Are you among 3%?
Perhaps, during my seminars you have heard about the Mark McCormack's research. Senior students of Harvard were asked a question: "Do you set clear goals for future and write them down on paper?"
It appeared that only 3% of respondents wrote down the goals, 13% set the goals, but did not fix them, 84% had no specific goals, except for the desire to graduate university and plans for the summer. In 10 years students of this course were tested again. It appeared that those 13% which had the goals but not in written form, earned at least twice more than 84% of former students which did not have any specific goals.
The most fascinating is that those 3% with the goals fixed on paper earned on average 10 times more than the remaining 97%.
How about you? Do you write down your goals?
Definition of specific goals
To set the effective purposes, first of all, you should have a clear understanding of why is it necessary for you. You have to see the final result and visualize it so obvious that you can remember it in your head and you could not see other options anymore. Secondly, it is necessary to understand, which goals need to be set for reaching the expected results.
Use a simple piece of paper and the pen.
Practice shows that written fixing of your goals with the dates does really work. Add some photos, add some desire and go for work. Use your imagination!
Recording your goals on the audiotape and frequent listening to them would also give you a lift. Be sure to use positive thoughts and aspirations.
Setting milestones
First, you will find your goal as a very large and a long-term one. You have no idea, how to proceed with its implementation.
The perfect solution is to divide the global goal into the intermediate ones, which are easily reachable. They define steps towards achieving desired things. Be sure to set deadlines for each stage. This will help you to design a plan of action.
A step-by-step strategy of goal implementation will clarify its true size for you. It will not seem so huge any more. All the major achievements consist of the smallest ones. Reason perceives a multitude of small targets better than a big one. You will feel a great relief having achieved the requirements of this paragraph.
The only difference between a goal and a dreamis in their time frames. For each goal there is the date of its implementation. It has a purely psychological value. In no case do not get disappointed, if you have broken a deadline. Just postpone the date and draw conclusions, analyze the failure and continue following the path. This is a very important point. Hardly Valentin Dikul set a specific date for his goal, but it took six years and he entered the arena!
You will be able to promptly realize the goal, but probably you will have to change the date several times. There are no unrealistic goals, but there are unrealistic dates. Therefore, feel free to set goals. Just do not tell anyone about them, and you will not worry about reaching them not in time (if they are not time-bound indeed).
Daily goals
Goals must be daily. Once you have identified the dream, divided it into achievable (intermediate) steps, it's time to act. Every single day. If you do not have daily goals, the word «dreamer» is about you.
Just goals themselves are worth nothing. They are nothing, but vague desires without faith. Only action can maintain faith at a level sufficient to make the dream come true. Daily goals encourage us to work, activity maintains the faith and the faith helps us to realize our plans. Without daily goals it is difficult to move forward and gain something global.
Big goals are long-term, and it can take you from 1 to 15 years to achieve them. It is a very long term. And if you think about the number of obstacles you have to overcome during this time, then most likely you will not reach the end. That is why daily goals will help you. How to walk 100 km? Step by step. Even if you have the idea, that you can easily jump over these 100 km (because you want to achieve the desired things instantly) then you should immediately give up such a venture - this cannot be achieved by a human being. And if we consider the problem from a different angle, then the solution is simple. The same thing is here: you keep in mind the general strategy and concentrate on daily goals achievement. To achieve them, you need little time and effort. Therefore, day by day, week by week, month by month you will move towards the top.
Getting what you want is like building a house of bricks, each of which seems insignificant. But brick by brick, and a huge house is built. Success cannot be achieved quickly, it comes gradually. You decide the length of your steps. If you have chosen too big one, you can split it into two small steps. If the steps still bring you difficulties, split them again. Continue doing this until you find that each stage can be easily managed. The person, who wants to achieve maximum results, should understand that the process is not fast.
Big success is a sum of small achievements. The dream, which is not considered as a set of specific goals, will forever be just a fantasy. Big goals show you a room for improvement, but you should concentrate on the intermediate steps to the top.
Develop an action plan
Your dream already has the features of reality. Still you do not believe it will come true, because you do not know what specific steps to take. Think over the action plan. If your dream is ambitious then, probably, good ideas will not come to you at once. Do not give up. Your consciousness is limited, it does not know all the answers. Subconscious mind will help you in this situation.
The idea can come to you in 1 hour or in 3 months, it depends on the intensity of your desire. The subconscious mind has accepted the request and is working on its implementation. The idea may come to you randomly. Just think about the plan and imagine, what awaits you in the event of its implementation. When you start to divide the goal into many small steps, you will realize that the solution is near, and it is not unfathomable.