What goals should we set? The right goal should be as specific as possible


A dream, a cherished desire, a life goal - at first glance, these are similar concepts. In fact, these words mean completely different things. A dream may be unrealistic, and a desire may be impossible to fulfill. In order for what you dream to come true, you need to move from wishes to goal setting. However, the goal can also remain unachieved if you formulate it incorrectly. Setting goals correctly and achieving them. This logical chain is the path to success.

How to set goals correctly

Goal setting is the process of setting a goal. Many popular science books are devoted to this concept. According to psychologists, a correctly formulated task is a 50% guarantee of its achievement. Many people don’t know how to set goals correctly. Therefore, it is not surprising that trainings where professional psychologists teach the basic principles of goal setting have become popular. Unlike desires and dreams, a goal is a definite, clear concept, since it has a specific result behind it. This result must be seen. You must believe in achieving your goal. Only then can it really be achieved.

Formulations: “I want to expand my business”, “I want to increase my income” are examples of desires. To translate them into the category of goals, you need to specifically define what it means for you to expand your business. Open new branches? Expand the range of services? Attract more clients? Increase production volume? How much to increase or expand: by 20% or 2 times? The result you strive for must be measurable.

The result you strive for must be measurable.

It is best to write down a specific goal in your diary. To formulate it, use active verbs such as “do”, “earn”, “achieve”. Do not use the words “must”, “necessary”, “needed”, “should”, as they carry a semantic connotation of coercion and overcoming internal barriers. This is your goal. You want to achieve it, no one is forcing you to do it.

Achieving goals that are too simple is not fun. The task must be complex so that you have to overcome difficulties on the way to it; this is the only way to develop. But the goal must be real. Therefore, before formulating it, it is necessary to analyze the current state of affairs and evaluate the available resources and capabilities. It is unlikely to be possible to open 5 new branches at once or increase income 10 times. Achieve smaller goals first. Over time, you will come to what you didn’t even dare to dream about at the beginning of your journey.

Correct goal setting necessarily contains an indication of the time for its achievement. For example, goals to expand the customer base or increase production volume need to be specified in percentage terms (by 30%) and a period (1 year).

If you learn to correctly and specifically formulate goals for yourself, you will be able to clearly and clearly set them for others. The head of the organization must know the basic principles of goal setting. Then he will require his managers to correctly formulate the goals of their work. And this is a guarantee that they will actually complete their tasks.

How to achieve your goals

The methods for achieving goals are:

  1. The goal leads to the result. If it is very important to you, then it will be easier to achieve it. Imagine all the benefits of achieving the final result. Anticipate in advance the feelings of joy and success that you will experience at that moment. Then no fears or doubts will interfere with your path to your goal. Psychologists call this technique the visualization method. It helps to actualize all external and internal resources to achieve the goal, attracts the necessary ideas, people, and means. For example, think about the benefits you'll get from increasing your income by 50%. You will be able to afford more expensive real estate, a car, vacation, gifts for loved ones. Increase your social status. Which of these benefits do you most desire? Imagine that you have already achieved it. And let this picture motivate you. When you set goals for your employees, help them see the positives in their overall achievements. Salary increases, bonuses, career growth, receiving additional funds in the company budget for corporate events.
  2. To go a long way towards achieving a big and important goal, you need to divide it into stages. To do this, the global goal is divided into smaller goals. These, in turn, can also be broken down into smaller tasks. If all this is schematically depicted on paper, you will get a real system of goals and subgoals. Try to formulate each of them clearly, indicating the time frame for achievement, and then this diagram can be easily turned into a step-by-step plan for moving towards the main global goal. Such planning will become the basis for drawing up clear instructions for action for your subordinates. For example, the goal of expanding the range of services can be divided into subgoals: study the specifics of new services, purchase the equipment necessary to provide them, select specialists or train your employees, find additional space.
  3. Close people can help you achieve your personal goals. And when it comes to business-related tasks, you cannot do without the help of employees and partners. Having broken down the global goal into specific subgoals, think about which of your subordinates can cope with each of them most successfully. But remember, you set the initial goal for yourself, it is important to you, therefore the responsibility for achieving it also lies, first of all, with you. If you do not achieve your goal because one of your employees did not complete the task assigned to him, then the blame for this will lie with you. This means that you overestimated the resources of this employee. Perhaps he needs more time to solve his problem or needs to improve his skills. Or maybe a completely different specialist is needed to achieve this subgoal.
  4. Try to assess in advance the obstacles that will arise on the way to achieving your goal. Think about how you can overcome or eliminate them. Not all at once, but gradually, one at a time. Of course, it is not possible to predict all problems. But you will have a plan to eliminate at least some of them.
  5. Look for additional resources. New information, new knowledge and skills will help overcome obstacles that at first may seem the greatest. You may have to hire new specialists (marketers, analysts, content managers, business trainers) or your previous employees will need to take training courses, workshops, and seminars.
  6. Make a general plan of action for the period of time that you have given yourself to achieve your goal. It will reflect who will solve intermediate tasks and in what time frame, what resources and additional investments will be attracted to overcome obstacles. Based on the overall plan, create more detailed plans for each quarter, month, and even week. Of course, you will have to adjust a lot in your plan during execution. After all, on the way to your goal you will gain new knowledge, experience, and circumstances may change. Most likely, during the implementation of the plan, you will see mistakes made during the preparation. So along the way you will need to work on mistakes. You may even have to adjust your goals if you realize that your resources are not yet enough to achieve the initial ones. But it's not scary. Anyway, you will already go part of the way, gain new knowledge and experience that will help you adjust your goals and move on.
  7. Periodically analyze your goals, methods of achieving them and resources. This is useful for further rational planning of your path.
  8. Weigh the price you will have to pay to achieve your goal. Financial investments will be required to train employees and purchase equipment. To monitor the work of a new branch, additional time is needed. You may have to reduce your personal leisure time or spend less time with your family. To complete the training you need to expend strength and energy. And bringing a partner into the business will force you to give up the habit of deciding everything on your own. Assess your willingness to sacrifice it all and step out of your comfort zone.

A goal always leads to action, because if you do nothing, you won’t achieve your goal. And vice versa, in order to start acting, you need to set yourself a goal. There is no better motivation for action.

In order to correctly set a goal, a person needs to pay attention to each of the following concepts:

1. Needs;

2. Beliefs;

3. Values;

4. Self-identity.

Human needs

Two things regulate elementary human behavior - need and motive.

For example, if a person has a need to eat, then he will be motivated to satisfy this need. But as soon as he eats, the motivation will end and the activity will stop. Because the primitive needs of a person are a short-term regulator of his activity. Unfortunately, the “after you eat, you can sleep” pattern is a common pattern of behavior, according to which about 80% of people live.

However, in the modern world, in order to stand, you need to walk, and in order to walk, you need to run, otherwise you will be hopelessly left behind. Therefore, a person needs more long-term regulators.

Human Beliefs

A more long-term regulator that allows a person to navigate space and move forward are beliefs. They are able to correct and guide a person’s path when he still has needs, and he rushes through life without a rudder or sail.

A person's beliefs answer the question - why? Why am I like this? Why are others like this? Why is the world like this?

However, beliefs can play a cruel joke in matters of goal setting, because most people have beliefs that are limiting or weakening. For example, beliefs from the series: “I’m somehow different. Others are not like that. The world is somehow different.” Such beliefs can become a cage for a person.

And if he feels captive of such beliefs, before setting goals, he should start removing the negative programming attitudes that hinder his movements.

Human values

Then, you can move on to deeper work on yourself: identifying and correcting values. A person’s values ​​are what he agrees to spend time, money and his life for.

Values ​​are determined by the question - what does life itself mean to me?

When working with your goals, it is also important to understand whether there is a contradiction between goals and values? Ask yourself a question - are you firmly convinced that the values ​​​​by which you are guided are optimal for creating good motivation?

For example, one can assume that a person will never marry if there is no such thing as a family in his value system. Or, a person will never transfer from the subway to an expensive car as long as there is no point about material well-being in his values.

When working on criteria and values, it is important to identify missing, but important values ​​for a person, in order to fit them into the overall structure and, thus, change the picture of the world, change the filters through which a person looks at the world.

If the work is done correctly, then a person should immediately have needs that did not exist before. For example, go on vacation with your family, start improving your own efficiency, undergo training to gain new knowledge and skills, etc.

Human self-identity

The next stage of the motivational factor is the concept of self-identity. It is determined by a person’s firm conviction: “I am who I am, I cannot do otherwise. This is what I have stood for and will continue to stand for.” For successful self-identification, it is important to learn to understand your individuality and make plans in accordance with it. This means the ability to accept yourself as you are, and not as you will be later, as well as the ability to be reasonable and calm about your shortcomings.

To successfully set a goal, it is necessary that all points flow from one another and successfully complement each other. With the correct formulation of your identity, values ​​will be chosen accordingly, beliefs will be appropriate and motives will begin to be realized in an optimal way.

We fill sheets of paper with multiple statements of our goals in life; our reality is saturated with advice on time management. But a mountain of sheets does not make our desires and goals more realistic.

How to achieve the goal? Make our goal become a reality, turn from a mirage on the horizon into a tangible “here and now”? How to organize your life so that setting goals and our actions are aimed at the result, and not at the process?

She told us about all this Anna Kebets, organizational coach, head of the consulting company GoodWin Group. The techniques described will help you create a system for achieving goals and make sure that your friends, colleagues or subordinates have the same understanding of the project you are working on together.

Determine the desired result

The SMART coaching technique will tell you how to set goals correctly and make your desires truly come true.

According to this technique, in order to set a goal, it is important that it meets the following characteristics:
Specific– specific;
Measurable– measurable;
Achievable– achievable;
Realistic/Relevant– real/relevant;
Timed– defined in time.

Specific goal. Before you start moving, make sure you are able to set yourself a clear and positive goal. For example, your personal task for today “send your resume” is not clear. It sounds much more specific: “today find 5 interesting vacancies, write a resume for each of them and send.” “Improve your diction” is also not the best example of how to set goals, and your specific option for self-improvement is “read the tongue twister twice every day.” “Organize a party for friends” also sounds too vague. But “to organize a party for 20 people in the style of office zombies in the open air outside the city” is a good example of how you can set a goal. The task “make a promotional video to wow!” will result in “uuh, what the hell did you film?” But “I want action with a cut of YouTube jokes in a one-minute video, where our ideal target audience receives the answer “why do I need this subscription to the site?” – gives your employees a clear understanding of what exactly you want to see and what goals they should set for themselves.

If something can be measured, then it can be done. Quantitative indicators help you understand what stage of achieving your goal you are at.

Measurable goal. A goal should always have results that can be recorded in some way. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand that achieving the goal is close. After all, if something can be measured, then it can be done. Quantitative indicators help you understand what stage of achieving your goal you are at. Therefore, instead of “increase sales,” for example, good sales managers set themselves the task of “increasing the average sales bill to $5,000 in May”: this is an example of how to set a goal correctly. And, for example, a marketer formulates measurability as follows: “publish three articles for one spread in three leading publications of the country / increase the number of VKontakte subscribers to 5,000 people.”

“Becoming more flexible” is not clear: how do you know what exactly to do if you set such vague goals in life? But it is quite clear what needs to be achieved in such cases - “in a month, reach your forehead with your knee without bending your legs / practice one negotiation technique per day.”

You must have the opportunity to implement your plans. It makes no sense to want a villa by the sea while spending all your free time on the sofa.

If it is difficult to understand how to correctly set a goal and measure it, answer two questions for yourself using a scale from 1 to 10 points: how many points do you define achievement of the goal and how close are you now to the final goal? The first question means that your task does not require a perfect 10 points, and you only need, for example, a 5 to check the “done” box.

Achievable goal. When thinking about how to achieve a goal, you need to evaluate whether you have the capabilities to implement your plans. For example, it will be difficult for you to marry a famous TV presenter without any access to the circles in which he moves. It also makes no sense to consider a villa by the sea as your goal in life, spending all your free time on the couch, not having rich relatives and not even getting involved in money scams.

Before setting goals, think about which of them you can achieve due to your professional skills or personal abilities. If you need to involve someone for this task, then choose someone who has the motivation, ability or necessary skills.

A realistic goal. Realism is determined by your external and internal resources. When building a system for achieving goals, honestly evaluate what you already have today to achieve your goal and what you don’t yet have. In addition, each new goal must be consistent with your other goals and activities. Otherwise you will stop yourself.

Don't stretch or compress real deadlines, otherwise you will have to do everything at the last minute or at an accelerated pace.

A goal defined in time. Effective goal setting always includes deadlines. In order to run a half marathon, you personally need to train for a year. Set a deadline - “in order to prepare well and not die during training, I need a year, but not one last month before the race.” If you want to set a goal to write a book review/financial report within a week (taking into account force majeure), indicate exactly this deadline. Don't stretch or compress real deadlines, otherwise you will have to do everything at the last minute or at an accelerated pace. And you will probably miss something important in a hurry.

Working through each task/desire/goal according to these five criteria will help you identify specific steps that will help you both set your goal and achieve its implementation.

We determine the conditions for achieving the goal

Do you want to get an objective picture of the facts and understand what is actually happening in your life/work regarding a specific goal (for example, a project, a task), what may prevent you from achieving your goals in life, and is this the goal you are striving for?

Here is a list of clarifying questions:

1. How are things going with this goal?

2. If we leave everything as it is, what will happen in a year, three, five?

3. What will happen if the goal is realized?

4. How much influence can you personally have on implementation?

5. What steps have already been taken in the chosen direction to achieve the goal?

6. Could more have been done?

7. What stopped you from doing more?

8. What resources are needed for implementation?

9. What resources do you already have, what resources will you need in the future, and where can you get them?

10.What are the possible risks?

11. Which partners/assistants/friends can help implement the idea, and which ones will hinder?

12.What measurable results are needed?

13. After achieving a goal, how will the realized goal affect everything that surrounds us?

Determining the strategy to achieve

If you clearly understand your goal, then you have several ways to achieve it. And how you can achieve your goal and the algorithm for subsequent steps depends on the strategy you choose. Want to make sure you find the best way? Test your strategy and chosen system for achieving goals.

So, brainstorm (if you are confident, you can brainstorm alone) and write down the answers to the following questions:

1. How can you achieve the goal you set for yourself? Write down everything, even the most crazy options. Don't dismiss anything.

2. What are the pros and cons of each option? Write down everything, even potential disadvantages and advantages.

3. What is needed to implement each option? Describe financial, human, time, etc. resources.

4. Which option will work faster, which one will be more effective? This question rejects decisions that are too long in time, require excessive investments and depletion of resources, and ineffective decisions to achieve the goal.

Surely, you are familiar with SWOT analysis, which allows you to evaluate a particular idea: Strengths (strengths), Weaknesses (weaknesses), Opportunities (opportunities) and Threats (threats). This is also a good tool for those who want to know how to set goals correctly. Analyze your goal and make yourself a chart to organize everything that came to mind during your brainstorming. As a rule, after these questions there are only a couple of options left, according to which you need to make a real choice of strategy.

Determining a specific plan

When you understand what goals to set for yourself, after the final choice of a single strategy, draw up an action plan (don’t forget to formulate everything according to the SMART principle!). Otherwise, all the work done is meaningless. The starting questions are very simple. We ask ourselves these questions every day:

1. What is the very first step towards achieving your goal that you are ready to take?

2. When exactly will you take this first step?

3. Who will you involve: who is the performer, the controller, who should motivate, etc.?

4. Do all steps have deadlines?

This article will talk about how to set goals correctly and then successfully achieve them. We build our lives ourselves or others do it for us, so it is important to learn how to set goals and achieve them.

A person, by definition, cannot achieve anything significant in life if he does not have specific goals and a definite plan for achieving them. If we live without a goal, then such life is deprived of meaning, and we lose the taste for it.

I hope you understand that in such a situation a person cannot be happy, successful and healthy. It’s not for nothing that many “success trainers,” lecturers, and psychologists talk about the importance of setting goals correctly.

What is the right goal?

The ultimate goal can only be achieved if it is clearly and correctly formulated. It is then that all the visible and invisible resources of a person are turned on, which helps to achieve the desired.

Every sane person needs to have goals in life. In other words, it is necessary to understand what I want from life, and also what I should strive for from the position of reason and wisdom.

It is important not only to feel your desires, but also to understand where they came from. I may disappoint you, but most of the goals and desires that a person has ultimately cause harm and suffering.

Many desires arise in us under the influence of our environment: parents, friends, TV, our own imperfect life experiences. But due to the fact that neither we nor the surrounding society is ideal, then our goals and desires are far from perfect.

In addition to that article, I will say that the right goal, at a minimum, does not harm others, and, at a maximum, is selfless and harmonious with the universe.

A person is able to live life with enthusiasm and benefit to the whole world only when he has great goals in life.

Do you have a goal that makes you get up every morning? Does it inspire you so much that many things fade into the background?

It is great happiness and luck to have such a goal in life. But such a goal in life is always inextricably linked with the fact that we think less about ourselves and more about others. Think about these words.

Let's say that you have previously identified goals that are truly yours, as well as useful for you and those around you. Now we need to arrange all this as correctly and efficiently as possible.

  • It is necessary to develop the desire to achieve a certain goal

We must want something passionately, this is where inspiration and enthusiasm come from. Without this, we will not achieve anything, and most goals will remain just dreams and illusions.

  • The goal must be written down on paper

Goals must be written down on paper. That's when dreams turn into goals.

But you can say that the goals are in your head and at any moment you can remember and formulate them. The problem is that it doesn't work.

During the day, about 50,000 thoughts flash through the human brain (according to scientists). When we write down goals on paper, we highlight them from tens of thousands of other thoughts, most of which we conveniently forget.

Thus, we give a signal to our mind, for which goals become a certain beacon towards which it begins to strive.

  • The goal should be as specific as possible

The goal must be set as specific and clear as possible. Vague goals are usually achieved 2-5% of the time.

For example, the wrong goal:

I want to learn several foreign languages

The right goal:

By January 2020, I am fluent in English and German, my vocabulary is 10,000 words in each language.

  • Having a clear and precise understanding of the path to the goal

It is not enough to write down goals; we also need to know how we will achieve them. When we have specific steps that need to be taken to achieve a goal, the goal becomes clearer and additional enthusiasm appears after overcoming each intermediate stage.

If we return to the example with foreign languages, we can plan the following:

  1. Choose a method of achieving the goal (with a tutor, among native speakers or independently);
  2. What vocabulary and level of proficiency will be considered achievement of the goal;
  3. How much time each week and how many days a week should be devoted to this;
  4. What financial costs will be needed for this;
  5. Do this for each language separately.

That's it in a nutshell. If desired, the goal can be written down even more carefully and the higher the likelihood that it will be achieved.

How to achieve your goals?

Of course, it’s not enough to learn how to set goals correctly. You also need to achieve your goals, otherwise, why waste time on all this.

By this point, you should already have clear and specific goals in all four areas of life, written down on paper. Also, do not forget to write down the main goal of your life (more on this in the article linked above).

Below you will learn a very simple and very effective technique for achieving your goals.

  • Write down in detail a plan to achieve a specific goal.

This has already been discussed above, but many people still miss this point or do not attach much importance to it. Understand this is really important.

For several years, I myself simply wrote down the desired goals, but did not draw up detailed plans for achieving them. As a result, many of them were not achieved and were safely forgotten.

It is important to break down the main goal into smaller goals or intermediate stages. We need to clearly and clearly understand what we want to achieve as a result. We must clearly see ourselves and the realization of our goal in 5 years, 1 year, month, week, 1 day.

  • Take action every day

We constantly need to do something that brings us closer to the goal. Dedicate at least an hour a day to achieving your goal.

For example, if you want to have a beautiful, pumped-up body, then you need to regularly do physical exercise, study literature and videos on this topic, eat right, follow a routine, and much more.

  • Find a role model

Find someone who has already achieved a similar goal, who is the best in this field or activity. Read and study his experience, if possible, communicate with him personally.

As they say, who we think about is who we become. Therefore, the sages recommend always thinking about God, taking example from exalted personalities. Well, for more mundane purposes, take the example of that person who has already reached the highest level in what you want.

  • Resolutely give up desires that prevent you from achieving your goal

Learn to give up secondary goals and desires that interfere with achieving your main goal. On the way to a goal, there are always some obstacles or temptations that must be resolutely avoided.

Focus on the main goal, think about how you will feel when you achieve your goal. This will help overcome obstacles on the way to achieving your goal.

  • Check yourself regularly

Check yourself every day. Have you forgotten your goal? Are you going the wrong way? What did you do today to achieve your goal?

This will break you out of the illusions and sleepy state in which most people spend their entire lives. Many people learn how to set goals correctly, but then do nothing and become immersed in the daily routine.

Just always ask yourself unexpected questions:

What do I want in 1 year, 5 years? What exactly needs to be done in order to achieve this? Am I doing this?

  • Remember that God always has the last word

We can plan a lot of things, strive to achieve, but at one moment everything can change dramatically. Therefore, it is important to live in harmony with the world around us and trust the flow of life and God.

Many of us have problems in life only because we do not know how to live in harmony with nature and consider ourselves smarter than it. We are a small part of the One Whole and we need to accept His protection.

A reasonable person goes towards the intended goal, but does not become attached to the result and trusts God, because he knows that the Lord knows better what is good for us and what is harmful.

Bonus: approximate goals for the year that will make you better

So you have studied another article and learned about how to set goals correctly, and then achieve them. But this is all theory. I want you to do something practical and meaningful for your life. Reading about setting goals correctly and achieving them is not enough; you need to do something else.

For example, it is important to set specific goals that will make you better over time. And since the main goal of this blog is to help you change and become happier, then accept the bonus in the form of recommended goals for self-development.

If you really set these goals in your life and begin to achieve them, then you will purify yourself and your heart, raise your level of consciousness and quality of life.

Here is a list of goals for the year to improve yourself and your life.:

  1. Take responsibility for your life. Learn in every moment not to blame others, but to look for reasons within yourself or benefit from the lesson that life gives us;
  2. Learn to get up early in the morning and go to bed early. It is optimal to fall asleep at 21-22 o'clock and get up at 4-6 am every day, regardless of the day of the week or the calendar;
  3. Engage in spiritual practice (pray) or simple meditation every day, starting with 10 minutes a day;
  4. Learn to do breathing exercises and do them at least 10 minutes a day, it greatly calms and sobers the mind;
  5. Develop in yourself detachment from money, compliments, performance results, other people’s opinions, cars, etc., this will make you more and more free and peaceful;
  6. Learn to live in the present moment, and not dream about the future or regret the past;
  7. Monitor your emotions and live them consciously (for example, catch yourself when you start to get angry and calm down, as this will only lead to bad things);
  8. Don’t fuss and don’t rush to live, be calm, this will increase your efficiency;
  9. Choose your communication very carefully and filter your environment (including movies, music, the Internet, etc.): read - ;
  10. Control your speech - empty chatter takes a lot of energy from us;
  11. Live with humor and smile more, gloomy people are unhappy themselves and are not liked by others;
  12. And of course, set specific and clear goals in all important areas of life for 1, 5 and 10 years.

Implement, set goals correctly and improve your life! Be happy!

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Video example of correct goal setting

Watch the video in which you will learn the rules of correct goal setting using a live example:

http://site/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/kak-pravilno-stavit-celi.jpg 320 641 Sergey Yuryev http://site/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/logotip-bloga-sergeya-yurev-2.jpgSergey Yuryev 2017-06-05 05:00:30 2018-11-06 12:22:42 How to set goals and achieve them: a secret guide

A goal differs from a dream in that it has not only an image, but also real ways to achieve it. Without the means and concrete actions that make approaching the goal possible, one can only dream and fantasize.

A goal is an ideal, mental anticipation of the result of a person’s actions and the ways to achieve it using certain means.

In other words, a goal is a possible, imaginable future event or state of something, the implementation of which is desirable for a person (personal image of the future). At the same time, the means and possible paths necessary to achieve it are always consistent with the goal.

Otherwise, this desired future will only be a spell of the elements (lack of possible means) or fruitless dreams (lack of ways to achieve it). Thus, a goal is always something for which specific human actions are carried out. No actions, no goals. And vice versa.

How to set goals correctly

The fulfillment of our desires and the realization of our dreams largely depends on how correctly we set our goals. Rules for setting goals help turn our aspirations and desires into reality. Therefore, in this article we will consider in detail the question “How to set goals correctly?”, and we will understand how to translate your desires and dreams into the category of real and clear goals that can be achieved.

1. Rely only on your own strengths

Before you set a goal, make it clear to yourself that all responsibility for its implementation falls entirely on your shoulders. To avoid the temptation to blame someone else for your failures, set goals that you can achieve without outside help. This goal-setting rule will save you in the future (if you don’t achieve something) from making the wrong conclusions when working on mistakes.

2. Formulate your goals correctly

Firstly, goals, like ideas, must be written down on paper (notebook, diary, diary). A goal written down in detail has a much greater chance of being realized. If you believe that you can keep them in your head without formulating goals on paper, then do not flatter yourself about achieving them. Such goals can safely be classified as dreams. Dreams and desires wander chaotically in our heads, they are chaotic, disorderly and completely unclear to us.

The efficiency of such dream goals is extremely small; in reality, they are achieved very, very rarely. Even with words, we often cannot describe what we really want. Therefore, formulating a goal must necessarily take place with a pencil in hand. The saying is true: “What is written with a pen cannot be cut down with an axe.”

Setting and formulating a goal with the help of a recording involves our subconscious in active work; a formulated goal gives confidence and makes each next step meaningful.

The man caught a goldfish. And she says to him: “Let me go, I will fulfill any of your wishes.” Well, he thought and thought about how to fit everything into one desire and said: “I want to have everything!” “Okay,” the fish answers, “you HAD everything.”

Secondly, correct goal setting and formulation imply that the goal must carry a positive charge. Therefore, it is better to formulate it using the rules of affirmations - talk about what you want, and not about what you don’t want. The correct goal is “to be rich”, “to be sober”, “to be slim”. The wrong goal is “to avoid poverty,” “not to drink,” “to get rid of excess weight.” If nothing positive comes to mind and something like “I don’t want this, I don’t want that” is constantly spinning around, try asking correctly: “This is what I don’t want. Then what do I want instead?

Also, following this rule of setting a goal, when formulating it, it is better not to use words that create resistance and reduce the effectiveness of the goal - “necessary”, “needed”, “should”, “must”. These words are the antipodes of the word “want”. How can you want, using blocking words to motivate? Therefore, replace “must” with “want”, “should” with “can”, “should” with “will do”.

The correct goal is “I want to relax and will go on vacation”, “I can and know how to earn money and will earn a lot of money.” Wrong goal - “I need to relax and go on vacation”, “In order to pay off the debt I must earn money.” It is also best to formulate a goal in terms of a result rather than a process: that is, “do this” rather than “work better.”

3. Break big goals into subgoals

Any big goal seems overwhelming until you begin to divide it into parts. For example, the desire to buy real estate abroad seems impossible at first glance. But if you move towards your goal in systematic steps, dividing it into stages, it will be easier to achieve it.

You can first set a goal to earn 3 thousand rubles a day, then 5 thousand, etc. Step by step (goal by goal) you will reach a level where you can think about buying real estate. Setting complex (global) goals and objectives, breaking them down into smaller ones, has an excellent motivational effect. Having achieved one, albeit insignificant, goal, you will feel satisfaction and the desire to move on. Reaching near goals, you gain strength and confidence to reach distant ones.

The way of thinking will gradually change. Understand, it is unrealistic to earn 20 thousand a month, and then in a few weeks increase your income to 500 thousand. Big money loves the prepared.

4. Specification of the goal

Often the reason why a set goal is not achieved is its lack of specificity, namely:

  • Lack of clearly formulated specific results. What does it mean – “I want to learn Chinese” – to learn a couple of hundred words, or does it mean to learn to communicate fluently in this language, or perhaps “to learn Chinese” means to learn all 80 thousand characters and read the text without a dictionary?
  • There is no way to measure this result. When setting goals and objectives, it is important to consider the further ability to measure the result. For example, if you want to lose weight, you need to know how much weight you want to lose, five, ten, or maybe thirty kilograms.
  • Lack of clearly defined deadlines. Here are two examples of goal setting: the first is “I want to increase the traffic to my website to a thousand unique visitors per day,” the second is “I want to increase the traffic to my website to a thousand unique visitors per day in three months.” The first option, without clearly defined deadlines, looks more like a desire than a goal. Well, a person wants to increase traffic to his resource, so what? He can come to this only in five years. The second option is a different matter - there is a set deadline that will stimulate and encourage in every possible way. Surely the deadline was determined reasonably, and not taken out of thin air, and therefore you will have to forget about laziness and work productively.

More, more specifics!

5. Goal adjustment

Be flexible! Just because you've set a goal doesn't mean you can't make adjustments as necessary. Anything can happen, circumstances may arise that can slow down or speed up the achievement of the goal, so you need to be prepared to adjust the goal. Remember that inertia in aspirations has never made anyone either successful or happy. Life changes, and you must have time to change with it!

6. Attractiveness of the goal

The goal and the consequences that its achievement will lead to should attract you! choose goals that attract, inspire and inspire you, otherwise “the game is not worth the candle.”

7. Believe that your goal is achievable

After formulating and setting a specific goal, you need to penetrate it and consolidate it in the subconscious. It happens that while consciously trying to achieve a goal, we are subconsciously not ready to achieve it. You can desire a goal, but deep down in your soul you don’t believe in its feasibility, you don’t believe in your abilities, or you simply consider yourself unworthy.

It is not enough to correctly formulate a goal, you need to charge it with the energy of confidence - this is the most important condition for readiness to achieve your goal. All successful people, from television stars (Oprah Winfrey, Larry King...) and outstanding athletes (Michael Jordan, Fedor Emelianenko...), to politicians (Mitt Romney, Silvio Berlusconi, Arnold Schwarzenegger...) and businessmen (Richard Branson,...) have achieved what they have thanks to the ability to correctly formulate and set goals.

8. Adjustment of goals and objectives

If you have already defined your main life goals, this does not mean that you cannot partially change them over time. Adjustments to goals and objectives can take place at every stage of your life's journey. Flexibility in our time is the most important quality that allows us to adapt to changing conditions. It must be remembered that rigid views have never led anyone to success or happiness. You must change along with the world around you.

At least once a year, every person determined to succeed should devote time to such an activity as goal adjustment. For example, you can do this every birthday because it is the moment when you grow one year older and realize that you are wiser. Dedicate this day to analyzing the fruits that you managed to collect over the previous year.

Focus on your victories and don't forget to praise yourself for them. At the same time, you should not lose sight of your defeats. Draw the most correct conclusions and think about what you have to work on in the coming period. Be sure to evaluate the list of goals that was compiled a year ago. Carefully analyze each of the assigned tasks. Think about what exactly you did during the year to implement it.

Assess how far you have come in your pursuits. Ask yourself whether a specific goal has the same meaning for you as it did a year ago. Perhaps today this task will seem insignificant to you or, in some respects, even naive. In such a situation, you can safely cross it out.

Once you've gone through all your goals, start creating a new list. You can modify old tasks, focusing on the requirements of the present moment. If you have new thoughts about your goals, be sure to record them. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that new tasks do not contradict the old ones that are still relevant. We must remember that our capabilities must be assessed adequately. Try to set achievable goals for yourself, since unrealistic tasks that are almost impossible to achieve at this stage will become the subject of your disappointment in a year.

If your life has changed significantly over the past year, adjusting your tasks is almost mandatory for you. There is no need to set too strict time limits for yourself. You don't have to wait a year to adjust your goals. By forming new life priorities, you will have the opportunity to understand and accept all the changes that have happened in your life.

Most likely, you have many goals. Try to write them down briefly and clearly on a piece of paper. Most likely, you won’t be able to do this quickly the first time, and the results of such work may surprise you. It wouldn’t hurt to compare the old and new lists in order to understand what you’ve given up and where you’re heading.

Remember that you have the opportunity to change both the goals themselves and the methods for achieving them. For example, a past strategy for achieving a certain goal may seem universally stupid to you at the moment. Make changes in your life, otherwise there is a risk that you will remain in the same place for a long time.