Procrastination
Is procrastination a problem for you? If you’re like most people, then it probably comes and goes…
I am going to give you a very powerful technique you can use to drastically reduce the number of times that you put off important actions.
Essentially, you need to learn how to motivate yourself. Do you know what motivates you?
In fact, there is one psychological tool that everyone can use to motivate themselves into action, regardless of what their goal is. Are you ready for it?!
It’s called the Pain and Pleasure Tool. It’s a simple, yet powerful transformational exercise that you can start using today!
The key to this exercise is that people do whatever they can to avoid pain, and they do whatever they can to experience pleasure.
So, if you can attach pleasurable associations to achieving your goal, and painful associations to not achieving your goal, then you will be more motivated to take action. You’ll want to avoid the pain, and experience the pleasure!
Until you take the time to focus on what is painful about your current state, and what would be so wonderful if you achieved your goal, then you’ll walk around unconscious, lazy and you will procrastinate.
Try doing the following exercise, as it will create a state of urgency!
Pain and Pleasure Exercise
Here is how you use the pain and pleasure tool.
1. Pull out a sheet of paper.
2. On one side write the title, “Pleasure I Will Experience from Achieving this Goal”.
3. On the other side of your sheet, write the title, “Pain I Will Experience if I Don’t Achieve this Goal”.
4. Make each list as long as you can!
The more strong reasons you have behind achieving your goal, the more likely you are to take your goal seriously.
The more you think of how your current state is a let down, then the more motivated you will be to move away from “inaction”.
Procrastination or Lack of Passion?
It could be possible that you are putting off activities simply because you are forcing yourself to do something that you are not passionate about.
Find out if your problem is a lack of passion or simply a procrastination problem!
Visualization
Visualization need not be complicated, artsy and all creative. Many people including myself find it too tedious to do the traditional imaginative exercises in our heads.
We lose concentration, we fall asleep, or for some other reason it just doesn’t appeal to us.
So, here are some great ideas for the logical person who still wants the benefits of visual exercises, without having to imagine pictures in one’s head.
PRACTICAL VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES
1. Print off a nicely organized list of your goals, or action steps for a particular goal, and then put your goals in a nice picture frame!
Place this frame somewhere that you will see it every single day. How’s that for a nice visual?
Rather than having your goals written on some piece of paper or notebook shoved in a drawer, now you have them up on display! You can get as obsessed as you want with this technique.
You might have several different frames up, each entailing a list of action steps for your various goal projects. Or, you might have several frames up, each with the big picture objectives of your various goal categories.
2. Buy a really attractive or appealing greeting card from your local store. Inside that card, write out all your goals, or again, the actions steps for a particular goal.
Keep this pretty card sitting on your night table, on your desk, or even posted on your fridge, wall or bulletin board. Whenever you have a spare minute, read through your goals and action steps.
By writing your goals and action steps in a beautiful card, it ensures that you don’t shove the card in a drawer where it will get lost.
So since you write your goals down on something that you paid several dollars for, you are more likely to keep that card in an easily accessible, visible location.
3. Put your goals and actions onto your computer’s screen saver or regular desktop background. How’s that for a constant visualization reminder?
4. Program one of your big goals onto the face-top of your cell phone!
5. Forget showing off your driver’s licencse picture in your wallet. Instead, use that visual space to insert a printed version or a picture of what is most important for you to focus on completing right now! Maybe, you might even put a motivational quote or reminder in there.
6. Use Post-It sticky notes to write down all the action steps needed for one of your current life projects. Post it right beside your desk where you work most often. This way, whenever you encounter a lull in motivation or a barrier, you will constantly be reminded of the steps that you need to execute to continue on with your goal.
Often, when people run into barriers with their goals, they become foggy-minded, fooled, and disillusioned about their reality of what is happening. Soon, their fear and negative emotions paralyze them. Then, they forget what they need to do or try next to get started again. Don’t let the bumps in the road cause you to forget what to try next. Have this post-it of action steps on your wall so you are always have a visualization to remind you of what you need to do.
7. Use the power of email! Email yourself and in the subject title, simply write an action step or goal. Don’t ever delete this email until you have completed the action or achieved the goal. Every time you log in to your email, you will be reminded of your goals or action steps!
8. Create a vision board! Buy a bulletin board from Walmart, and hang it somewhere visible. Then, cut out pictures that symbolize what you want to do, be and have in your life.
You can even post real pictures of you that show you achieving your goals. Keep on the look out of inspirational pictures in magazines, the newspapers, etc. Clip them out and post them on your board.
9. Use a whiteboard! using the dry erase markers that easily are wiped off, you can write your to-do list on here for the day, week, or month. Organize it however you want, but keep it somewhere you can see every single day.
10. Use a scrapbook! If you want a more private medium, then you can store all your visuals in a book. However, keep this book right by your bedside table. In the morning and/or evening, pull out your scrapbook, and flip through all the pictures as reminders.
11. Buy a hardcover, spiral bound journal of medium size – one that is really beautiful with nice designs on the pages. Buy a nice bookstand or picture stand, and place your journal on it.
As your goals or to-do lists change, simply turn the page, update your list, and put back on your display stand! I love this one, and I keep mine sitting right on my desk by my monitor.
So, now you have a good handful of visualization techniques that do not involve lying down and listening to relaxational music. These are practical, and tangible strategies that are guaranteed to boost your productivity, keep you focused, and give you all the benefits of traditional visualization!
Here are some questions to leave you with:
1. What other visual symbols or tangible items could I put in my environment to remind me of my goals and required action steps?
2. What visual strategies have motivated me, or kept me focused on my goals in the past?
3. What do I have the most difficulty imagining or ‘seeing’ in terms of my success? How can I find a real visible snapshot of this?
Tips on Setting Goals
Who am I to be giving you tips on setting goals? After all, there is advice all over the internet on how to set goals…
How are my tips on setting goals any different or unique? Keep reading…
You might have learned in the past that you should write your goals down in the present tense. Now, I’m not against this at all, however I believe there is a certain way to do this.
Let’s say your goal is to build your business revenue from $60,000 per year to $100,000 per year.
If you follow the traditional advice of writing your goal this way, it would read as: I am currently earning $100,000 per year. What is the problem with writing your goal this way?
If you haven’t guessed, let me give you another example that might really help you understand the problem. Let’s say your goal weight is 130 pounds, but you currently weigh 160 pounds. So you write down, I am happily enjoying my weight at 130 pounds.
Along the same lines, let’s say you look into the mirror and say out aloud, “I am feel so attractive now that I am 130 pounds”. We’ve all tried the mirror strategy before haven’t we? Anyhow, back to my point here…
When you state your goal in the present tense, and you haven’t actually come close to achieving it yet, it can create a negative feeling. This is because you are aware of the gap between where you are now, and where you want to be.
So, what is the solution to feeling negative you say? Here is one of many tips on setting goals that you need to be aware of…
First, continue stating and writing your goal in present tense. This makes your goal more real and easier to visualize in the mind. The unique piece of advice however, is in how you state your goal.
It’s best to state in your own words that you are in the process of achieving your goal. I learned this technique from Micheal Losier’s seminar and book called The Law of Attraction (this is an amazing book with great tips on setting goals!). Here are some of my own examples:
- I am in the process of of earning $100,000 a year
- I am working toward my goal weight of 130 pounds
- I am taking actions each day and subsequently building my income to $100,000 per year
- I am currently utilizing all my knowledge, resources and efforts to weigh 130 pounds
Do you see the difference in how you feel when you read these aloud? If these were my goals, I would feel more motivated, optimistic and positive, because it is more real. You are stating your goal in present tense, and saying that you are already doing what you can to make it happen.
You see, if you feel negative when you read a goal that is stated as if it’s already achieved, than you are unlikely to take action. If this traditional approach feels too hokey, then toss it out. State your goal in more real terms.
If you begin to do this, then regardless of how big your goal or objective is, – you will feel a sense of empowerment that anything is possible! Also, for those people who don’t have a clue how they are going to achieve their big dreams, stating goals this way is much more “believable” to them.
So, that is just one of many tips on setting goals that I am going to share with you.
My website is in it’s infancy, so stay tuned, and look out for my ezine and blog which are coming shortly. I promise to always keep you up to date on the latest, cutting-edge, and unique ideas around goal setting and motivation. So, for now, bookmark me and come back soon again!
A Theory of Goal Setting: Sports Psychology Contributions
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY AND THEORY OF GOAL SETTING
When it comes to finding a theory of goal setting (well there are many of them!), I decided it’d be smart to turn to sports psychology and examine the research. In sports, people are aiming to achieve goals they’ve never reached before. Also, their goals are very easy to define and the results are easy to measure. This is why I’ve turned to the theory of goal setting in sports psychology.
So, whatever principles or theory of goal setting and motivation that are increasing their athletic performance,- should also increase the every day person’s performance in life, if the same principles are applied.
Just as Olympians want to break new world records, we as individuals want to reach new performance records within the different areas of our own lives.
As you increase your knowledge in sports psychology and its theory of goal setting, remember that your sport is simply whatever goal you are working on. All of our goals involve us performing, or behaving and thinking in certain disciplined ways to reach those goals.
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY AND THE POWER OF ROUTINES TO HELP ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
A majorly important lesson on the theory of goal setting that you’ll want to take away from sports psychology, involves the power of implementing routines in your life. Who would of thought that such a basic principle could be so powerful?
Here’s a quick exercise for you to try. Think about anything in your life right now that gives you a consistent source of pleasure. How does this become so? There is probably some routine behind it.
If your career gives you pleasure, it’s because you have a routine or habit in place of going to work several times a week. If your relationships with others consistently gives you pleasure, then you probably have a habit of making plans and seeing them regularly. If your health and fitness levels give you joy – well it’s obvious that you have a routine behind that as well.
Here is a very powerful quote that I want to expand on:
“Routines are one of the most effective ways to systematically plan for success. Routines have been shown to be invaluable in helping athletes achieve their competitive goals.” (Schack, Whitmarsh, Pike & Redden, 2005, p.138).
BREAKING YOUR GOALS DOWN INTO A ROUTINE
We often hear that we should break all our goals down into a series of actions. Well, on a parallel note, another great theory of goal setting is to break your goals down into a series of mini routines.
In other words, what routines do you need to get into the habit of following on a consistent basis if you are to achieve your goals?
For example, if you we take our common pursuit of wanting to eat healthy, this is easy to think of in terms of routines:
- Routine of scheduling in and reminding one’s self of when one will buy their groceries
- Routine of planning one’s meals and snacks ahead of time
- Routine of making a detailed grocery list ahead of time of what groceries are needed
- Routine of knowing a consistently good time to go grocery shopping, i.e, each Monday morning
- Routine of washing and chopping up vegetables as soon as groceries are bought
- Routine of leaving a half our each evening to put together a salad for the next day at work
- And so on!!!
So you see how the seamingly simple goal of eating healthy foods requires a lot of planning and action steps? Well, if you can use this theory of goal setting and make these steps part of an automatic routine then you will have a lot going in your favour for you.
By the way, might I throw in that research shows that one of the top reasons that people don’t consistently eat healthy is because they lack a concrete structure in their eating habits? In other words, they fail because they have no consistent eating routine that works for them (Gullo, 2005).
BENEFITS OF HAVING ROUTINES FOR YOUR GOALS
According to the theory of goal setting in sports psychology, routines have helped athletes to cope better and reduce external stressors/distractions when they are at an important competition.
If we apply this to our own lives, every day there are external distractors or environmental influences that can lead us away from our goals. So, I think we can take a few lessons away from how athletes use routines to increase their performance at competitions.
Based on this, there are few key benefits of having a routine to help us perform better with our own goals:
BENEFIT #1
1. A sports psychology theory of goal setting might offer that When you are focused on your routine, you are less likely to be distracted by pursuing other activities that you don’t value. In other words, a routine is a powerful and hopefully ‘soon to become’ automatic way of staying focused on your goals.
For instance, when atheletes prepare for a new competition in a new location, if they focus on the routine of stretching, they are less likely to pay attention to external environmental distractions such as arriving a bit too late, the extra cold or hot weather, the fact that their fans are “booing”, etc.
We can also learn a lesson from this. As the saying goes, it is not what happens to us, but it is how we respond to what happens to us. There will always be external variables or what seem to be ‘road blocks’ that come up during the pursuit of our goals.
However, if we have a solid, strong routine that feels good to us, we’ll have that as our foundation to fall back on. If atheletes use this concept to perform and focus to break new world records, then there is no reason that we can’t also apply the power of routines into our own lives as well.
So, what routines do you have in place? Do they lead you and guide you? Do they keep you focused on what is most important? Do they lead you through uncertain or stressful times? Do you have a habit of ‘falling off the boat’ with your goals when you face barriers? You can see how important the power of routines truly are…
BENEFIT #2
2. Another similar benefit is routines can give you a sense of “familiarity” and “comfort” as you pursue your performance goals in life. Routines are a series of behaviours that ARE IN YOUR CONTROL.
When an athlete arrives at a new location for a performance, the one thing in their control is that they havea series of mental and physical warm-up routines to follow. No matter what else is happening in the external environment, they do have something in their own control – their routine.
Apply this same principle to your own life. No matter what comes up in your life – stressors, barriers, or any other challenges, – you can control the fact that you can implement routines that not only allow you to ‘survive’, but rather routines that will help you ‘thrive’.
Routines are the building blocks from which we can create an ecstatic life, and strive for our lofty goals. As the saying goes, you cannot build a house on a rocky foundation, and the same is true with your life goals. You cannot achieve greatness without a solid foundation of strong routines that support you through out all of life’s challenges.
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY AND ROUTINE OF SELF-EVALUATION
Here is yet another powerful theory of goal setting that we MUST take away from sports psychology. Athletes implement “post-competition routines” so that after their important performances, they take time to evaluate the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of their performance.
We also should do the same. We are constantly performing day in and out with many goals. We must take time to evaluate what is working, and what is not working.
In the case of athletes, they do an inventory for both successes and failures. They might examine how variables such as their nutrition, mental preparation, stretching routines, or equipment contributed to their performance.
So, here is our job. We need to recall our successes. What variable and factors contributed to our successes? Simply make sure you implement these actions or variables again in your future! Once you make a point of understanding ‘what works’ in your life, then you need to keep on doing it!
We also need to keep a record of so called ‘failures’ or instances where things weren’t working in favour of our goals, so that we can LEARN from those mistakes. We need to evaluate both our successes and ‘failures’, to make sure we know the recipe to build more successes in our lives, and decrease our those instances or situations that are considered less than favourable.
It’s about making continual adjustments in our lives. So, while atheletes use post-competition routines, we can regularly evaluate our weekly, monthly or yearly performances with our life goals in general.
Want to Set Smart Goals and Achieve Unstoppable Success?
If you’ve done a search on smart goals, than I think I already know a few key things about you. Are you the type of person who wants to know how to set goals, and how to utilize specific steps for goal setting?
Well, guess what – you are further ahead than 95% of the population! Most people in life aren’t interested in the details of how to set goals. No, they are too busy watching reality television and simply dreaming about other people’s successes. This is definetely not you!
The fact that you are researching smart goals on the internet tells me how badly you want to achieve your goals, and more importantly, that you are the type of person who is truly committed! Well, you have come to the right place, because I am going to share a few secrets on this topic that can literally change your life.
Let me ask you, – how many times have you ever set smart goals, but then not followed through to take the necessary actions? Did you get frustrated? Of course you did! Who wouldn’t?! And, let me tell you, – you are not alone.
Perhaps one of the most common goals I hear people talk about, is their desire to lose weight, eat healthy, or simply stay in shape. Losing weight and staying healthy is one of those goals that most, if not all people struggle with. It is a classic example of how people lose their motivation, their persistence, and their ability to follow through with what is truly important to them.
Smart goals MUST address how you will stay motivated. How can you promise yourself, and guarantee that you will follow through with the necessary steps for goal setting?
How do you know for sure that you can achieve your goals? This is the type of question that keeps me up at night! This is what makes me tick – because if everyone was super motivated and always persistent, everyone’s lives would be so much more fulfilling.
Are you ready to learn and apply my fresh perspective on setting ‘smart’ goals? I guarantee this formula is a great place for us to start! Remember, if you want to be successful, you must model others who are successful.
Have you already read about smart goals before? Do you think you already know it all? Well think again! You cannot afford to NOT read about my fresh perspective on smart goal setting and the importance of motivation. What have you got to lose?
Without further ado, let’s look at how to set smarter than average goals!
Smart Goal Setting: The Power of Motivation
Smart goal setting. Hmm… Is there really such a thing? Of course there is! Don’t you wonder what successful people are doing differently than those people who aren’t successful? Even if top achievers don’t realize it, they are applying the principles of smart goal setting almost all the time.
I know you’ve heard of the smart goal acronym probably many times before, but I don’t want you to read through this section unconsciously, like a laundry list. I believe people often do this because they aren’t satisfied or excited by what they read.
My goal is to explain smart goal setting on a new level – one that will increase your self-awareness and motivation!
Please Don’t take Smart Goal Setting for granted!
Do you want to know one principle or way of thinking that really separates successful people from nonsuccessful people? People of the latter take well known information on how to set goals for granted.
They’ve heard of the steps for goal setting, but they appear to be too simple, and so they avoid using those principles. Don’t let this happen to you! Instead of examining what advice they are “living” and incorporating into their lives – they are instead asking, “Show me something new! I want to learn something different”.
I once heard that success and achievement is the result of mastering the basics. So, as you read on, ask yourself if you are truly applying these principles in your life! Ready to learn about smart goals?
Smart goal setting means getting Specific!
What does this really mean to you? It means that you need to get really clear on what you want. How are you supposed to achieve a dream, if you don’t even have a dream? How are you supposed to be happy if you don’t know what makes you feel good? Ok, this is pretty ‘big picture’ thinking so far. Let me give a few more concrete examples so that you know what I’m really talking about.
Think about any big purchase that you’ve made in your past. Have you bought a house, a car, a big screen television, or a computer? Before you went out to buy this merchandise, what did you need to do first? You had to decide on exactly the type of ‘model’ that you wanted!
Think about the people you know that are really into buying cars. They are totally passionate about them, and they never stop talking, thinking or looking at them online. How much total time do you think they spend thinking about their goal? Some people spend hours every week browsing the models online, finding quotes, and going to dealerships to view the different cars.
“So what?”, you are thinking… Well, the point here is, if a person will spend many, many hours on a goal such as finding the right car to buy, then why shouldn’t a person spend this much time and energy getting clear on what they want in the other areas of their life? Does this make sense?
I can think of many times where I’ve spent hours and hours shopping simply for a particular piece of clothing. For instance, jeans are always hard for me to find! I don’t even want to think about how many hours I’ve spent on finding the right pair.
So, for me, it is motivating to ask myself, “Why wouldn’t I put the same amount of time into writing smart goals that are specific and clear?
In order to motivate yourself on creating specific and smart goals, I suggest you examine how much time you spend engaging in activities that really don’t give you a great return on your investment of time.
For instance, I must spend 4 hours every week blowdrying my hair. Perhaps you spend 6 hours watching reality television shows. Or, maybe you spend 3 hours every week (or god forbid – even more!) cleaning your house, or gossiping on the phone to people you don’t really care much about. If you are a student perhaps you spend 6 hours in a class every week that you don’t even care about.
You get my point! simply examine where and what you spend time on that gives you little in return. Then ask yourself – Why wouldn’t I spent time learning how to set and achieve smart goals?
Smart goal setting also requires that you think big!! For instance, let’s say your goal is to increase your income to $100,000 per year. Now, if that’s what you really want, that is fine, however, ask yourself if that truly is, specifically what you really want!? Does $100,000 per year get you really motivated? Just remember, it will take just as much energy to increase your income to $100,000 as it will to increase your income to $500,000 per year.
Every goal, whether it be a moderate size goal, or large goal requires time, energy and focus. So, if you are going to work on achieving any goal, make it a goal that is big, and that really inspires you!
Here is another example along this line. In building this website, I was told that it takes just as much energy to build a bad website, as it takes to build a successful website, so why not decide to create a goal that, for the same amount of energy will give me a successful product?
Another good analogy that hits on the point I’m trying to make is – I often hear people complain about how their age prevents them from going back to school.
“I’m 50 years old! If I go back to school now, I’m going to be 55 years old by the time I complete my goal!” The alternative way this person needs to think is, “Regardless of what I do, the time is going to arrive when I turn 55 years old, so why not turn 55 years old WITH a degree as opposed to WITHOUT a degree?!”
My final point is – if you are using smart goal setting – you might as well do it right! Be specific, and get really clear on what you want. Your smart goal itself should motivate and inspire you. Forget the stupid advice given on smart goal setting that you need to be realistic.
The objective, goal or target itself does not need to be realistic. I can’t stand when I hear this bad advice! Only your action steps need to be broke down into realistic steps. But, in general, smart goal setting is about thinking big and then having the guts to get specific and to choose an aim that is worth your time and energy!
Smart Goal Setting always motivates you!!!
Part of writing smart goals, is also writing down what will motivate you to achieve those goals! For instance, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds, then you must create a list of all the positive benefits you will have if you do actually lose 10 pounds.
Do you do this on a regular basis? Have you ever taken the time to write out your list of reasons? I’m guessing that about only 3% of the population does this! If you can get in the habit of doing this, you will literally see yourself reaching higher and higher levels of success.
When you watch an informercial/commercial, or the shopping channel – what do you notice? They always talk about what’s in it for YOU! They have to highlight all the benefits, all the positive consequences you will experience as a result of purchasing their product!
Viewers may know that they should buy the exercise equipment being advertised, but they won’t do it unless they have a bunch of reasons that motivate them into using actually using that equipment.
The second thing you need to motivate yourself, is to make a list of the negative consequences or all of the pain you will experience if you don’t achieve your goal! Just think, how awful will you feel if you don’t commit to making this smart goal a reality?
Remember, as Anthony Robbins has popularized, people want to move toward pleausre, and move away from pain. So, the more you understand the benefits of achieving your goal, and the negative consequences of not achieving your goal, – the more persistent and motivated you will be at achieving your goal! Does that make sense?
This concept of self-motivation alone can work wonders. But it will only work if you use it! Remember knowledge alone is not power – it is only potential power if you act on that knowledge! If you only take one thing away from smart goal setting – let it be this!
Smart Goal Setting means consistently taking action!
Smart goal setting is all about taking massive action. For some people, the word ‘action’ itself is overwhelming. People feel like it is a major task to take action, or to carry out tasks. Well, there are many different ways to think about taking action. First of all, taking action does not need to feel uncomfortable.
Taking action is all about forming the necessary habits, patterns of behaving and thinking, routines, and systems that will set you up for success. The achievement of every goal boils down to being able to commit to a few key habits on a consistent basis. This is what leads to big accomplishments!
No matter what goals you are struggling with, ask yourself what activities you can systematize or make automatic. What habits are easy for you to start forming in your life, and easy for you to stick to? Remember, forming habits are like building muscles. Over time, you strengthen your habits just as you strengthen your muscles, and working toward your smart goal gets a lot easier!
If you are not getting closer to achieving the major goals in each area of your life, then you should begin to examine what habits you have in place on a regular basis that are moving you toward that goal. The answer is probably, none. Or your actions are too inconsistent. Find a system that you can stick to!
Smart Goal Setting means realistic action steps
Remember how I said that creating a bunch of realistic goals is a bunch of B.S.? Smart goal setting is all about thinking big! However, what makes smart goal setting ‘smart’, is that you have to come up with realistic action steps.
For instance, if your goal is to write a 500 page fiction novel, and you work a fulltime job and have children, then you are going to need a feasible plan of actions to attain your goal, – an action plan that you can follow through with.
You need to ask yourself, “realistically, what am I willing to do each week to achieve my goal?” If you work until 5pm each day, how much time in the evenings can you spend writing? How many days a week can you do this?
Basically, you want to set yourself up for success, by ensuring that your actions can be turned into solid, somewhat predictable routines, habits, systems or patterns of behaving that you can actually stick to, and follow through with.
It is not the big goal that people find overwhelming. Instead, it is their plan of what they have to do in order to achieve that result. Some people’s expectations of themselves are so great that they never get started with an action plan to accomplish their goals. This is so unfortunate.
Remember, with each action you take, you learn and accomplish more and more. You build momentum, and everything becomes easier!
Smart Goal Setting puts a Time or Date on your Goal!
I know, I know, – this sounds like such boring advice so much that I hate to repeat it. What might be the value in putting a deadline on your smart goals?
First of all, it creates a sense of urgency. Secondly, it gives you a big picture for what actions you need to start working on now, and how much time you need to invest in those actions to make your goal a reality.
If you want to be financially free in a year from now, then, it helps to create a picture for what you’ll need to do in the mean time. You might start to realize that you need to start saving 20% of your paycheck now, as opposed to waiting two months from now.
You might realize that you need to take courses on options trading. You might realize you’ll need to run a business part-time in addition to your regular job if you have one. In summary then, it is important to use deadlines, to help you plan what needs to be done during your days, weeks, and months.
Here is some more motivation for you to demonstrate this point. Remember when you were a student? You were always given deadlines weren’t you? And was it effective? Did you usually get the work done that needed to be done? You bet you did! Maybe it wasn’t quite perfect, but it was good enough to move you on to your next grade or level of education.
So, if you participate in other people’s deadlines, and if you were productive to meet other people’s goals, than why would you not give the same gift to yourself? Why would you not hold yourself up to the same high standards?
There! Now you have some of the basics on smart goal setting. Remember, these points are only a few of the main points. This is not meant to be a fully comprehensive list of what you need to do in order to achieve your smart goals.
Set Your Goals Now! Try My Goal Setting and Motivation Program
Set your goals NOW using the most comprehensive, FREE, ONLINE goal-setting and self motivation program on the net! It works!
Step 1: Brainstrom All Your Goals
Step 2: Prioritize Your Goals
Step 3: Writing Goals Down
Step 4: Positive Motivation
Step 5: Negative Motivation
Step 6: Identifying and Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
Step 7: Changing Habits and Behaviors
Set your goals if you want to be successful. How many times have you heard this before? It’s something we’ve heard our whole lives indeed.
One of the reasons many people don’t do this, is because they don’t know how to set them. In order for you to set your goals effectively, you need to know the right steps!
I have carefully crafted the perfect goal setting program that walks you through, step by step on how to achieve your dreams. You simply cannot go wrong using my amazing system! What’s more, is that I’ve practiced this goal setting system on many clients that I have counselled and coached. It simply works!
What is unique about my process of setting goals, is that I, or rather the program – holds your hand throughout all of the necessary steps. From brainstorming, to wiping out ‘viruses’ in our belief systems, – my program and its steps will blow you away!
Why have my carefully chosen elements of goal setting blown me and others away? First, it is a very active process unlike no other, that focuses on the power of learning to ask yourself the right motivational questions. You simply learn how to be your own coach.
Once you can learn to ask yourself the right questions, you will learn how to motivate yourself. I cannot stress enough how important self-motivation is in the goal setting process. Writing down the actual goals is the easy part. Everything else, such as getting yourself to follow through, is more challenging.
You must set your goals with motivation, and that is exactly what this website is all about. So, without further ado, let me give you a brief overview of what is all entailed in my cutting-edge goal setting program that I’m presenting to you for free!
What My Free Online Goal Setting Program Will Offer You:
- Brainstorm by writing down on paper, everything you have always wanted to be, do, or achieve
- Prioritize which goals are most important for you to focus on now. Choose your top goal, and for the rest of the exercises, apply my elements of goal setting like crazy! (Then later, you’ll repeat the process with ALL your goals)
- Learn the Power of smart goals, how successful people interpret this ‘smart’ acronym, and of course – the most effective way to write down your goals
- Using my strategic questions, you will complete a full analysis inventory and identify the powerful neuroassociations and subconscious beliefs that you are currently holding – ones that prevent you from moving forward
- Experience dynamic personal breakthroughs using my unique linguistic system that helps you create new, positive beliefs or ways of thinking and feeling that are completely aligned with your goals
- Apply my cutting-edge strategies that will help you identify what behaviours are holding you back, and how to substitute them with more effective behaviours
I will also show you how to utilize a virtually unknown secret based on the law of attraction that can be used to break down any limiting belief, and that can also be used to strengthen new beliefs at your core! You’ll love this one! It also applies to eradicating poor habits, and building new, effective habits.
Learn how to also identify barriers that come your way as you are on the path to reaching your goals, and ways to jump over these obstacles no problem!
Are you ready to learn my advanced steps on how to set goals?
Are you like me and obsessed about personal growth and development? If so, you are going to love my goal setting program! If you are all about finding the life-changing insights that will help you set your goals effectively, you’ll appreciate these goal setting tips.
The way I will teach or coach you on how to set your goals, is truly a method unlike no other in my opinion. It is thorough, and it focuses 100% on ensuring that you have the motivation at every single step!
A person can set goals all they want, but if they haven’t learned the power of self-motivation, their goals will only be set with stagnation. Do you want motivation, or stagnation? Hmm…easy answer there!
So, without further ado, it’s time for you to get ready for some “ah-ha” moments, and personal breakthroughs that will ensure you experience quantum leaps in your achievement. If you’re ready for the challenge, then grab a notebook or some paper, and begin here with step one!
Goal Setting Theory Basics
If you’re serious about achieving your goals, then goal setting theory and the actual science behind what works should be a priority for you to learn!
While there seems to be no one body of research dedicated specifically to goal achievement as it relates to personal development in general, most research is found within specific contexts.
Goal setting theory and research, as it relates to achievement in general, can be found within the following bodies of research:
- Sports Psychology
- Health Psychology (e.g., weight-loss)
- Organizational/Industrial Psychology (e.g., employee performance)
- Business
- Advertising (for it’s power to influence and motivate people into the action of ‘buying’)
These are just a few of the main areas that you can further develop your own personal research in. I’m doing my best to find more goal setting theory research, and it will all be posted on my site!
Let’s start with some of the basic research.
HARVARD STUDY ON GOAL-SETTING
For years I was under the impression that the following was a true study, however my understanding is that no one can find the actual study.
Everyone seems to agree however, that the story is worth telling, and that it should be true!
In 1953 a longitudinal study was done on a graduating class at Harvard. The students were asked: Do you have a clear set of goals? Are they written down? Do you have plans to accomplish them?
Only 3% of students answered yes to all these questions. Then, 20 years later, it was found that the 3% of individuals were worth more than the other 97% of individuals combined!
Even if this study were not true, there are other studies that demonstrate the power of knowing what it is you want; having the goals written down; and of course, having an action plan in place. I say, the proof is in the pudding, so be sure to bookmark my free online goal setting program for later, so you too can get started!
GOAL SETTING THEORY OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
This is one of my favourite theories, because we can all relate to it in every-day life. Have you ever wanted something so bad and not had it? Were you frustrated?
What you were experiencing was cognitive dissonance – a gap between your current reality, and where you’d like to be.
This gap causes us a lot of pain! So, once you set a goal, and you constantly remind yourself of your goal (most people fail to do this), then you begin to experience this cognitive dissonance, or this gap in your reality.
Your brain will then do everything possible to close this gap and help create your desired reality.
This goal setting theory itself has been around for a long time. It is also recently popularized by Anthony Robbins, as he talks about the twin forces of pain and pleasure. We want to move away from pain and move toward pleasure.
When you set a goal, and read it frequently, you are motivated by the pain and frustration you experience as a result of not having that goal yet; and you are also motivated by the future pleasure of actually achieving that goal.
Basically, if you don’t have goals, you don’t create a sense of ‘antsiness’ or frustration. You instead remain comfortable, complacent and fine where you are.
Unless you want to live of the status quo, I highly suggest you work through my FREE online goal setting and motivation program. Bookmark it now if you haven’t, and come back to it!
PARKINSON’S LAW AND GOAL SETTING THEORY
Have you ever wondered why you often hear the advice to put a deadline on your goal? Well, part of it comes down to Parkinson’s law. This law states that your efforts and time invested into a goal will increase in proportion to the amount of time you give yourself.
Whether a person gives themselves a month or a year, it will take that ‘set’ amount of time to fulfill their goal. This is why in the workplace you probably experience tight deadlines from your supervisors. The deadlines also create a certain degree of pressure and motivation in your head as well.
So, even if you are uncomfortable with deadlines, try writing a few of these down beside your goals, and see what happens. What have you got to lose except for the fact that you might achieve your goals by the deadline, – by finding strategies or resources that allow you to work even quicker than you thought!
GOAL SETTING THEORY ON DIFFICULTY
Ok, you’ve also heard about the idea that you should think big, right? Dream big! Here’s why. Research shows that in general, the more difficult your goal is, the better your chances of reaching that goal! This idea has been demonstrated over and over again in sports achievement (Weinburg, Harmison, Rosenkranz, & Hookom, 2005).
The only time this concept is not true, is when a person has reached the limit of their goals. In sports which is quite physical, I can see how a personal can physically reach what seems to be a limit. However, in achieving many other goals, there are few limits except your own mind.
So, since it takes the same amount of time to set a ‘big’ or ‘difficult’ goal versus a ‘small’ or ‘easy’ goal, why not go big?!
GOAL SETTING THEORY AND SPECIFIC GOALS
There really is value in having specific goals it turns out. In organizational settings, did you know that having specific goals versus “do your best” goals resulted in much more productivity and better performance? So, even if you have ‘performance anxiety’ about exactly what your goal should be, just make a specific choice, and then evaluate it as time goes on, that it is still a worthy goal.
This way, in the mean time, you will increase your performance and chances of achieving that goal! This is simply a no brainer to me.
To summarize my last few theories here is a great quote: “In sum, specific, difficult goals consistently lead to higher levels of performance than do-your-best goals, easy goals, or no goals (Locke and Latham, 1990).”
So, take advice from the experts, and also have faith in the fact that people experience the above to be true as they walk through life achieving their goals. You can now model what has worked in real life for other people, along side knowing that research also backs it up. If you haven’t yet gone through my comprehensive, FREE online goal setting and motivation program, then try it out now!
Goal Setting Steps In a Nutshell!
Goal Setting Steps #1
Brainstorm out all your goals. Write down an exhaustive list of them, and think big! You might decide to use some categories to help organize your thoughts.
If categories hinder your creativity, then don’t use them! Otherwise, you might choose the following categories:
- Career Goals
- Financial Goals
- Health and Fitness Goals
- Relationship Goals
- Leisure and Recreation Goals
Goal Setting Steps #2
Prioritize which goals are the most important to get started with right now! Here are a few ways to do this. Choose one.
1. Rank all your goals starting with what is the most important. Write a “1″ beside it, and so on.
2. Rate each goal on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the most important, and 10 being the least important.
3. Try giving each goal a date by which you’d seriously like to have it accomplished by.
These techniques, along with simply taking a few moments to seriously reflect on what is most urgent or important to get started with, should give you a good idea of which goals to pursue.
HOW MANY GOALS SHOULD I PURSUE AT ONCE?
There really is no one answer to this question, as it is completely personal. It also depends on the time commitment and level of energy that each goal
requires. If your goals are quite simple, then you can pursue many at once. As they increase in complexity, it is natural that the number of goals that you can focus on at once would decrease. So just keep that in mind.
Goal Setting Steps #3
Break each of your goals down into a series of action steps. You might do this on a large sticky note, and post it up on your wall or bulletin board.
Keep the action steps in a visible place, where you are constantly reminded of what steps you need to take! Break the goal down into many mini steps so that it is easy for you to take action on a consistent basis!
Goal Setting Steps #4
Give your goal a deadline. Take the time to seriously decide when you’d like to have accomplished your goal. This is not a race, nor is the deadline meant to rush you into action. It is simply to get you to think about when you want to have achieved your goal by.
In addition, with your action lists, you should schedule those tasks into your calendar. Decide when you will do them, and stay committed. Again, use even more sticky notes or “to-do” lists to make sure that you complete the necessary actions to achieve your goal.
Goal Setting Steps #5
Remind yourself of your goals every day, or at least several times each week. So often we forget what our goals are, so we need to be like advertisers and influence ourselves to take action toward our goals.