How to set goals and write them down correctly?

| March 22, 2021 | psychology

In recent years, the trend of modern society has been efficiency in work, successful success in all spheres of life and achievement. On social networks, everyone just says that it’s time to get off the couch and do something useful, and the recommendations constantly flash advertisements for courses on self-development, learning languages ​​and promoting your own business.

In such a frantic pace of life, you need to understand what and how you want to achieve. Some businessmen are even trying to make money from this by discovering a perfect method of how to quickly and efficiently achieve their goals.

What is goal setting and why is it needed?

The goal is the result you are striving for. Goal setting is a concrete plan of action to achieve your intended goal. In the system of personal growth and management, goal setting plays a key role. But why set goals correctly:

  • to make your dreams come true;
  • to achieve the desired success;
  • for the correct distribution of their resources;
  • to maintain motivation.

When you correctly determine the vector of your movement, you can achieve any of your goals: whether it is buying the latest phone model or a luxurious mansion on the seashore. In my opinion, this is worth trying!

How to set goals correctly?

A goal that is not written down on paper is just a dream. It’s hard to disagree with this expression, especially if you know how to set goals correctly. We have just collected for you 6 effective ways to set and achieve your goals.

Goals must be written

The first rule you need to remember is that any goal should be written down on paper. Only the prescribed goal will be achieved as quickly and efficiently as possible. You can create a daily planner or notebook in which you will write down your plans for the day, tasks for the month and, of course, goals. This is the most convenient way used by millions.

Another way to write down your goals is with a visualization board. For small purposes it will not work, but for global purposes – just right. You can compose a visualization board in any form convenient for you: on a Whatman paper that you hang in your room, in a diary that will be in front of your eyes, etc. All your global dreams should be drawn on it (you can use printed photos): an apartment, a car, a trip.

Add specificity to your goals

When you want something badly, you need to set a deadline for yourself, that is, a certain time in the future until which you will fulfill your goal. Otherwise, it will be very blurry, imprecise and you are unlikely to reach it quickly. You also need to understand how you will measure the completeness of your goal. Let’s look at examples.

Break your goal down into small subgoals

When you set a goal for yourself to lose 20 pounds in 6 months, your brain thinks you are crazy. Seriously, this can seem like a very daunting task for him and he will do everything in order not to strain simply. With big goals it is always like this, the brain will think that you are asking something unreal from it.

Visualize your goals

You must clearly understand your goal, feel it almost by touch. If your goal is to buy a car, then it is not enough just to know what kind of foreign car it will be. Imagine what color it will be, what the interior will be, what is included in the package, think over everything to the smallest detail.

Also try to imagine how you feel when you reach your goal. For example, when you sit in the cabin of your new car, you will feel pride, happiness, inspiration, self-confidence. Affirmations like this make our brain work and generate 1000 and 1 ideas of how to achieve all this.

Get ready to change your goals

The world does not stand still, as do you. Everything around you changes at the speed of light, so it’s okay if you will be flexible in relation to your goal. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments due to circumstances. No one thought that a crisis would ever come, but this is not a reason to give up your dream, you can just transfer it a little to the future.

Checking the target for truth

If you think about your goal and don’t feel anything inside, then you should immediately cross it off the list. Yes, it can be good, useful, correct on all counts. But it is impossible to achieve it without a physiological response, since the main instrument for achieving the goal is a person, and he will not act until he feels emotionally involved in the process. The thought of a goal should inspire excitement, joy, and a desire to act right now. Otherwise, it is far-fetched and worthless.

How to check the target for truth?

  • When you think about a goal, do you feel an increase in vitality?
  • Presenting the image of the goal and the results of its achievement, do you want to start the process now?
  • Can you give a clear and concise answer to the question why this goal is needed? What opportunities will open up for you, how its achievement will affect all aspects of life.
  • Is there a connection with childhood dreams. After all, such goals are the most emotional and can give energy to achieve results.
  • Will you enjoy the very process of achieving your goal?
  • Are you ready to fight to achieve your goal at the expense of your usual way of life and comfort?
  • Imagine that you have achieved your goal. Do you like changes and consequences?
  • Do you believe in your own ability to achieve your goal?

Be sure to assess the prospects of the goal, because it should be followed by new opportunities that can change life for the better. Do not work in vain for goals that are not capable of unleashing your potential.

And remember, it is not the result that is important – the achievement of the goal, but the transformation of you as a person in the process of achieving the goal. The process of achieving itself must be pleasant, you must be in a state of “intense pleasure.” And this is possible only if the goal is true and desired.

The goal must be paid

A goal cannot be global, good, and convenient at the same time. Recognize the need to pay for the achievement of goals with various inconveniences associated with constant work on yourself, overcoming difficulties, changes in lifestyle. The inability to achieve a goal in one area of ​​life without affecting others.

Once you have realized this, sit down and analyze the changes that will occur in the process and as a result of achieving the goals. Do they completely and completely suit you, or do they disintegrate the established order from the ground? Are you ready to sacrifice something for the sake of a better life, or is the usual life still more expensive? If you want to give up a goal, then this is absolutely normal, you should not even get upset.

But if you are ready for all the changes that come with it, then take action and don’t let your own fears and habits sabotage you along the way.

Make sure that:

  • the goal is desirable and achievable;
  • it is worth it to be achieved;
  • the actions necessary to achieve are natural and normal;
  • life after reaching the goal will get better;
  • you have all the abilities to achieve this goal;
  • you deserve this goal.

Prepare for difficulties

It has been said repeatedly that achieving your goals is not easy. This is fraught with certain difficulties and challenges. It is best to prepare for this by making a list of those difficulties that may await you on the way to achieving this or that goal, so that later, when an obstacle appears on the way, you do not pass up and do not lose determination. Play all possible scenarios in your head and immediately note how you would react to certain events that could interfere with you. This is a great cheat sheet for the future.