How to Set Goals that Stick
The saying goes “if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else”. Set YOUR destination or the universe will do it for you (and you may not like where you end up).
Anyone who ever achieved anything great in life started with a goal. Goal setting will take you to the next level of your best life. Whether you want to upgrade your finances, career, relationships or health, the rules are the same and I’ve summarised them for you here. Most importantly, I’ve added in the part that will make them STICK, dramatically increasing the likelihood they’ll be achieved. SO, get yourself a pen and paper or, better yet, a book dedicated to housing your goals and let’s get started.
1 THINK
Think about your goal. What is it? Aim high, make it big and bold. It needs to be a goal that will stretch you and get you out of your comfort zone. All the magic in life happens outside of your comfort zone! Make it a goal that, once you reach it, it excites you.
Did you know, 80% of people don’t even have goals? Most people have never taken the time to actually THINK about what they really want in life. Usually because in childhood we were taught not to complain and be happy with what we have. “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset” - sound familiar? We’ve been conditioned to fit in and not aim too high.
If you want to move to the next level, you need to change this. Start by thinking about your biggest goal, your number one priority in life and you’ll already be 80% ahead of the crowd.
2 WRITE
Write it down. You’re 42% more likely to reach your goal just by writing it down. If you just keep it in your head, it doesn’t exist. It’s just in your imagination. Once you write it down, it begins to take shape and has definition. Your brain reads it as you write and sees it as real (humans are the only species on the planet who’s thoughts can become reality).
“Blow out your candles and make a wish BUT DON’T TELL ANYONE or it won’t come true.”
Childhood conditioned most of us to keep our goals and wishes to ourselves but it’s simply not true! Write them down, talk about them with people you trust, wake them up and bring them to life.
3 DETAIL
Add as much detail as you can. “What you seek is seeking you” (Rumi). Paint a picture so you and your goals can find each other more easily. Make it as real as you can. I wrote mine in a screen play format with dialogue and narrations. Do what works for you. Make it as authentic as you can. What are you wearing? What can you smell? Where are you? When is it occurring?
Finally, leave a whole page free to add more detail as it comes to you. Trust me, it will! The more time and attention you spend on this the more real it will become and the easier it will be for your brain to come up with ways to turn it into a reality.
4 WHY
Why do you want this goal to be achieved? Who will benefit from it’s achievement? How will it make you feel? Be as specific as you can.
What kind of confidence and beliefs do you need to have in place to achieve this goal? Write about the confidence you will give yourself to complete this goal.
5 SELF-WORTH
Now, this is the STICK part, so pay attention!
Why do you deserve this goal? Why are you worth it? How do you know you’re worth it? Write this down.
You MUST believe you are worth it. When you know you’re worthy of achieving this goal, the world will know it too. But if you don’t believe it’s possible, well, no one else will either. There is no fairy Godmother. We make our own luck. If you have any limiting beliefs, now is the time to take action and replace them with positive affirmations:
“I’m worth it. I make my own luck.”
Act it, talk it, think it, speak it.
What are you learning to make your goal happen?
What will you do differently to bring this goal to life?
Act as if your goal has already happened. How would you talk, speak, dress, spend your free time when you have achieved these goals? Until you write all of this down, it hasn’t even happened.
Back yourself. You’re worth it. Have faith and courage in your ability to achieve these goals.
Write out the risks you’re going to take because the only risk in life is not taking the risk! If you take the risk and it doesn’t work, then at the very least, you learned something. The only risk is not learning (not taking the risk). Failure is learning. So, keep going. Everyone who achieved anything great in this world failed first.
6 REVIEW
80% of people don’t think about their goals.
16% think about them but don’t write them down.
Only 3% of people write them down.
Only 1% of people write down their goals AND review them regularly. These, are the people that achieve greatness in the world. YOU are becoming one of these people!
Read and review your goal details every day, twice a day. Read what you’ve written. Add to it as more ideas come to you. How to achieve it, who will benefit etc.
When you take action to make your goal happen, something shifts in the universe. You show the universe you’re showing up for your dream. Synchronicities start occurring. It’s because you’ve rewired your brain to look for opportunities to make it real. It’s scientifically proven and it’s called your Reticular Activating System (RAS). Your RAS is working to make your goals a reality because it believes they have already happened and it looks for confirmation.
Take a chance on yourself. Take risks to make your goal happen. What if it doesn’t work? What if it DOES? If you don’t try, you’ll never know.
Just like the RAS, the minute you commit to something and let go of your fears, the Universe works with you to arrange all kinds of synchronistic events to help you reach your goal. You meet the right people, you’re in the right place at the right time, awesome ideas come into your head. All because you’re open to making this goal a reality. Everything will fall into place. All because you took action. Call it luck but you make it yourself by creating your goal setting book and reviewing it every day.
CONCLUSION
Fortune favours the brave. Be brave, be courageous, be bold. Have big goals and you will achieve them. Plan it, want it, write it, work on it. Know you’re worth it and see it as if it’s already happening. Always write in the present tense: I am becoming xxxxxxx NOW (not one day, not in the future, NOW).
Write out your goals,
Write out your why,
Write out your reasons,
Write out what you are going to learn, the new thing you are going to learn. Marketing, SEO, accounting, public speaking, copy writing etc in order to become the person you need to be to achieve your goals. Fun Fact: Mick Jagger studied accountancy after becoming successful because he wanted to know where his money was going. Mick Jagger is a 1%er.
Remember, rejection is just a delay. Keep the faith. The only person that can reject you is you. Show up for yourself and take action on your goal every day no matter how small.
Love & Luck,
Julia