Personal Goals Achievement

I was talking to a friend of mine this morning about her financial goals for the year. After listening to her for a few minutes, I interrupted to ask how she felt about those goals.

There was a long pause. Finally, I asked if I could share my thoughts about goals – why I don’t set them for myself, and why I think they’re terribly limiting and frustrating.

By the end of the call, she was in tears, and I nearly was. I had been in the right place at the right time for her, and had helped her see a new way of approaching her business, her clients, and her whole life – a way that felt scary, but spacious and even inspiring in ways that traditional goal-setting just can’t achieve.

Are you ready to try something new? Here’s what I shared with her; I hope it will be as inspiring to you.

Goals are like Boxes
When you were a kid, it was fun to play in big packing boxes. But squashing your life into one is a very different feeling. And that’s what goals do.

I’ve observed over and over again, with myself and with clients, that setting goals creates limitations – and panic! Once a goal is set, you immediately start thinking about it; you can’t stop thinking about it. Everything you do is focused on achieving the goal. My friend saw all her potential clients as walking dollar signs- not very comfortable for her or for them!

“How will I meet my goal? What happens if I don’t succeed? Will everyone think I’m a failure?” Then, as my friend commented this morning, there’s always the “Oh, I didn’t really mean that” thing that happens when a goal starts to feel unreachable.

On the other hand, when you finally reach your goal you think, “Ahhh… I achieved it. Now I can relax.” And you put your feet up and take a deep breath. Whether you do this literally or figuratively, you’ve stopped. What amazing things would happen if you kept going? You’ll never know.

An Invitation to Be
So I asked my friend, “Who would you be if you weren’t so focused on financial goals?”

There was another long silence, but this one was full of electricity – I could almost see the exclamation marks flying in her thoughts. Finally, she said, “I don’t know!”

“I’ve asked myself that question before,” she added, “but it’s always been what would I do. I never thought of asking who I would be.”

When you start with an intention to be something special, to be more of who you really are, the goals you might have set are nothing compared to what you’ll actually receive, accomplish, and experience. Just as I’ve seen people box themselves in with goals, I’ve seen them set themselves free with an intention to be.

The more powerfully you set the intention, the better. Set an intention that stretches you, that pushes you out of your habits, that makes you feel nervous and vulnerable. Set your intention with commitment and heart, even when it frightens you.

I know someone who was always giving. Immensely generous of spirit and in action, she felt threatened and vulnerable in receiving. When she set an intention to be someone who receives as well as giving, she knew it would be challenging. What she didn’t know was how amazingly rewarding it would be. She received gifts of friendship, service, joy, peace, and love that have changed her life forever, in ways she could not have imagined.

And all she did was set the intention – and then she noticed whether she was being in alignment with that intention.

What will you be?

Setting goals is extremely easy, although it can take some time to decide exactly what goals you should set for yourself. An easy way to begin is to first create a list of everything you would like to do in life.

It doesn’t matter what you write, and the more things you can think of the better. When writing the list, try not to think of whether something will be possible or impossible to do, but instead write as though you were writing a wish list where you could have anything you wanted.

By doing this you take one step closer to achieving your goals, as often many of our goals are simply left in the mind and forgotten about because we believe that we are incapable of achieving them. However you would be surprised at how many things you thought were impossible, were actually possible if you just took the time, and made the effort to go after them.

Once you have created your wish list you should now choose 5 goals that you want to start working on immediately. These goals can be anything you like, although to give your life balance it is a good idea to choose 1 goal for each area of your life. For example, a goal for financial, romantic, personal, spiritual and health are good areas to begin with. Although do what you feel is best, so if you want 3 financial goals and 2 health goals that would be ok. However avoid concentrating your goals on one single area, as this will unbalance your life.

Whilst it may be tempting to choose more than 5 goals, 5 is a good number to begin with as it allows you to focus your mind on a few specific goals, and devote more of your energy to accomplishing them. If you choose too many goals to begin with, you may feel overwhelmed and give up before you even begin.

Once you get the hang of goal setting, you can then begin to add more goals later. In fact it’s a good idea to have as many goals as you can, but only when you feel comfortable with the process of setting goals.

With the 5 goals that you have chosen, your next step is to write them in a goal format. This simply involves writing your goals in the present, positive tense. For example, I have or I am.

This is extremely important as it tells the mind this is what you should have, rather than what you want or will have. So writing I Will or I have should be avoided.

Now that you have your goals written in goal format look at them daily, and rewrite your goals in the morning and night to burn them into your mind. The more you focus on your goals, the stronger the desire will be to accomplish them.
If you need more detail on goal setting please visit my website for more tips on how to set goals, and how to choose the goals that are right for you.

There’s been a lot written about goal setting and there are many different approaches and methods in fact, it’s easy to get caught up in the confusion about how to set goals and not end up setting any. These simple steps will help you to set powerful goals and make goal-setting an invaluable part of your life. You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve with the help of some well though-out, written goals try it!

Make a date. Make time in your diary to find a quiet, comfortable location to set your goals. I spend a morning at my favourite table in the tearoom of the Sheraton on the Park (a beautiful hotel in Sydney city) in January every year to review my goals and set new ones for the year ahead.

Take five. Create five categories for which to set goals: physical, educational, spiritual, financial, relational. By setting goals for each of these areas of your life, you will be taking a balanced approach and not neglecting any important aspects of your life.

Write it. You must write your goals down it makes them more powerful. Use positive language words like I will and I am this will help you to feel as though you have already achieved your goals and to change your behaviours accordingly, for example, I am going to the gym three times per week. Make sure you allocate a specific timeframe for the completion of each goal, for example, By the beginning of March, I am going to the gym three times per week. Now, identify a reward for achieving each goal don’t just make a list of rewards, relate a specific reward to the achievement of a specific goal. This will inspire you even more toward the achievement of your goal. And finally, list the possible obstacles that will get in the way of you achieving each goal, and how you will overcome these. This will help you to pre-empt the things that might go wrong and immediately swing into action with your solution, rather than giving up on your goal.

Share. Make yourself accountable to someone you trust. Share your goals with them and ask them to check in with you regularly to see whether you are on track, and if not, why not.

Review constantly. I have been told that the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire is that a billionaire reads their goals twice a day. Simple really. I keep a copy of my goals in several locations around my house (on the bathroom mirror, on the printer, outside the shower screen, on the fridge, on my bedside table and in my wallet), which makes it easy for me to see my goals and be reminded of what I am working towards several times a day.

Keep track. When you return to your favourite place next year, review your progress and take the time to feel proud of those goals you achieve before you move on to setting goals for the next year.

Originally posted here:
My Intents – Goal Setting Training

My Intents users will learn how to use the Goals Module.

Having difficulty sticking to your New Years Resolutions? Failing to meet your career goals, financial goals or personal goals? Well, stop beating yourself up about it – just compromise a little.

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