Power Goals - Are you doing it the right way?
Setting a goal is important. But it’s not just about setting a goal and achieving it. There is more to it than that. And when we understand this by digging it a little further down, we will be able to implement it, sustain it and make it part of us and our lifestyle.
- Common Mistakes
There is a reason why so many people who set goals give up on it quickly. Because the idea we have or the belief we have currently about goals might actually be false beliefs. Let’s take a look at some of the common mistakes many people make with an unproductive idea or an approach.
- Our Goal is Too General.
Our brain activate towards what we INSTRUCT our mind to. Have you noticed when something becomes so important, your brain starts to search for it? In order for this part of the brain to work for us, we need to be very specific with what we want.
Example) I want to lose weight (too general) -> I want to lose 3 kg by the end of March starting from January as a result of committing to a 15 minute running 4 times a week (more specific)
Do you notice the difference? You are giving your mind the exact and specific instruction and guideline as to what to do. If your trainer says to you, start lunging, you will be lost. You will wonder how and for how long? Your trainer will always instruct you with a specific plan – 2 sets of 10 lunges on each leg in 1 minute. Now it’s way more clear for you to follow through.
Your goal needs to be reduced down to a very minimum, and has to be action oriented. Only action can move you forward, otherwise, you will be just sitting down with a goal without creating any momentum. You need massive action that will pull you towards your goal. That is why it needs to be broken down and needs to have a specific instruction for you to follow through on a regular basis.
- We Don't Know Why We Want to Achieve that Goal.
When we don’t know why we want something, it is easy to give up as soon as that first challenge knocks at your door. Because we COMMIT no matter what when something becomes so important to a point that if we don’t have it, we can’t survive. This is the mindset we want to have. What we call, hunger. When we have that sense of strong purpose, we will push through hardships that come along the way. There will be constant distractions and temptations that will try to sabotage us from focusing and working towards our goal.
Knowing your why is important to keep you on course and help you stay focused until you reach that goal. When our goal becomes our must rather than our should, we are more likely to commit. We’ve all had this experience at least once in our life. Because we know when we want it that badly, we will always find a way. Understand your why in relation to your goal.
- We Don’t Have a Clear Outcome in Mind.
We always want to focus on the prize even from the very beginning. Once we understand why we want to do the things we want to do, we want to be specific with our outcome too.
Imagine you are in the physical shape you always dreamed of or living in the house you always wanted to live in. What happens with such visualization is that it creates a feeling of abundance. You already have it. It is here and now with you. What this does to our brain is it maximizes our ability to reach that goal or to achieve that outcome. Because it feels so good to be in that place. We want to go there. It helps us to tap into our potential and to believe in our abilities to achieve that more.
We want to MAXIMIZE our ability. When you visualized, you already felt it, you were already there. This means you already have all the abilities and resources to get there. You just need to be resourceful. When you keep envisioning that end goal you are going for, you are already half way there.
- We Don’t Believe We Can actually Achieve that Goal.
Believe it or not, we really do sabotage our own success. We fear success deep down. Because we don’t believe we can. When you don’t BELIEVE you can, what would you likely be doing? Not even try or give up.
We go from I’m so fired up and I believe I can do this to I don’t know if I can in an instant. Have you experienced this inner conflict? Straighten your values and beliefs. Align them. Keep telling yourself you want, you will and you can. We just need reevaluating our belief system continuously to realign and recondition our mind repeatedly so that it gets reprogrammed into our brain. Dig deep into what kind of belief is controlling your mind. Once you figure that out, you can replace them with new and empowering beliefs.
Everything begins with you and from you. It’s okay to trust and believe in yourself. If you don’t have that enough, it’s okay to practice that more to build it up little by little. The most important thing is your desire to trust yourself more. The level of your self-belief and self-trust can get better with practice. So while you set your goal, practice self-belief and trust too. It will not only bring in that change you craved but much more that you expected. If you can see it in your mind, you can always hold it in your hand.
- We Give Up When the First Results are Not How It's Supposed to Be.
We don’t want to sabotage our success with our own expectations. We want to always trade expectations with opportunities. When we believe that we need to be a certain way right from the beginning, we discourage and imprison ourselves. It’s our how it’s supposed to be that is blocking us from taking the risks. When it didn’t turn out the way you expected, that’s your opportunity to make it better. We always want to focus on solutions and not problems.
Taking risks means we are expanding. Without them, we cannot leverage. Failing means we are growing. Without them, we cannot learn. But we are so afraid, we hide. We stay where we are and do not move. When you are not moving, you cannot move forward. You see? Feeling stagnant, feeling stuck is when you feel dissatisfied and helpless, which leads to giving up.
Do not fear when your first try doesn’t come out the way you expected it to be. It is there for a reason. Those try outs, mistakes and failures are there to teach us a valuable lesson. If your plan didn’t work out, it’s okay to revise your plan. Because now you know better what’s working and what’s not working. There is no short cut to finding the right solution. Sometimes it just takes longer time. Everything is a gradual process. What we want to focus on is not achievement or getting to a certain place quickly. What we want to focus on is improving on each small step we take, progressing towards our goal. That is real success and a winning attitude. Progress counts the most important, not the achievement. Practice doesn’t make your perfect. Practice makes PROGRESS.
- How to Set your Goals Right
- Decide on Your Goal
Know what you want and desire - Evaluate Your Why
Know why you want and desire - Evaluate Your Belief System
Learn about your conflicting values or beliefs and re-align them - Be Specific with Your Goal
Instruct yourself specifically to commit to a planned activity - Take Massive Action
Show up as you promised and move towards your goal every day - Keep the Outcome in Mind
Use visualization to maximize your ability - Stay on Course
Focus and avoid any distractions which will only slow you down - Repeat and Adjust
Repeat the same steps and take different approaches until it works for you