Do you ever feel like you work so hard but never see any results? Do you start every new year with a list of New Year’s Resolutions that start out strong but fade away by mid-to-late February? In fact, statistics show us that a staggering 92% of people fail to achieve their New Year’s goals!
A Harvard Business study revealed amazing statistics relating to goal setting and success;
“14% of people who have goals are 10 times more successful
than those without goals. The 3% with written goals are
3 times more successful than 14% with unwritten goals.”
As we draw near to the end of another year and move forward into a new decade, here are my Top 6 Tips for making next year your best EVER and ensuring you are in the 8% of the success stories!
TIP #1 – CONCEIVE, BELIEVE & ACHIEVE
The first step to achieving your goals is to have a VERY CLEAR VISION of the goal you wish to achieve.
But first, I highly recommend a brainstorming session involving a term I like to use – reflective introspection – on the previous year, identifying your successes and wins along with the battles and “failures” (which should actually be viewed as positive learning experiences). This session will help you ascertain the areas that are of most importance to you, therefore enabling you to set clearer goals for the next 6 to 12 months.
I have used these 3 words – Conceive, Believe and Achieve – for over 20 years as the basis of my Goal Setting Success and consequent mindset. So please allow me to explain.
Firstly, you must CONCEIVE in your mind exactly what it is that you have a burning desire to accomplish, it’s a non-negotiable. Then secondly you must BELIEVE in yourself 100% that you can commit to the process so as to make it a reality and ultimately ACHIEVE your goal. The synergy of all 3 elements rely on one another for success;
“If you never conceive you won’t ever achieve,
you won’t achieve if you don’t conceive,
and you won’t achieve if you never believe.”
TIP #2 – THE POWER OF PRESENT TENSE
It’s reported that only 3% of the population have written goals and as the saying goes “a goal not written down is just a wish…”. Too many of us float through life with no purpose or passion due to no direct attention being placed upon the powerful process of goal setting.
To take it UP A LEVEL, I recommend that when writing down your goals always start with these 2 very important and empowering words; “I AM…”
I AM going to …
By starting every written goal with “I AM” unlocks the secrets of self-empowerment and when declared to the world with conviction and commitment via spoken word, you open up to the universe to conspire to help you. Write your goal down and then SAY IT OUT LOUD with 100% belief in your mind and with purposeful tone. It feels good and a ritual that you should indulge in daily. You must have the inner belief that you can achieve your goal. There is nobody else in the world that can say and affirm “I AM” for you – you own it.
The structure of GOING TO is normally used to indicate the future, but with some type of connection to the present. Achieving your GOALS requires continuous and habitual behaviour (a commitment to your “going to”) and requires the overlapping of knowledge, skill, and desire.
Another very powerful manifestation technique is to always include in your written goal the words “Or greater than.”
These 3 words open you up to infinite possibilities, as opposed to the ‘capping’ of your result and creating a success ceiling controlled by self-limiting beliefs. Yes, why can’t you hit your goal and then some! You will be surprised how much this change in your language and intentions can have on manifesting your goals.
Research also shows that it’s easier to achieve our goals when we’re not trying to go it alone. Setting your intentions with your partner or loved one, intensifies the possibilities, addresses potential accountability issues and can dramatically improve your odds of success.
TIP #3 – REVERSE ENGINEER YOUR GOAL
Once you have a clear vision of your goal and it is one that gets you EXCITED and ENERGISED, then the next step is to reverse engineer the steps required to achieve your ultimate goal. That is, break it down into 3 stages and set clear action plans and milestones for each category.
Reverse engineering your goal simply means to start at the top with your long-term goal (usually your 6 or 12-month goal) and systematically work backwards. What are the action steps needed on a monthly basis? What are the milestones that need to be achieved to measure success? What habits do you need in place on a daily basis in order to achieve your ultimate goal? You can only answer these questions by working top to bottom (as shown above).
You need to figure out exactly what your weekly action plan must be to ensure you hit your monthly targets, then you can finally put in place the daily actions required that will result in achieving your weekly goals.
Reverse engineering your ultimate goal will TURBO-CHARGE your productivity as your daily habits are aligned with your weekly goal, which aligns with your monthly goal and so on. The flow-on effect is tremendous and you will gain momentum every time you hit a milestone! Be sure to CELEBRATE and then keep powering forward.
TIP #4 – SMART GOALS
People that set SMART Goals are more successful than those who don’t. SIMPLE.
In order for Steps 1 through 3 to be most effective, I highly recommend using the SMART goals principle as shown below.
Tip #5 – VISUALISE
Combining visualization techniques with Tip #2 sets you up for SUCCESS! There is no doubt that a clear picture in your mind of how you will look, feel, be in the future when you achieve your ultimate goal, can rapidly accelerate your progress.
Positive mental imagery enhances manifestation into reality and helps to attract your desired outcomes into your life, so make sure you tap into its power!
As the LAW OF ATTRACTION states;
“Visualisation is the process of putting together
visual mental imagery of what you are wanting to manifest.
Consequently, you can start to gain emotions
associated with the desired image.”
Envisage your success and make sure to always start your day with a positive mindset. Take a few minutes when you wake to envision exactly how you want your day to go and feel that outcome, the joy, the wins, the excitement. Then shift your intent onto your long-term goal and how happy you are in that moment when you see yourself well into the future in the exact reality that aligns with the success and realization of your ultimate goal. If you meditate, then start every morning with a goal-focused meditation.
TIP #6 – RECORD, EVALUATE, CELEBRATE
3 words that should be associated with every GOAL-SETTING plan for SUCCESS. Setting the goal is the first very important step, but after that, the equally important aspect of implementing, recording and evaluating the process kicks in.
It is imperative that you keep yourself ACCOUNTABLE – ‘I AM accountable for achieving my goals’ is a goal within your goals as such. Always keep this front of mind.
Once you have identified your baselines and deadlines, it is only from there that you can track your results. So be sure to do this regularly by evaluating your weekly milestones, or at a bare minimum on a monthly basis. This enables you to EVALUATE your progression and keep you on track and make adjustments accordingly if you are “falling behind”. Remember that it is OK to miss a target or milestone one week, or maybe two, but any more than this and you will lengthen out your goal setting process – which often leads to de-motivation.
Keep yourself accountable and when you do hit targets and milestones be sure to CELEBRATE in whichever fashion you so desire, however, do not take your foot off the accelerator for long as your ultimate goal is the TRUE celebration of success.
Celebrate these weekly or monthly milestones as inner victories which is far more empowering than to shout it out all over social media (keep that for the ultimate goal perhaps).
So, there you have it – my TOP 6 TIPS for GOAL SETTING SUCCESS and just in time for the new decade of 2020 dawning upon us! Happy GOAL Hunting.
