Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Goals and Make Them Work!

by Chris Widener

Here are some simple ways to set goals so that we achieve them! After all, what good is a goal if it isn’t something you achieve? Follow these simple steps to make sure that you see change in your life this year.

Narrow your focus. That’s right, start small. Pick two or three areas, tops, that you want to work on. Too many people say to themselves, “I want to do this, and this, and this, and this…” and they end up doing nothing! Most of what you do throughout your day can be done without a lot of mental or emotional exertion, but change isn’t one of them. So focus on a couple. This way you can win some victories in those areas. Here are some areas to think about: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Spiritual, Financial and Relational. What areas need some work? Now, what one thing should be the first item on the change list? The others will come later, but for now, you should focus on two or three.

Keep the long term in mind, but set your sights on achieving your goals in the short term. Do you want to lose 75 pounds? Good. Long term you will. But for now, think short term. Don’t think about losing 75 pound by summer; think about losing 5 pounds by next month. This does two things. First, it makes it urgent. Instead of blowing it and saying, “Oh well, I still have 17 months to lose the 75 pounds” (because eventually that becomes 2 months to lose 75 pounds) your goal is only a few weeks out. This is better in terms of reaching your goal. Secondly, as you reach these shorter-term goals, it gives you regular victories instead of regular progress. Progress feels good, but achieving a goal is awesome!

Reward yourself when you achieve the goal. When you lose the 5 pounds, go get yourself a grande whole-milk mocha. But just one! Then get back to your goal for the next month, and the next. This puts a little fun back into the process of self-control and self-discipline. You will look forward to the reward, and when the going gets tough, you will say, “two more weeks, two more pounds, then…”

That’s it. I truly believe that it can be that simple for you.

This adds some ideas to the above article.
1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Instead of saying, “I am going to quit my three-pack a day habit cold turkey,” say “I am going to drop to a pack and a half a day.” You can always make new resolutions when you have achieved the first ones. Give yourself small victories a little at a time.

2. Be specific in your timeline. Don’t just say, “I am going to lose 20 pounds.” Say, “I am going to lose 20 pounds by April 1st.” This way, when you’re tempted in the ice cream aisle, you can say, “Nope, only 10 more pounds to go in a month and a half, and I am not going to blow it.”

3. Post your goals where you will see them every day. This will keep it at the forefront of your mind. Instead of forgetting that you are trying to lose weight and ordering a big, thick porterhouse, you will have been reminded earlier that day that you need to go with something a little more on the lighter side. It will help your will beat your desire.

4. Find an encouraging person, who you respect, to keep you accountable. This person should ask you, at an interval established by the both of you, how it is going. They must be the encouraging type, though. If you are blowing it, they can say, “Well, that’s okay, get back to it tomorrow.” If you are doing well, they can say, “Awesome job. I’ll talk to you next week.” You will look forward to their weekly encouragement.

5. Find a partner. That’s right, someone who is trying to accomplish the same thing (or something different if need be). Just make sure that they really want to change, or they will end up just bellyaching about how hard it is and you will both fall into the abyss.

6. Write down a list of all of the benefits that will come if you accomplish this. If it is losing weight, it might be something like this: Feel better, better self-esteem, longer life, clothes are more comfortable, no more time spent sewing on popped buttons, wife says you look 22 again, etc. If it is quitting smoking, it may look like this: Better breath, no more brown fingers, no more wrinkles on my face, no more red eyes, no more smelly clothes, longer life, wife doesn’t make me spend two hours a day on the back porch, etc. This will help you see what you will get from accomplishing your goal.

7. Plan a reward if you accomplish your goal. It can be anything from small to large. If you drop the 20 pounds, go out for dinner and dessert. Then get back to losing the next 20. If it is quitting smoking, go on a mini-vacation. Whatever you do, reward yourself. Or let a spouse or a friend pick the reward. Then splurge and enjoy!

Reproduced with permission from the Chris Widener Newsletter. To subscribe to Chris Widener’s Newsletter, go to http://www.chriswidener.com Copyright 2009 Chris Widener International. All rights reserved worldwide.

Specificity Is the Key

by Denis Waitley

This is the season for goal-setting. It’s the time to start with a clean slate and fill your slate for 2010 with tangible, incremental, stair steps to your ultimate dreams.

One of the major reasons so few people reach their goals is that most people don’t set specific goals and the mind just dismisses them as irrelevant. Most people want financial security, but have never considered how much money it will take. The mind cannot begin to formulate the strategies and actions required without specific information. Your mind will simply not respond to a request to get rich, have more, do better or make money. You must act like a bank loan officer with your goals.

The reason loan officers want to see a detailed business plan is that they know the entrepreneurs who are precise and specific are the ones who will succeed and pay off their loans.

If you ever begin to feel that you are losing your drive, if you feel like your energy level is down, your frustration level is up and you just can’t seem to muster the enthusiasm to face a challenge, check the pulling power of your goals. You may have outgrown your current targets and present lifestyle. It may be time for motivation by elevation. Raise your sights and challenge yourself with some goals that are farther out on the horizon.

This may require more knowledge, new skills and a new lifestyle. If so, that’s great! Many people resist goal-setting because they assume it leads to a formula-driven, highly uncreative life. Actually, the exact opposite can be true. People who passively assume that everything will somehow work out in the end can hardly be termed creative. They’re not creating their lives, they’re just hoping against hope that something good will happen to them.

Setting worthwhile goals is a much more imaginative approach. It’s fashioning and molding the life of your choice. It’s approaching your life the way an artist might stand before a new canvas, on which a beautiful painting can be crafted. There are other useful metaphors for creativity in goal-setting. The rudder of a plane, for example, is small and rigid, like a short-term goal you might accomplish in just one day. But the rudder can turn the plane in any direction the pilot chooses. In that, there’s a great deal of freedom and flexibility.

Once you set a goal, you can adjust and fine-tune it any way you wish. That’s creativity. And persistence is what allows you to keep progressing toward the goal, no matter how many adjustments are required, and no matter how long it takes to accomplish.

The mind is the most magnificent bio-computer ever created. But remember, like a computer, it only responds to specific instructions, not to vague ideas. So come alive in 2010! Get laser-focused on goals that are just out of reach, but not out of sight.

Get specific and achieve great things in 2010!

Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Newsletter. To subscribe to Denis Waitley’s Newsletter, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

Turn your resolutions into reality with these 7 simple steps

Its that time again. A new year has begun filled with new possibilities if we set our intentions and work towards making it happen. Here are some simple tips to help you turn your resolutions into reality and have your best year ever!

1) Put them on paper – Yes! Every goal-setting or resolutions article will echo this, but its true. You can’t get away from this. You need to write your goals down. Just the same way you schedule vacations, trips or other fun things. Write it down and schedule it (oops, that’s step #2)

2) Schedule it! – If your goal is to take a trip to Europe, start an online business, get out of debt, whatever. Schedule it. Commit to a date that you would like to achieve your goal and then work towards it. When you have a deadline, you are more conscious of working towards making it.

3) Quarterback it! – I love this term even though I’m not into football. Got it from a movie. But basically it means to plan it out. You can’t just wait for ideas to fall into your lap or expect things to fall into place to achieve your goal. You need to have a basic blueprint for ‘how’ you can achieve your goal. Spend some time with this. Schedule this time too if you have to. But remember success is not an accident, you do need to have a plan for success.

4) Set Reminders – In order to stay focused on your goal, set reminders for yourself. So you can use index cards to write a main goal and the deadline date and carry it with you in your purse or wallet. Then look at it several times per day. Or you can commit to looking at your calendar, diary or datebook every Sunday to plan your week. Then reaffirm your goal by writing it down at the beginning of the week. And schedule things in the week that you will work on as baby steps to achieving your main goal.

5) Change your routine – If your goal is to make twice the amount of money this year as opposed to the year before, then you will need to change. Nothing changes if nothing changes. You will have to become a whole new person to make a whole new income. If you find yourself falling into the same routine, then you’re obviously not in line with achieving your goal. It does not have to be major. It could be waking up one hour earlier than usual to fit in the new exercise routine that will help you to lose weight. Or it could mean getting up early to work on a new income stream to allow you to increase your income. Bottom line, make some changes.

6) Be accountable – You will need some outside support for this one. You need to be accountable to someone – friend, colleague, partner or mastermind group or life coach. We tend to have no problem with letting ourselves down. But if we have someone who checks up on us to see how we are going with our goals or plans, its easier to stay accountable. Set up a schedule like a weekly or Monthly meeting for this.

7) Daydream – [check that] Visualize! Visualize yourself achieving your goal. Imagine what your life would look like with your goals achieved, imagine how you would feel. Try to get into it emotionally. Let yourself come alive with excitement, fulfillment, relief. Do this often. It will help to keep you focused and get your creativity juices flowing and attract into your life more opportunities for achieving your goal.

Let’s hear from you… are you good at setting goals and achieving them? Have you made and kept your new year’s resolutions? Do leave a comment below. You may help someone else who is struggling to achieve their goal. You can also use the comment box to apply point #6.

Believing in us – let’s make it happen.

Ten Steps to Goal-Getting

These ten steps from best-selling author and personal achievement legend Zig Ziglar will help you achieve your goals in 2010.—DW

Ten Steps to Goal-Getting by Zig Ziglar

1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. “One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.” —Mary Crowley.

2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.

3. Build your life on a solid foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.

4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.

5. Be prepared to change. You can’t control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully—but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.

6. Share your “give-up” goals (e.g., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they’re going to encourage you.

7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

8. See the reaching. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.

9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, weekly planner or portable digital device.

10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn’t nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals—what you will become is the winner you were born to be!

Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Newsletter. To subscribe to Denis Waitley’s Newsletter, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.