Goal Setting – How To Write Goals And Then Accomplish Them

Ouch!

What was that?

I was five and my friend, Doug, was four.

We were playing a fun game of Army at a construction site right across the street from my house.

I got hit again, and so did Doug.

We didn’t have any real weapons—what was that?

I looked down and saw the clump of exploded dirt that created the pain.

…dirt clods.

I wonder if the wise person that said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” demonstrated and taught a strategy to plan, or did he just say, “write your goals down.”

I have been in the goal-setting and success-achieving business since I first had a dirt clod war with the neighborhood hooligans.

I was only five.

But I understood that if I didn’t plan correctly, and follow through, my friend Doug and I would have been clobbered by the bullies.

Now, so many years later, I still have that dirt clod victory and many more victories (and failures), helping me prepare for the win.

How to write goals – Here is my educated, experienced, and simplified process to boost you toward improved quality of life:

1. Write out SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, as if you have Achieved them, Realistic, Time-based)

2. Use highly motivational and emotional reasons to succeed

3. Kill your old, bad habits completely and forever

4. Create new, good habits as action items and do them consistently until they become old, good habits

5. Do it now!

Writing SMART Goals really allows you to create a perfect environment mentally for your success.

Being Specific will create a definitive approach to what you need.

Without measuring, how do you know if you succeeded or failed?

As if you already achieved the goal is a method to create the proper neurological flow for success—it is essentially the opposite of saying, “I can’t.”

Realistic keeps you from failing every single time.

Lastly, time-based ensures you stay focused until you complete the goal.

If you can tap into your emotions, your goal-attaining career will sky rocket.

It is said that emotions are the number one selling point for any product or service.

Get emotional, and get it done.

This coupled with other motivational drives will create passion to complete your tasks or action items used for your goals.

Your old habits are exactly why you are the way you are, so if you keep them, you will stay the same.

This also means if you go back to them you go back to the person you are.

If you are reading this, you do not want to be where you are (on some level).

If it is your eating habits, kill the old ones, and create new good habits.

These new habits have to be inline and create success for you in your goals.

Just doing the new habit is okay, but doing it with consistency and discipline for a long enough period of time is the key to your success.

I once made a video on the secret to success, and it proclaimed action as the secret.

This is true, these new, good habits are your action steps.

Consistency in this action is what will not only bring you to your success, but will create that success for the long term.

In the Marine Corps, I was put into situation after situation during combat, and the one thing that kept us victorious, was our insane adherence to repetitive training.

Now do it.

Do something for your success before you read any further.

Once you have these 5 steps down, there are many other ways to contribute and speed up your goal conquering. Read these entries on Innovative Results for additional support, but only if you have the above 5 steps down!

 

---

 

Below is an example for you to use, if you’re still unclear as to how to perform this method.

Goal written with SMART method:

I have been victorious in this dirt clod war between the neighborhood bullies with Doug in the next 10 minutes.

Reason (emotional and motivational):

I do not like losing.

I don’t want to be hurt or killed.

I love winning.

I will save the neighborhood from their torment.

Old Bad Habit:

Standing there while I get pelted with dirt clods.

New Good Habit (action item):

Having Doug collect as many dirt clods as possible.

Me throwing the dirt clods at the bullies as fast as I can.

When I get tired we will switch positions.

Old Bad Habit:

Letting the bullies pick on me and win.

New Good Habit(s):

Not letting the bullies pick on me.

Being victorious.

Not giving up or failing.