Setting Goals

Setting goals and objectives is something lots of people do. The funny thing is that many people who set goals never get around to completing them. Something that I’ve learnt from the successful people that I’ve met is that they don’t make a list and put the words ‘goals’ or ‘objectives’ at the top of it. That is a good way to remember a written list of goals or objectives; however that’s not the best way to actually get those things done. You see when you want to do something your mind represents what you’re going to do before you carry out the task.

Athletes spend hours imagining carrying out a challenge perfectly and getting their brains to focus on exactly what they want to achieve before they go on to win races or gold medals etc. People often use phrases like ‘I can smell victory’ or ‘I can see myself doing that’. And when they use this type of sensory language it indicates that they are actually using that specific sense as part of their imagination process.

The fact is that we use our imagination like this all the time and it helps us to get where we want to go. Unfortunately many of us concentrate on negative things and we tend to get them and then wonder why. We usually do this unconsciously though, or without being aware that we’re actually imagining something in great detail by using all of our senses.

It’s not just about ‘positive thinking’ alone. It’s about focussing on the exact things that you want to do or have happen and knowing how you’re going to do them. So concentrate on the things you want not the the things you don’t want.

I use an easy way of goal setting that works really well. The key is to have fun whilst you’re using your imagination and enjoy all of the good feelings that pop up during the imagination exercise. Here’s an example about getting a new job, it has a few steps in the process:

Break the task up into smaller more manageable parts

• Decide on what kind of job you want.
• Write a C.V
• Buy the relevant newspapers or magazines and then search through them for the job you want. Search through online websites
• Apply for the jobs that interest you. That includes phoning the companies up or filling out application forms etc.
• Rehearsing for interviews or mock interviews with friends
• Attending interviews
• Negotiating terms
• Accepting the job!

You may have more or less steps than I have in my example and that’s fine because you know how much you can manage. And if it becomes overwhelming then break up the tasks into more subtasks.

Imagine completing each task in vivid detail.

Make sure you imagine doing the task in the future exactly at the time it needs to be done. And imagine it exactly the way you want it to turn out, in every detail. When you complete a task in your imagination you might find that it feels good to have done so (even though it is imagination hold onto that good feeling for a while).

You may find that one of your senses is stronger in your imagination than the others and that’s fine too. Some people may have more of a feel for the task or talk to themselves about exactly what they are going to do. And it’s all acceptable as long as you know you have a detailed sense of exactly what needs to be done in each task.

By the time you finish imagining all the tasks you’ll end up having a movie in your mind with all the details of how to carry out your goal right to completion. It may seem as though this exercise takes some time and at first it may take a few minutes but with just a small amount of practice you’ll find that the more you use your mind like this the better it feels and the quicker you can do the whole process each time. You may even find that once you get good at it the whole process happens all by itself. Effortless!

Now you can make a list and each item in the list is fully represented in your mind so you know exactly what to do. All you have to do is one small task at a time and then just tick it off the list when you’re done.