Motivate clear and well-set goals on their own. Therefore, it is important to correctly and clearly plan short-term and long-term goals. Let's look at an example of a plan to achieve a goal, broken down into 8 steps.
Many people have a question: “Why set goals for yourself, work to achieve them and ultimately get what we want?”
Achieving a goal is much more than doing the same things every morning. Wake up, eat, go to work. If daily actions do not have a vector, they do not drive us . We don’t feel that there is anything more behind them, that they are another step towards the implementation of a big plan.
To have such a meaningful life, you need to start by realizing your goals . After awareness, there is a need to formulate main goals that will lead to achieving results.
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Choose the right goals
First, make sure the goal is yours. Not your parents, your partner, or you from ten years ago. Then check whether the path to your goal is connected with actions that please you. If you like making money, you won’t whine every morning: “Oh God, I’m going to go back to making as many damn millions as I can!”
Those who love physical activity don't need to kick themselves to the gym. They achieve the desired shape many times faster than those who, with a sincere hatred of physical education, train according to the same program.
Set only one goal for each area of your life. Otherwise they may compete with each other. For example, it is better to space the opening of your own business and promotion in time. It is optimal to have two large goals at the same time. This way you won’t become fixated on just one goal or stupidly scattered across several at once.
Focus on the process, not the results
Do you know why most dreams never turn into realized projects? The problem is focusing purely on results. It's one thing to want to be a rock star and stand on stage in the spotlight. And it’s quite another to want to rub your fingers bloody on the strings, rehearsing the same solos every day.
ted.com
Study Setting goals around tasks, not outcomes, is the best way to improve performance, a study shows. shows that people are more likely to achieve their goals when they focus on process rather than results.
Formulate the goal as a process.
Not “publish a bestseller,” but “write 1,000 words every day.” Not “lose 15 kilograms,” but “work out three times a week and count calories.” This will have an effect, because everyday work on the path to the goal requires a detailed action plan. Plus, these actions will force you to focus and move forward little by little - instead of reverently looking at a lofty goal from afar and wondering how to approach it.
Everyday life
What if you apply this type of thinking to your own life? Below you will find several examples that will illustrate how powerful awareness of reality can be in a given situation.
Example 1: Leadership
Inexperienced leaders often equate control with power and, as a result, begin to monitor their subordinates' every move.
Photo by Amy Hirschi/Unsplash
If you feel like you need to control everyone and everything to make sure nothing goes wrong, then it makes sense to set strict rules . You will be firm and aggressive, employees will fear you and this will make them work harder. This approach may work for repetitive tasks, but it won't work if you're faced with more complex problems that require more commitment from people.
According to Google's research among its top managers, an excellent manager:
1. Is a good mentor.
2. Tries to strengthen the team by providing freedom of action.
3. Creates an inclusive team environment by caring for everyone's success and well-being.
People are more creative, engaged, and energetic when they feel valued, inspired, and free. They won't do a better job if they're constantly looking around, wondering if everyone else is doing it that way.
So, without understanding the reality of how people work, you will not become an effective leader.
Example 2: Personal Productivity
You may think that some people are more productive by nature: some are born focused and disciplined, while others are born lazy. This is not entirely true. In this matter, it is necessary to take into account the real factors that stand behind labor productivity. Here are some of them:
Photo by Jehyun Sung/Unsplash
- Your sense of purpose influences your actions —ideally, your goals should match how you feel.
- External factors influence your behavior , and you can change the situation in your favor.
- Diet, exercise and rest take a toll on your willpower and energy.
- Habitual thinking patterns (self-talk) and emotional blockages prevent you from achieving your goals.
- Task flow provides increased productivity.
- Some actions lead to nothing or produce negative results, while others are crucial.
The more you understand how things really work, the more you will understand where productivity comes from. By thinking about the actual environment in which you work, you can find previously hidden opportunities to achieve your goals.
Connect your subconscious resources
You can set yourself the goal of earning 500 thousand rubles a month as much as you like. But if you have the belief in your head that “Big money means big problems” or “I don’t deserve big money,” then your efforts will be wasted.
Before you start climbing a mountain, check whether you consider yourself entitled to stand on its top.
It will be awkward if you stop mid-climb and throw your equipment, deciding that this mountain is for climbers from wealthier families.
The likelihood of achieving a goal will increase dramatically if you replace beliefs that contradict it with helping ones. Write a list of all your fears and worries about your current goal, and then write an opposite statement for each of them.
For example: “I have a small salary” - “I am constantly increasing my income.” The formula should only apply to you, not your boss. He may not know that he should promote you. Dictate positive affirmations into the recorder in a cheerful and energetic voice and listen for 20 minutes a day.
Plan every day
In the evening, make a to-do list for tomorrow. This way, in the morning, you can immediately get involved in the process, avoiding painful thoughts about where to start while scrolling through your Instagram feed.
Try to bring even small household matters under the denominator of your goal. For example, negotiations await you. When dry cleaning a suit, think about how it will help you make the right impression and add confidence.
Structure your to-do list in such a way that laziness and procrastination work to your advantage. Put the most frightening tasks in the first paragraphs. And at the end, add simple things that are also useful for the purpose. Thus, while postponing the completion of primary tasks, you will do secondary ones. And also move towards the goal.
Stage 2: setting subgoals
Once the goal is set and there is a list of large-scale goals, it is necessary to create a plan for the next few years. Large goals are divided into small ones, small ones into stages. It is necessary to clearly describe every step, every action that is planned to be taken. Setting goals and objectives will help you properly organize your time and resources to achieve the desired result.
You need to complete all the sub-goals to get to the main one
For example, the goal is to buy a new apartment. It is necessary to determine its cost and set the period for its purchase. Then soberly assess your income level and ask yourself what you can do to get closer to your goal. You need to write a clear and detailed plan of your actions on how to achieve your goal. How can you increase your income? Find a part-time job, learn another profession, get a promotion, etc. You may have to attend courses or trainings. This is breaking big goals into small ones.
Set priorities according to biorhythms
If your productivity peaks in the morning, which is typical for early risers, do the bulk of your important tasks at this time. Leave less energy-consuming tasks for the evening: answering letters, shopping, communicating. If you're a night owl and your productivity peaks late at night, do your most important work at this time. And in the morning, while you are of little use, you can unpack your mail and do some simple routine work.
In pigeons, the time of peak productivity may vary depending on lifestyle. They will have to listen to themselves and track what time of day their energy, concentration and motivation are highest. You'll become an expert at what you do during your peak productivity much faster. And don't waste that time on YouTube unless you want to become an expert viewer of motivational videos.
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Use the paperclip trick
History of How to Stick With Good Habits Every Day by Using the “Paper Clip Strategy”. a young broker named Trent Dyrsmid forced the whole world to use this technique.
23-year-old Dirsmid got a job with no work experience at a provincial bank and soon achieved an income of 75 thousand dollars a year. In the morning, he placed two jars on his desk: one empty and one with a set of 120 paper clips. Each time he made a call, he transferred the paperclip from the full jar to the empty one. That's all the technology. 120 calls a day, one paperclip at a time. Visualize your progress!
Want to do 100 push-ups a day? Take 100 paper clips and divide them into 10 sets. Do 10 push-ups 10 times a day and each time transfer paper clips from one jar to another. Need to send 25 emails daily? Throw a paperclip into the target jar every time you press the "Send" button.
James Clear, personal effectiveness and self-improvement expert
Summarize
Planning is a waste of time if you don't take stock of your work. William Arruda, a Forbes bestselling author and personal branding consultant, advises The One Thing Successful People Do Every Day. : Summarize the day's events. Many successful people do this.
Don't try to do this in your mind, it won't have any effect. Only in writing. It is very useful to write down 5 achievements and 5 joys of the day. Let this be a list of steps, even the smallest ones, that you have taken today towards your goals. And also 5 things that inspired you or made you smile.
Positive emotions on the way to goals are serious motivators. When you re-read these posts in a month, you will find that step-by-step movement towards your goal brings a lot of pleasure. This will help you find a second wind in case of a decline in enthusiasm. In addition, the technique helps to quickly summarize the week and month.
Taking action to implement
It's never too late to start doing what you dream of. Once the plan is written down on paper, immediately begin achieving your goal. Any path begins with the first step [1].
Your first step determines the outcome you will get in both your career and life. Most people do not even take the first step , remaining at the level of “keeping the goal in mind.” Provide the situation so that your first step will definitely happen.
Remember that even a small action brings you closer to something bigger. If after a while there is a feeling that you are going in the wrong direction, the plan can be changed. But at any moment there must be a plan and work on it should not fade away.
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Create a Ritual
It's easy to waste your best years waiting for inspiration, especially if your goal isn't survival. Save time: train your body to enter a working state with the help of a ritual. Create a series of motivating actions that you will perform every time before starting work.
It doesn't matter if you make umbrellas or write code. Before sitting down at your desk, listen to a certain song every time or brew coffee according to a special recipe. The body will remember the ritual and make it a command to turn on concentration.
This technique has been used by many prominent personalities. Victor Hugo, for example, ordered his servant to take away all his clothes before starting work. This eliminated the temptation to leave the house until the quota of pages was written. Leo Tolstoy chopped wood and carried water from the well before work. Friedrich Schiller could not write until he filled his desk drawers with rotten apples. These tricks won't work for everyone, so come up with your own unique ritual.
Stop on time to rest
Many people believe that a large-scale goal can only be achieved through titanic efforts. Thanks to exhausting work to the detriment of sleep, food and the nervous system. This is wrong. Extra effort is appropriate only when you need quick results. But it is impossible to achieve great results quickly, and overexertion, extended over time, always leads to burnout and depression.
To achieve a super goal you don't need super efforts. Consistent daily actions are needed.
In 1911, travelers Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen set out to race to the South Pole. Amundsen had a rule: every day, in the sun or in a snowstorm, his team walked 20 miles. In clear weather, when it was possible to walk 30 or even 50 miles, Amundsen stopped people after walking 20 miles and made a halt. Eventually, every morning, his team members were ready to move on.
Scott's team hid in tents when a snowstorm began. And in sunny weather I tried to walk as much as possible - 30–40 miles. After such marathons, people collapsed, and a night's sleep was not enough to recover. Naturally, Amundsen's people came to the South Pole first. Robert Scott's group died on the way back.
Forcing yourself to do something when you don’t want to is not the hardest thing. The hardest thing is to stop when everything works out, when you are in the flow. Direct all your willpower to stop on time. To only walk 20 miles when you can walk twice that distance. For every extra mile you travel, you will pay for it with two miles not traveled when your body gets sick from fatigue.
Achievements of goals
Many people have already learned that in order to achieve a goal, especially a long-term one, it is not enough to simply make a promise to yourself and decide to work with your teeth gritted. In the process, laziness and a lot of excuses will certainly appear, and old thoughts and beliefs will return. As a result, the case will remain idle for weeks. What to do? You need to change radically and adhere to a step-by-step system for achieving goals, which we will talk about today.
Of course, there are people who know how to achieve everything they want. And they are very surprised that others cannot do this. They even write books about how simple it is. But most of these authors forget that a person is a very complex matter, that he is influenced by hundreds of different factors. You need to work very seriously with your psyche and thinking; just the desire to achieve a goal is not enough. At least because it can disappear the very next day.
Therefore, we will not just present a step-by-step plan for achieving goals, but we will also try to approach the issue comprehensively, understanding that a person always very passionately wants to return to a past state. Change is very difficult. Therefore, you need to study yourself carefully and adhere to some rules.
Let's start with excuses that almost all of us have achieved perfection in.
What excuses do we make for ourselves?
Goals, especially long-term goals, make us feel very bad. For various reasons: we haven’t felt progress for a long time, the path seems endless, and much more.
Therefore, we very often come up with excuses. It's our way of explaining to ourselves why we don't grab every chance to succeed in life. Here are the most popular ones.
- I'm not educated enough.
- I do not have enough money.
- I have no time.
- I'm not confident enough in myself.
- I just don't have enough experience.
- I'm not ready yet.
- I don't know where to start.
- It's too complicated.
- I'm afraid to make a mistake.
- I'm afraid.
- It's too risky.
All these excuses keep us in one place for a long time. Therefore, before you learn to set goals, you must work with yourself and clearly decide that you will no longer accept apologies.
Every time you catch yourself thinking such thoughts, immediately mark them as excuses. You can sit down right away and write about it in your diary. Awareness is extremely important in our business.
Excuses are also generated by laziness, so we will consider it separately.
How to deal with laziness?
Anyone who indulges in laziness loses huge amounts of money, time, prospects and opportunities. Perhaps this is the key difference between a successful person and a failure. Great people are not afraid to work, and they do it smartly, while average people look for excuses and stop thinking as soon as they leave the office.
To get rid of laziness, you need to take four important steps:
Determine why laziness occurs
Think about all the possible reasons why you fall into the trap of laziness and ask yourself:
- Why do I indulge my laziness?
- Am I bored, tired, lacking inspiration?
- Am I afraid of achieving something so I use laziness as an avoidance mechanism?
- What exactly am I afraid of and trying to avoid?
Study long-term effects
We often indulge our laziness because we don’t cause ourselves enough pain. It turns out that it is better not to achieve a goal than to achieve it.
Therefore, you must convince yourself that if you are lazy, it will lead to great pain in the future. Make a list of all long-term consequences.
Challenge yourself
When you challenge yourself, you feel alive. Ask yourself the question: “Am I really weak?”
Remind yourself every day that only by setting a serious goal can you build character and become a truly strong person.
Take action immediately
It is dangerous to engage in self-reflection without action for a long time. There is a risk of staying in oneself for a long time, becoming isolated: then the study of personality will only cause harm.
Study and get to know yourself, but in the process of achieving goals. Take small steps, develop your individuality and learn along the way.
Step-by-step system for achieving goals
The process of achieving goals must be divided into several successive steps, that is, a system must be created.
Step One: Create Your System
To do this, go through five mandatory steps.
Be clear about what you want
The goal you set is limited solely by your imagination. Therefore, you need to allocate enough time for this stage, without getting off with the banal: “I already know what I want, what’s next?”
Goals can be different: career, family, financial, as well as in the field of health, self-development, and public service.
In this case, the goal itself, in fact, does not matter. It is only a product of your true desires. Answer three questions:
- What exactly do I want?
- Why do I want this?
- When do I want it?
These questions will help you not to concentrate on the goal, but to look, first of all, inside yourself. It may turn out that many desires were unreal and did not reflect the real state of things in your soul.
People don't achieve their goals because they don't answer these questions. And they are very important because they allow you to gain motivation for every day. For example, today you desperately wanted to learn how to play chess. This desire is sincere. But in a few days it will disappear and time will be lost. Better ask yourself why this is needed.
And of course, set deadlines. Without this, you won't create a sense of urgency within. Without a deadline, you will not push yourself, you will become lazy and eventually give up on your goal.
Decide if the goal matches your personality
To understand what kind of person you are, you need to understand what it consists of: values, standards, beliefs, lifestyle and priorities.
We know that this sounds quite depressing. But don't skip to the next section, because this one is also incredibly important. Many people simply do not pay attention to what kind of individuals they are. They set wonderful goals for themselves and even begin to achieve them, but in the end they abandon them. These goals simply did not correspond to the core features of their personality.
In psychology there is a concept of congruence. This is the consistency of speech, ideas and beliefs with each other. In a broad sense - integrity, self-consistency of the individual.
You've probably had times when you did everything right and still felt miserable. Have you ever wondered why? The psyche senses a discrepancy between actions and personality parameters, so it transmits this information through a bad mood and the feeling that you are “out of place.”
Knowing yourself is a long process. But you can start with simple but correct questions:
- Is this goal consistent with my core values?
- Do I truly believe that I will achieve this goal?
- Does this goal fit my lifestyle?
- Could there be an internal conflict here?
- Perhaps I need to adjust my priorities to make room for this goal?
- Does this goal conflict with my other goals?
- How can this contradiction be resolved?
- When I achieve my goal, will I become the person I am trying to become?
The reality is that if your core values, beliefs and priorities are not in harmony with your goal, then there is little hope for results. But if you set aside a little time and set the right goal, then everything will go like clockwork: you yourself will feel that you are doing everything right.
Consider external consequences
When we set a goal, we think about how it will affect our life, personality and amount of time. But we rarely analyze what will happen to the environment and other people. And this can lead to big problems and conflicts.
Every goal you set has a number of consequences, both good and bad. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who could potentially be affected?
- How exactly?
Don't get overconfident and think that you can easily handle conflict in the future or that it's not something worth paying attention to. Such ignorance can be costly. It's best to take steps to minimize the damage. After all, if you decide to go to the gym every day, you will spend less time with your loved ones. It will inevitably affect your life in one way or another. So consider a variety of different scenarios.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What's good about my current situation?
- Having achieved this goal, will I be able to preserve all the good things that I have now?
Now you have a lot of time to spend with your children. But if you start working more, it will not be enough. How will this affect the family? You don't have to give up on your dreams, but it is important to understand that there will inevitably be consequences.
Ask yourself:
- What sacrifices will I need to make to achieve this goal?
- Can I really make these sacrifices?
This is the price of success. To make the right decision, consider the following:
- What are the consequences of giving up on this goal?
- What's at stake?
- What could I miss or lose?
- How will I feel?
Now you can see that even though you will spend less time with your family, it will only lead to better things in the end. You can earn more money and provide your children with a good education. As a result of the analysis described, you may also understand that you should choose a completely different goal.
There will be many questions:
- What will I get if I achieve this goal?
- What will my loved ones get if I achieve this goal?
- How will this change me as a person?
- How will I feel?
You've probably been hoping for some simple five-step system that you can write down on a piece of paper or learn in 10 minutes. But we suggest that you first learn a lot about yourself, and also learn to predict consequences. With this approach, the chances of achieving your goal will increase significantly.
Sketch your plan
It's time to make a plan to achieve your goals. It will help you understand what obstacles you may encounter. It is also useful to think about the resources that may be needed.
First, let's think about the obstacles. They can take many forms in the form of people, events, circumstances, fears, limited beliefs, lack of experience or knowledge. You can't prepare for everything, but remember that you always choose your reaction. Ask yourself:
- What potential obstacles might stand in my way?
- How can they hinder my progress?
- What should I do to successfully deal with them?
Resources can come in the form of tools, skills, knowledge, connections, and more. It may take a little time to get the information you need.
Every obstacle you encounter is nothing more than a problem that can be overcome with creative thinking, the right resources, and resourcefulness.
To learn how to plan for the future, ask yourself:
- What resources do I have?
- What resources might I need?
- How can I get them?
Remember also that you do not have to have all the skills and knowledge. Other people may come in handy for this. This means you must learn to find useful connections.
Take a piece of paper and start creating a rough outline. Consider all your answers that you have given before.
Make an action plan
Many time management experts debate whether an action plan should be too detailed. The answer is this: try both options.
It’s best to create two plans at once. The first is detailed, and the second is in general terms, which only points in the right direction. In a month you will be able to understand which is better. Or perhaps you will realize that both are good and in harmony with each other.
An action plan is a step-by-step guide on how you are going to achieve your goal. A simple example: you want to join a gym. Moreover, they already made one attempt, but in the end they gave up after two weeks. Action plan:
- Earn money for a subscription.
- Get an additional job (which you can then quit to free up time).
- Buy several books about sports and fitness.
- Buy a subscription and sportswear.
- Create sports affirmations in order to maintain the level of motivation at the highest level.
- Meet like-minded people.
- Create a new diet.
Step Two: Use Visualization Techniques
Visualization techniques help you get a solid dose of motivation every day. Each of us has experienced the fact that we wake up and have no desire to achieve our long-term goal. This condition is discouraging.
Sit in a quiet place where no one can disturb you. Start visualizing your goal. Throw yourself into the future and feel that everything worked out. How are you feeling? Who's nearby? What thoughts are in your head?
Now think about the last action you took to achieve this remarkable result. Next, move in the opposite direction: the penultimate action and so on.
“Be” in the present. Now you know how to achieve your goal. Moreover, they mentally survived all the difficulties and coped with them.
Step Three: Create a Morning Schedule
Everything is decided in the morning: once you give yourself some indulgence, in a few hours you will feel laziness of such strength that it will kill all desire and enthusiasm. Create the right mood with some repetitive actions.
Immediately after waking up
No matter how difficult it is, smile immediately. Probably nothing special will happen after this action. And this is normal, because no one promised a magic pill. But a start has been made.
Ask yourself some good questions while you're lying in bed:
- What am I proud of?
- What am I happy with?
- What am I grateful for?
- What do I expect from today?
- What am I going to do today?
Drink a glass of water. This simple act will help replenish the lack of water that has formed overnight.
20 minutes after waking up
Take up meditation. Set aside at least 5-10 minutes for this. With this exercise you will put your brain in order.
Take a journal and write down your goals for that day. If they are already there, just review them. It will only cost a few seconds, but will get you set up.
Read an inspiring book. It can be about self-development, about achieving goals, about dreams. The point of all this is to get enough motivation. Without it, it will be very unpleasant to get down to business.
Use the Brian Tracy Technique
If everything written above seems too complicated, then try something simple that you can use right now.
Brian Tracy does so much work in goal counseling that you might want to try this technique:
- Create a burning desire within yourself.
- Believe in yourself.
- Write down the goal.
- Analyze your starting point.
- Determine why you want to succeed in this field.
- Set a deadline.
- Identify obstacles.
- Determine what additional knowledge you may need.
- Determine what kind of people you might need.
- Make a plan.
- Visualize.
- Never give up.
Books
If you think that the techniques and tips presented in the article are not enough, there is always the opportunity to read several additional books on this topic. Reading large amounts of information helps the brain get used to (and it will resist) the fact that a change will come very soon. Here's a list of books to get you started. Just don’t forget that the main thing is action.
- "Achievements of goals. Step-by-step system" Marilyn Atkinson, Rae T. Choice.
- “A whole life. Key skills to achieve your goals" Les Hewitt, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen.
- “This year I…” MJ Ryan.
- "Getting Things Done" by David Allen.
- "Focus. Achieving Priority Goals" Stephen Covey.
- “52 Mondays. How to achieve any goals in a year" Vic Johnson.
- “Try it - it will work!” Seth Godin.
- The Psychology of Achievement by Heidi Grant Halsvorson.
- "The Habit of Achievement" by Bernard Ross.
Did you like the article? Join our communities on social networks or our Telegram channel and don’t miss the release of new useful materials: TelegramVKontakteFacebook
We also recommend reading:
- Storytelling
- Personal goal setting
- How not to be lazy
- Four steps to create a personal development plan
- Decision making system PrOACT
- The difference between a professional and an amateur
- Psychology of laziness
- The principle of pain and pleasure
- False Beliefs
- How to plan for the year ahead
- How to Develop an Effective Action Plan
Keywords:_C1047, _D1038, 1Time Control, 3Time
Create a useful environment
Find people who believe in you, rather than skeptically saying that you are suffering from bullshit. Life is too short to waste it on haters and armchair critics. It’s good if your loved ones go towards their goals themselves. The example of the environment is contagious.
If you get stuck, find a person who is moving towards a similar goal. Help him achieve it. Changing your perspective on a problem will have a huge impact on your productivity.
Reevaluate your social circle. Look at people 5-10 years older than you. Especially those with whom you see weekly: with a high probability this is your future. Are you satisfied with this state of affairs? On the way to new goals, the old, albeit beloved, environment is often eliminated. This is fine. Just go forward, your like-minded people are already there.
90% of actions
Once we've defined the vision and how badly we want it, the next step is action. For me this is 90% of the time. I always think first about the Mind Set - what mental settings are needed to achieve the goal.
In second place are Skills - skills, you need to study what you need to be able to do to achieve your goal, this is a huge amount of knowledge.
In third place are Tools - tools, life hacks, which we usually love very much. People focus immediately on the tools, skipping the skills and mind set-up. Everyone is looking for some simple key.
