It’s that time of year when we reflect upon the year past, see the goals that were not accomplished and try to set new audacious goals for the next year. Our renewed vigor and dedication will last a week or two, maybe less. Why is that?
Setting goals is a tried and true motivational exercise, but to really have an impact we have to dig deeper than the conscious mind wants to go. We have to set those goals with deep roots in the unconscious mind, and that means we have to drill down into the motivations for our goals. To plant a goal and really have the emotional wherewithal to achieve it takes more than just a numbered list.
Say your goal is to buy a new car next year. That’s a good goal, but if your current car is okay, and you don’t have a clear understanding of why you want a new one, it’s easy to let the extra work it will take slide. However, if you drill down and see that a new car represents more than just reliable transportation, that it is a symbol of your success. That a new car is proof to the world, and yourself, of your ability and commitment – then there is additional motivation to achieve.
Losing weight is another real goal for many of us, but oftentimes we set the goal of losing 20 pounds, but without an understanding of why we have the extra 20 pounds, or a big enough motivation to lose it, it’s easy to let the calorie count slide, or skip that extra gym session. When I realize that the 20 pounds is a lot to carry around, that it represents a safety barrier for me from love and relationships, that when I lose it, I feel better, look better and my love life improves – then I can stick to the diet and exercise.
For our goals to be effective we have to be more motivated than normal. The best way to do that is to drill down, to find what’s behind our goals, and then what’s behind that, and then go deeper again. Write down the goals you want, then below each of them and indented write down what it represents, and repeat that two more times. Now you’ll have the power to be truly empowered to achieve those goals.
Next step is for each goal, walk it backwards. What do you have to do to achieve that goal, then the step before that, and before that? Go all the way back to the most basic step you can think of. Why do this? Because now you have a path to follow and odds are that each individual step is really easy to do, but if you tried to go from where you are now, to end goal, you’d never make in one step; each little step though is manageable.
We can achieve far more than we are led to believe. It is simply a matter of being motivated, and then finding the path – this system I’ve given you will help keep you motivated and oh the path to reaching your goals.
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