Goals and Goal Setting

A whole book could be written on this very important subject! 

Your goals will be very difficult to achieve and you are more likely to fail in achieving them if they are not written with your vision, mission and values in mind first! 

Your Goals in isolation that do not take into account your burning “What”, (your vision statement) and your burning “Why”, (your mission statement) which are interwoven with your true core values are not worth the paper they are written on!

Just think for a moment. How may times have you set those all important goals in your life particularly at New Year and failed or given up after a few days, weeks or a month or two? There might be a number of reasons for this but if you set your goals which take into account your vision, mission and values you are much more likely to achieve them. Now isn’t that a sobering thought? With this little simple knowledge that even some of the experts themselves miss, will put you well onto the road to achieving everything you want to achieve in your life and more.

Why you need to set goals?

Goal setting is a fundamental part of creating and writing your vision and mission statements and comes after you have written your values. If you don’t set yourself a course how will you know where you are going?

Setting goals helps you to bridge the gap between a current situation (where you are now) and a future one – (where do I want to be). For example a gambler might state his/her goal as being: “I want to get lucky tonight”. However, this is not specific enough. A much better goal for him/her would be to state their goal as being: I want to make $1000 playing blackjack by 10 o’clock tonight. This is not encouragement for you to go out and gamble but you get my point:-)

Here the goal is much more specific. Some experts call this an objective rather than a goal but for the purpose of this article I will use these terms to mean the same thing. I

How To Develop Your Goal Setting Plans!

In order for your goals to work for you, you start with your lifetime goals first and then work through and develop a series of lower level plans and goals which will result in a daily to-do list.

When you set up this type of goal formula or structure you break down your biggest life goals into a number of smaller tasks or activities that you need to complete each day to reach your bigger lifetime goals.

By using this method what you are actually doing is using your smaller goals as a stepping stone to achieve your bigger goals sometimes referred to as “BHAGS”, - Big Hairy Audacious Goals!

You need to set goals in all different aspects of your life including, health, relationships, family, work/career, finances, pleasure/leisure, service/contribution, personal development, attitude and spirituality/meaning. This will ensure you set balanced goals in all areas of your life and you will not be sacrificing one area for another. This is where your vision and mission statements and the identifying of your values will be invaluable in carrying out of this task.

Next you want to assign a priority to each of your goals as will help you greatly in achieving them. Then you should review your goals and re-prioritise if you need to so that they reflect the life you want to lead.

Winning at the Goal Setting Game!

After you have set your lifetime goals, you need to set a 25 year plan of smaller goals that you will achieve if you really want to reach your lifetime plan. Please do not be put off by this. It seems like a long time but when you are living the life you love 25 years can seem like 25 months because you are living your life to your fullest potential and having fun! Japanese corporations plan 150 years plus in advance- so don’t worry!

It’s not all bad for you though. From here, you can reduce your overall goal timescales. For example, you can set for yourself a 5 year plan, 3 year plan, 1 year plan, a 6 month plan and 1 month plan of progressively smaller goals that you can reach to achieve your bigger lifetime goals. It is important that you start out slowly and do not do too much too soon. You need to give yourself a winning chance of achieving everything you set out to do and for the realization of your dreams. Remember you want to live a life without regret and failed wishes - so start as you mean to go on!

Another helpful tip for you is to set a daily to do list of all the things that you should do that day which will help you to achieve your lifetime goals. Now, I know there are many different time management systems out there for you to consider but just pick one that works for you! I know people who don’t have a daily to do list but work on a weekly list.

Again, do what works for you! To help keep you motivated and enthused you may want to review and update your to-do lists at a time that works for you. This could be daily or weekly - it doesn’t matter.

As with your vision and mission statements I recommend that you periodically review your longer term goals and plans, and change them to reflect your changing priorities and experiences as you grow and develop.

How To Set Goals Effectively.

Below is a list of things you can do to ensure that the goals you set for yourself become a reality.

a) Each goal should be written as a positive statement.

Your goals should excite you and you must feel happy and comfortable in achieving them. When you think of your goal it should put a big smile on your face when you complete it. If you share your goals with others they will see the positivity in your actions and may even help and support you in your journey.

b) Be Precise.

When you set your goals include starting dates, timescales, amounts or anything else that allows you to measure your achievements. Try to make them S.M.A.R.T. – that is, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time oriented. Using this formula you cannot go far wrong. For example, you are more likely to achieve your goals this way. It is far better for you to say “I will earn an extra $7000 by December 31^st”, than saying, “I want to earn more money”. Hope this makes sense. It is very important that you understand this crucial point.

c) Write each and every one of your goals down.

This reinforces your goals. You can also monitor your progress this way and keep score! Read the part in this e-book  again about the study completed on the former Harvard University Graduates. Writing your goals down means you have a much more likelihood of achieving them!

d) Establish & Set Priorities.

With every goal you want to achieve, give each one a specific priority. After all you are only human and you cannot do everything at the same time! This will also focus your attention more and you are less likely to feel overwhelmed. It will also allow you to work systematically through your goals. By completing your most important goals first and then moving onto the least important ones in order, you will find that it is a lot easier to achieve your lesser goals as you take your courage and confidence from achieving your more higher goals.

e) Keep your lesser important goals small.

Try to keep your lesser important goals small and easy to achieve. If your goal is too big too soon, it can seem like that you are not making any progress towards it.  Keeping these goals small also allows you greater opportunity for reward and recognition.

f) Do not set goals that are not stretching enough!

It is important for you to recognize that you should not set too low goals for yourself. You need to expand your comfort zones as it is only this way that you will grow and develop. Again make your goals S.M.A.R.T..

g) Performance Goals NOT Outcome Goals.

Set goals over which you have as much control as possible. Reasons beyond your control could include: bad health/injury, poor judgment, bad weather or poor business/economic environments. This way you can maintain control of the achievement of your goals and experience greater satisfaction from achieving them too!

Recognition & Reward.

When you have set a goal and achieved it you must recognize the fact in doing so and take the time to enjoy the satisfaction in doing so. Celebrate your successes and move on.

Remember that your goals will change and grow as you do. Reflect on them and amend them accordingly. If the goals that you have set for yourself do not hold any attraction for you let them go and move on. Setting and achieving your goals should bring you real happiness, pleasure, satisfaction and a great sense of achievement.

Goals and goal setting are key in any vision and mission statement writing exercise or in achieving any other significant lifetime achievements. Ask any successful sportsperson!

You need to decide what is important for you to achieve in your life (your future vision and direction) and make your choices which stem from this. As you determine what is irrelevant and what is important you will focus all your efforts in the right places. You will have greater self confidence as you accomplish all that you set out to do.  And most importantly you will be working on your goals and life plan and nobody else’s. You achieve success, happiness and your dreams on your terms. You will have no problem staying motivated as your goals are interwoven into your life vision and mission statements – this way you are much more likely to succeed. 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

5 Common Mistakes People Make with the Law Of Attraction.

Firstly positive thinking occurs only on the conscious level; this is why positive thinking is not enough to put into effect the law of attraction. It is necessary for belief to enter the subconscious as well.

The mind is always operating on two levels, the subconscious and the conscious. The conscious mind is being given hundreds of tidbits of information at any given time from all five senses. This is an incredible amount of information to process, even from such an advanced tool as the human brain. The mind would slowly go crazy if it had to deal with all of that information all of the time.

Instead, the mind developed the conscious mind, which serves as a filter to review the information sent to it by the senses and retain anything that it deems important. Anything that it does not deem important is passed along to the subconscious. It is the subconscious which will retain this information, acting as the guardian of repressed memories until such time as those memories are needed again.

It has long been held that the subconscious has a direct effect on the actions and beliefs of the conscious mind, a topic which will be discussed in greater detail a bit later on, but for now it is sufficient to say that if the conscious mind is attempting to think positive thoughts while the subconscious retains a negative energy the two will cancel each other out, and the desired effect will not be achieved.

Secondly you need to be less impatient. The universe works at its own speed; remember, every action carries with it an equal and opposite reaction. It is essential that the other environmental conditions be right in order for an event to occur just as it should.

This means that the law of attraction may take weeks, months or even years to effect a fruitful reaction to the desires of a single individual. People of today’s society are spoiled; they want what they want and they want it now. A new theory that does not produce instant results is not going to be received with a great deal of favor.

In addition to that, disbelieving in the law of attraction because it does not meet your established timetables (after all, it never says precisely when all of these wonderful rewards will be reaped, only that they will) is a direct violation of the guidelines required to see positive results in and of itself. You were merely testing the law in order to see if it will produce results; if you were confident in its ability to effect the desired results you would be content to sit and wait, knowing that what you want most will come to you in time.

On the other hand, the fact that you are not indicates that you do not have confidence in its ability to bring about the desired results. This means that somewhere in your being is a small kernel of negative energy, sufficient to throw a monkey wrench into the whole process of positive attraction. Remember, if you are vibrating negative energy you will attract negative energy back onto yourself.

Thirdly, you need to determine ahead of time of how and when you will attract what you want. Let the universe work! It is possible to become so focused on what you think is going to happen that you manage to totally miss the event when it occurs if it does not occur in precisely the manner you pictured it would.

As we said before, the universe will choose its own time and place for all thins to occur, and these events may take place through rather unusual means. By predetermining exactly how you will receive the rewards which you are seeking you are taking away the choice from the hands of nature, which direct the ebb and flow of the energies of life, and setting yourself up for a hard fall.

By taking the ability to choose upon yourself you are essentially saying that you do not have faith in the ability of the law of attraction to effect the desired results in time; again, by setting your own timeline for events to occur you will eventually come to disbelieve in the law of attraction (after all, it didn’t do what it was supposed to, did it?), which will cause your subconscious to radiate the negative energy which will drive the positive energy away

Fourthly, do not allow your emotions to be led by external evidence. In order to reap the full benefits of the law of attraction you need to believe that what you see now is a result of what you have been attracting to this point; again, it is essential that you realize that what has occurred in your life to this date and what will happen later on is determined by you. Whatever successes or failures you have experienced have been the result of the energies that your mind and body have released out into the universe.

It is very easy to look at the events of your life and think, “I certainly didn’t want that to happen; the law of attraction must be untrue because I would never wish for something so awful.” What you have to realize is that it is not always what your conscious mind wishes for that influences what your subconscious mind is projecting.

Which leads us to the fifth most common mistake...

There are many occasions in which people fall into a self defeating cycle because they are unable to control the thoughts and attitudes of their subconscious. A common argument against the law of attraction is, “Why is there so much suffering in the world if people have the ability to determine the events of their life?” No, these people have not chosen a life of starvation and servitude; however, due to their history many of them do not truly believe that they have any choice.

This disbelief in their ability to change their circumstances because “it is the way that it’s always been” means that they will continue to live this way. Their subconscious continues to project that disbelief and negative energy out into the universe, drawing back negative energy which will cause them to continue to live in this self destructive cycle of events.

It is those who have dared to dream, and believe in the possibilities presented by these dreams, who have effected the greatest changes in the world. Do you think that if the colonists had really believed that they would never be free of the British they would have been able to win the revolutionary war? If Henry Ford had not truly believed that man could ride in a car, do you think that the Model T could have been invented? If women really believed that they were destined to live the rest of their life under the thumb of their fathers and husbands, with no say in the lives they would leave, that women’s liberation would have occurred?

The removal of limiting beliefs such as these is absolutely vital to the ability of the law of attraction to work as it is intended to. If you truly feel that the law of attraction is not working for you, take a moment to consider the things that you are wishing for. Do you truly believe that these events can take place, or are you merely making idle wishes? Do you secretly believe that you have a “one in a million” chance of any of those things actually taking place for one thing or another?

In order to project the positive vibes which are necessary to draw the energies of the universe to you it is essential that you be one hundred percent confidence in your ability to effect a change and willing to believe that all of the events occurring up to that point have been a necessary prerequisite to bringing these events to be.

Dr Wayne Dyer - 5 Minutes Before You Fall Asleep - Positive Affirmations - Wayne Dyer Meditation

What Do You Really Want?

What is it that you really want in life?


What does your heart really desire? Make your choices now this very minute as you read this article. Is it...

More Income?

Better health and more physical vitality and beauty?

Greater creativity?

Acknowledgement of who you really are? What you stand for and against?

Power with the right intention that serves others?

Would you like to take more risks in your life for example starting that business that you always wanted?

Greater peace and contentment?

Success and achievement?

More confidence? 

More love?

More authentic relationships in your life? 

Purpose?

Bliss?

Would you like any of these? If you're like most people today, you probably want ALL of these and some!

However if you explore your true desires, you might discover that there are a few things you want more than others. If you keep on going in your search, you will discover one desire that has been with you your whole life

Although income is the obvious desire, it's usually not the final goal. Indeed, money can, and does buy happiness - up to a point. When you have plenty of money to be financially secure or to buy the material objects you want, the true desire may be something else.

Love is the goal of each individual's heart. Whether it's love of a spouse, family, value and acknowledgement from equals, love is the everlasting pursuit. Mystics say that love is the sole intent of life-to give love and to find it.

Many individuals search for confidence that comes with a dependable position in a job. Along with that can come acknowledgement and popularity. Although you may want the money that's related with your job and career, some people simply simply seek to work in groups and teams that offer belonging and friendship.

Adventure and travel is another driving force for some people. They may look for jobs that demand travel, or they might be looking forward to taking time off to visit exotic locations around the world. 

Then there's creative thinking and self-expression. What about the book you are going to write or the watercolor class you would like to take? Creative expression is a wonderful inner release that boosts self-assurance and gives you something to achieve.

Ultimately, regardless of wealth and health, expression and love, everybody is looking for his or her peace of mind.

That's not to say emptiness of mind, but to eliminate petty worries and confusion, to be finally finished with fears and live in complete awareness. 

Is this the ultimate lifetime goal?

Deepak Chopra - The Secret of Attraction Meditation