Setting
goals is an important part of life. Without them you won't know how to
recognise success or achievement. By knowing your goals, it tells you what you
want to achieve and why it's important to you. While not all goals are equal
they do all deserve the best chance of achievement.
In
life we all have dreams, ambitions we want to achieve. However, it is entirely
in your power whether they remain dreams or whether you will actually set out
to make them a reality. If you think of a dream, then it is more like a hope; a
wish not yet fulfilled. Perhaps your ambition is to be promoted to director in
your company. That's great but just having that dream won't actually help you
achieve it.
Writing
your dream down can help increase the chance of it becoming a reality. The very
act of committing it to paper makes it more real and concrete. You can see it.
However,
there is more to making your dreams turn into reality than merely writing it
down. You actually need to flesh it out. You need to give it substance and to
create a goal. By turning your dream into a goal you are further committing to
its ultimate achievement.
Your
goal is the end-point. It is what you want to achieve and how you will know you
have been successful. The key to success is to writing down the steps you will
take to get there. How you will turn that goal into a reality.
It
is important to know why that goal is one you want to achieve. So you need to
write down what achieving it will look and feel like to you. How will your life
change? By making your visualization of your success as descriptive as possible
and by writing it in the present tense as if you are living it now, you create
a connection with your sub-conscious mind.
Additionally,
writing is a right-brained activity. It is part of your logical and analytical
mind. However, the very act of writing keeps the right-brain occupied and
allows the more creative left-brain to be accessed. This will let you begin to
create and visualize the future you want.
Setting
that vision down on paper is a record that you can refer to again and again. It
will remind you why you want to achieve the goal you have set and how you will
know you have achieved it.
Adding
the steps to achieving the goal provides you with a to do list. You can tick
off each step as you complete it and see your progress. This can be very
motivating especially if you find yourself struggling. Acknowledging how much
you've achieved can strengthen your resolve and provide motivation to continue.
Alternatively,
by having a written record of your goal and the steps needed to achieve it you
will be able to see if your mind has changed. Often you'll find that your
actual goal changes. Where you started as wanting to be promoted to Director
you may find that you actually want to be promoted to Director of a different
division or department or maybe even a totally different role!
Goal
setting is not something that is written in stone. Your written goal,
visualization and plan will not only be a record and guide but a working
document that can be changed as your vision of your future changes. Having it
written down enables you to track your progress and any changes. You can
evaluate as you progress and by ticking your achievements off as you go you'll
be able to celebrate your progress along the way.
