon an idea or theme, with the object of thoroughly comprehending it, and whatsoever you constantly meditate upon you will not only come to understand, but will grow more and more into its likeness, for it will become incorporated into your very being, will become, in fact, your very self.

(From 'The Way of Peace')

In solitude a man gathers strength to meet the difficulties and temptations of life, knowledge to understand and conquer them, and wisdom to transcend them. As a building is preserved and sustained by virtue of the foundation which is hidden and unobserved, so a man is maintained perpetually in strength and peace by virtue of his lonely hour of intense thought which no eye beholds.

(From 'Byways of Blessedness')

Now if you will take advantage of a quiet hour or two in the early morning or at night, and go away to some solitary spot, or to some room in your house where you know you will be absolutely free from intrusion, and having seated yourself in an easy attitude, you forcibly direct your mind right away from the object of anxiety by dwelling upon something in your life that is pleasing and blissgiving, a calm, reposeful strength will gradually steal into your mind, and your anxiety will pass away.

It may be that you will have to try day after day before you will be able to perfectly calm your mind, but if you persevere you will certainly accomplish it. And the course which is presented to you in that hour of calmness must be carried out.

Be guided absolutely and entirely by the vision of calmness, and not by the shadows of anxiety. The hour of calmness is the illumination and correct judgement.

(From 'The Path of Prosperity')


The ideal is to do this on a daily basis. I certainly think it is worth meditating quietly on identifying your dreams.


And this, at last, is the subject of the next blog. We now get on to the most important job of pinning down our dreams.


Until then, my very best wishes,


Keith



http://www.keithbraithwaite.com/