Welcome back! Let’s continue with part two of the post. Having been introduced to the four essentials of goal-setting (R-E-D-S), it’s time to start writing down your goals!
What Usually Happens…
You give this a miss. Yes, as a matter of fact, only 20% of people set goals for themselves. Out of this 20%, only about 30% are committed to achieving their goals. You don’t really need statistics to back this up. Just look at the number of successful men and women out there.
I’ve Tried This Before, But It Didn’t Work?
Setting a goal is just the starting point. The key is to take action. Are you following through? You can set a thousand goals on a piece of paper, but without any action taken, there won’t be any tangible results.
Keep Your Goal in Sight!
Yes. Literally. Why? Ask yourself this. How many times have you written your goal on a piece of paper enthusiastically, only to leave that same piece of paper lying somewhere conveniently out-of-sight? And you forget about it!
Out of sight, out of mind. We need to be constantly reminded of our goals before we actually realize them. Don’t worry. Keeping your goals in sight is easy. You can write them down on…
| 1) | A card the size of a credit card (about 8.6cm by 5.4cm) Keep it in your wallet. Treat it like the photo of your loved ones and catch a glimpse of it every now and then. |
| 2) | A huge, exaggerated poster Paste it in your room as if you are making a public declaration to everyone about them. Make sure that it’s the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning. You can paste it on your ceiling if you are a little.. erm.. hardcore. |
| 3) | The first page of your notebook/ diary Keeping a personal notebook is very useful. You can jot down your ideas or things you learned in the book daily, on top of using it as a constant reminder of your goals. |
Come up with more creative and effective ways on your own.
Spice Up Your Goals…
By now, you know that you’ll be forcing yourself to see your goals everyday. Spice them up a little then, for your own sake. Add in some little illustrations if you know how to draw. Else, decorate them with some downloaded images from the Internet. It’s the information age. Images are aplenty.
You can even personify your goals with a picture of someone who have achieved everything that you ever want to. We call this special someone, your idol. It’s healthy to idolize someone. Learn from them! Here’s how your personal goal may look like:
Lovely isn’t it?
Hold Yourself Accountable…
Here’s something that works – holding yourself accountable for your goals. In “Master Your Mind, Design Your Destiny” by Adam Khoo, he wrote of a method he used to achieve his goals – tell everyone about it. It works really well, especially if you are someone who values promises. By declaring to everyone about your goals, you feel obliged to achieve it. Or you risk deeming yourself a liar. Putting yourself on the line. Pretty neat way to do things isn’t it?
If being trustworthy isn’t really your thing, think of other ways to hold yourself accountable!
Time for a New Year Resolution…
How about writing down your new year resolution for the year? It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is when you are reading this posting. Better late than never isn’t it?
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