Did you ever hit a target that you couldn’t see?
–- Zen philosophy

 
By the time February hits we usually start to get so wrapped up in our everyday list that we forget that we can reach higher.

Have you set your goal for the year? I have. I set one major goal for the year. I pick a goal that will improve all aspects of my life. My goal this year is to get things started sooner and done faster.

Why are goals useful? They focus your energy on a single target. The goal helps you make decisions. A good goal can give you energy and be inspiring. The completed goal will improve the situation and in the case of personal annual life goals—your life. Of course, if this is not the case, then you might want to review your goal.

The management expression, “What gets inspected, gets respected” helps to explain this. You will focus more on a goal and that might be all the effort that is needed to push yourself to the next level.

What should I choose? I usually start selecting my goal for the next year in the fall. I look at what has been challenging me for the last year. Or, I look at what might help me, if improved, have a better year. My focus for choosing a goal is to improve my business. In so doing, I improve myself; for my business is an extension of me.

Motivation. Why did you choose this? What is the gain to you, your work, your business, your life? If you do complete this, what will be the benefit? Write this down. Keep the end in mind. For example, I will be more relaxed, have more time and increase my business. That is motivating to me.

How do I implement it? First write it. Then speak it. Say it to yourself—often. Especially in the morning to prepare for the day and at night before you go to sleep to aid in moving it from the conscious mind to the subconscious.

Share it with others. When we share it with others we make a more full commitment to complete the goal. Groups like AA and Weight Watcher, work because we are social creatures and when we make a social commitment, we feel more bound to it. So go tell others. Better, start a goal support group at work or with a fiend.

Present tense. When you are talking about a goal that you have, talk about it in the present tense, as if it already exist. I am a successful sales person.

Take baby steps. Part of implementing, especially at the beginning, is to take little steps by setting little or partial goals. Break it up into a goal that you can achieve and then accomplish it. This will get the ball rolling and get your success mounting.

Book it. Make time in your calendar. Make appointments in your calendar to accomplish your goal. Either time to work on the goal itself, or in my case—scheduled time to work on my current project, but sooner this time.

Picture it. Mental imagery is a very powerful tool in achieving your goal. In your minds movie camera, see yourself as already achieving it and how that would look. This helps your mind to believe it to be.

Images. Lee Ann, a colleague of mine, has a goal book. On each page is a goal that she wants to accomplish. Then, below it are pictures of what it would look like. At first these are cut out or downloaded images, but later they are photographs of the accomplishments in part or whole.

Specifics. Having some specifics that you want to accomplish, something that you can measure it against.

Reward. Reward yourself for accomplishing some of the steps towards achieving your goal. The other day, I completed all my work early and rewarded myself with going to the gym.

Modeling it. Find someone that is doing what you want to do and use them as a model to learn from. Study them. Ask them questions, if you can. Be open to learning bits and pieces from many different sources.

Send me your goals for 2010.

Thinking smarter…and doing it faster,
Yona