Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

Goal setting seems simple on the surface. You define what you’d like to accomplish and take the necessary steps to make those accomplishments a reality. Setting and achieving a goal is more than simply deciding and wishing. Each year, millions of people set New Year’s resolutions. Few of those people are still on track after just 10 days. Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

If setting and achieving goals were easy, there would be more happy, successful people running around. How many people do you know that are happy and pleased with their lives? Not very many. You can be one of the few people you know to master setting and achieving goals.

Set goals and achieve them more reliably:

1. Set goals that are meaningful. Many people waste their time with goals that don’t mean very much to them. Life is short, so create goals that fill you with excitement when you think about achieving them. Reaching any goal requires change, and humans are innately resistant to change. Big changes require a lot of motivation. Set goals that mean a lot to you. Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

2. Use small, incremental behavioral changes. Change can be done easily if the changes are small. This requires patience.

> Imagine someone attempting to make an overnight change from a diet of fast food, soda, potato chips, and ice cream to one of beans, vegetables, and fruit. Their mind and body would revolt. It would be far easier to make small changes each week until the transformation is complete.

3. Be accountable. Rewards are pleasant and work if the reward continues. Behavioral changes tend to extinguish when rewards are no longer provided. It can be more effective to make yourself accountable for your poor behavior. For example, each time you skip going to the gym, you give $10 to a charity you don’t like or you wash a friend’s car.

> Negative consequences are more motivating for most people. Use this fact to your advantage. How could you punish yourself for non-compliance? Make a list of at least 10 ways. Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

4. Keep goals believable. Is it possible to increase your earnings from $50k this year to $1 million? It’s possible, but it’s not likely. And if you believe it’s unlikely, you’re unlikely to even try. The perfect goal is challenging, but not so challenging that you feel overwhelmed.

5. Track your progress. Measuring your progress is extremely important. It provides information on how well you’re doing. You can’t know if you’re making progress toward your goal if you don’t measure it. You can shift your strategy if you realize that you’re not doing well.

> It can also provide a boost of enthusiasm and positivity. When you’re making progress, you feel excited.

6. Be prepared for setbacks. Achieving any goal is rarely a smooth process. There will be bad days with poor results. Rather than reject your goal when the going gets tough, be prepared for failures. Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

> Have a plan in place to deal with failure and frustration. You might call a friend or remind yourself of the purpose of achieving the goal. Reviewing your success so far can also help.

> It also pays to take preventative action. For example, if you know you’re likely to cheat on your diet later in the evening, have some healthy snacks available that you enjoy. Or head to bed earlier and enjoy some extra free time in the morning.

Goals are necessary if you want to consciously change your life. Everything else is a matter of luck and circumstance. Most people struggle to set and achieve goals. Set and pursue goals intelligently. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Goal Setting Tips Based on Science

Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

Everyone understands that goals are important to success, but there are still relatively few people that actually set goals regularly and commit to them.

Part of the challenge is not understanding the main categories of goals. There are several areas of life that have a great impact on the rest of your life. It’s important to have suitable goals in each of these areas to have a fulfilling life. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

Consider these six critical areas:

1. Financial. Financial issues are a major source of stress. This is hardly news to most of us. Financial success opens endless opportunities and can also free up a lot of time, especially if you reach the point where you don’t have to work any longer.

> Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of becoming wealthy. They have pangs of guilt over having too much. However, it’s difficult to truly be free unless you’re financially secure. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

> Given the importance of money in modern society, it’s important for everyone to have goals related to this topic.

2. Career. Most of us spend 40+ hours each week at a job of some sort. It’s a huge part of our waking hours. When you include getting ready for work, driving there and back, and all the time you spend outside of work thinking about work, it’s a lot of hours.

> There’s a lot of competition in the workplace. If you don’t have any goals regarding the direction of your career, you’re much less likely to be satisfied with your career growth. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

3. Adventure. Down deep, we all admire those people that visit the pyramids of Egypt, try whitewater rafting, or go to Africa on a safari. Taking part in adventurous activities gives you a new perspective on life. It also makes you really interesting to others!

> Each person has their own idea of what constitutes adventure. To one person, it might be skydiving, but to another it might be spending a long weekend in a foreign country like Canada. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

4. Self-Development. We’re happiest when we’re growing in some way. It’s disappointing to take a hard look at yourself and realize that you haven’t changed significantly in the last 5+ years. We feel proud of ourselves when we become more developed and capable. There are a variety of ways to do this.

> Take college courses.

> Learn an instrument.

> Learn a language.

> Learn how to garden.

> Learn how to do a cartwheel.

> Learn how to paint or draw.

5. Health. If your health fails you, there’s not much else that matters. Most people that set goals fail to include a health goal of some sort. This is a mistake. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

> Be sure to include a diet or exercise goal. Include the input of your physician. Keep in mind that being incredibly fit does nothing for your longevity. Moderate activities followed consistently will usually provide adequate exercise.

6. Long-term. We often make the mistake of only setting short-term goals to get out of the discomfort we’re currently feeling. It might be to come up with an extra $500 this month or to lose 15 pounds.

> Ideally, short-term goals exist to move us toward long-term goals. Pursuing an objective set far into the future gives your life meaning.

How many goals do you have? Do you have the six main types of goals covered? What other categories can you think of that are important to you? Consider what’s most important to you and ensure that you have a goal that addresses it. Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

Most successful people have unbalanced lives because they put too much attention on one area and neglect others. Learn from their mistakes by maintaining balance and you’ll find greater overall happiness and fulfillment.

Six Types of Goals Everyone Should Consider Making

Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

Don’t you have dreams, visions or plans about things you’d love to have or accomplish? Having the dream is the easy part. Making it a reality can be more challenging. However, the good news is that there are proven techniques that can get you from where you are to where you want to be. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

Follow this process to bring your dreams to fruition:

1. Turn your dream into a goal. When you have a goal, you have a true target. For a greater chance of success, your plan should have a deadline and it must be measureable.

> It has been said that dreams are goals without a deadline. Give yourself the gift of setting a deadline and things will start to happen.

> You want your goal to be measurable because, if you can’t measure it, how will you know when you’ve succeeded? Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

> For example, this goal is measurable and has a deadline: “On or before June 1, I will weigh 150 lbs. or less.”

> Make your goal as desirable as possible without being unrealistic. If you feel that your goal is unreasonable, it’s much more difficult to encourage yourself to actually pursue it. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

2. Prioritize your goal daily. Read and write your goal each day.

> You give instructions to your brain thousands of times a day. Let your mind know that your goal is something more important than, “I feel like eating a ham sandwich,” or “I need to stop at the grocery store on the way home.”

3. Make a list of negative associations. You probably have negative associations with achieving your goal; otherwise you’d already have it. So make a list of all the negative stuff that pops into your mind when you think about achieving your goal.

> Examine that list and think of ways to work around those challenges.

> Each time you notice a new negative association with your goal, add it to your list. Things will tend to change over time, and new challenges will reveal themselves. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

4. Make a list of all the positives about reaching your goal. How would it make you feel? How would it change your life? How would it change your perspective of the world and yourself? What would your next goal be? Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

> Make your goal as attractive as possible. Envision your life after achieving the goal. This will help to keep your motivation levels high.

5. What do you need to make your goal a reality? Do you need to special license? Do you need a laptop? Is there some knowledge you must acquire? Make a list of what you need and figure out how you’re going to get it.

6. Catalog your available resources. Who do you know that could be helpful? What expertise or items do you need that someone else might have? Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

> Achieving difficult goals can rarely be accomplished alone; you’re likely to need some help and guidance. Look at the list you made in step 5 and see what you already have in your life that could help you on your path.

7. Track your progress. Measure your progress each day.

> Tracking is critical to making continued progress. You can only adjust your approach if you know how you’re doing. Consider making a chart if that’s applicable to your goal.

In many ways, working toward a goal is like baking a cake: if you follow the recipe, you’ll always pull a perfect cake out of the oven. Likewise, if you follow the above steps, you’ll find it much easier to achieve your dreams. Turn Your Dreams Into Reality

The 7 Most Important Things for Achieving Goals

Everyone has heard of goals and the power of goals to shape your future. But most people don’t have a good understanding of how to achieve goals. Consequently, most never even set goals. The 7 Most Important Things for Achieving Goals

Understanding what it takes to achieve a goal will greatly enhance your odds of success.

Consider these ideas:

1. A proper goal. Most people don’t have goals to begin with. Those that do have goals often have goals that are ineffective. You can’t achieve a goal without having a goal.

> Meaningful. Avoid setting goals that don’t excite you. What’s the point? It’s easier to achieve a goal that you find motivating.

> A clear conclusion. How will you know when you’ve achieved your goal? Be specific and have a way of measuring your progress.

> A deadline. Goals never seem to be accomplished without a deadline attached. You can keep waiting for “tomorrow” to get started if you don’t have a deadline to meet. Then, that “tomorrow” never comes. The 7 Most Important Things for Achieving Goals

2. Visualization. Goals are more likely to be achieved if you regularly visualize yourself being successful. Imagine what it will be like when you meet your goal. The inability to picture the achievement of your goal suggests that you don’t believe you can do it.

3. Affirmations. Affirm that you’re the type of person that can achieve your goal. Think of the attributes you need to have to be successful. Write several affirmations that support those attributes and use them daily. Recite them to yourself at least three times each day, preferably aloud. The 7 Most Important Things for Achieving Goals

4. The right information. Imagine you have a goal of playing a difficult piece of music on the piano, but you believe the best way to do that is to do 1,000 push-ups each day. You might have a great goal and be super motivated, but you don’t have a clue how to achieve your goal. You need the right knowledge.

5. Action. There’s a great appeal to the idea of making your wishes known to the universe and then just relaxing until some mystical force delivers what you want. However, action is also necessary to bring about a real change. Figure out what you need to do and do it.

6. The ability to deal with discomfort. Pursuing any significant goal will create discomfort. There’s no way around it. It’s necessary to learn how to minimize that discomfort as much as possible and be able to deal with whatever remains. The 7 Most Important Things for Achieving Goals

> Discomfort can come in many forms. It might be the fear of failure. It might be some actual failure. It could be the discomfort of making cold calls and dealing with rejection. It might be the discomfort of learning something you’ve never done before.

> Perhaps giving up your favorite distractions so you have time to work on your goal creates discomfort.

> Whatever your reason for discomfort in pursuing your goal, it’s important to discover ways you can overcome it.

7. Perseverance. Goals can take time. Big goals take more time. Add in a little failure and a little discomfort, and suddenly quitting can be appealing. You can’t achieve a goal if you quit before it’s accomplished. Perseverance is one of the most important traits anyone can possess. The 7 Most Important Things for Achieving Goals

There are many things you can do to make achieving your goals more likely. All of the items in this list are useful characteristics and tactics for a wide variety of life situations. Whether you’re trying to follow a diet or make a million dollars, these items are helpful.

Include these seven things and your results will be greatly enhanced and come more quickly.

The 7 Most Important Things for Achieving Goals