Goal-Setting & Effective Planning

Before you begin the process of pursuing anything, you need to define it first. So many people want something, but never really truly ackowledge what it is, and then they get stuck – not knowing where to begin and how to work on achieving their desire. So, I suggest you take a piece of paper and a pen and follow these steps. They will help you set your goal and give you a brief idea on how to set up a plan.

1. Ask yourself: “What do I really want?”

And I mean, really, REALLY want. Don’t be vague. I want you to write an elaborate answer where you express exactly what it is that you want. Spare no words, this is your road to success and if you truly want it then you need to take your time, and have fun with it. So, what do you really want? There are two important things you need to keep in mind though when defining your goal:

(a) You need to write your goal in positive statements, not negatives.
Correct: I want to PASS my exams.
Incorrect: I do not want to FAIL.

Please, please, please ALWAYS write what you want in POSITIVES and POSITIVES ONLY! Your mind cannot interpret negatives. When you write “I don’t want to fail” your brain will focus on the word “fail” and will do everything it can to make it materialize. As Paul McKenna says, “you get more in life of what you focus on”. You’re NOT doing yourself any good by focusing on what you don’t want. Focus and think about what you WANT ONLY! Write statements like: I want to pass. I want to get honors. I want to be the valedictorian. I want to get straight As.

(b) You need to be SPECIFIC.
The more specific you are the better.
Correct: I want to score 80+ on my forthcoming exam. With this statement you are giving your mind clear, straight-forward instructions and it will work effectively to make that goal materialize.
Incorrect: I want to score high on my exam. How high? Is 50 okay? 55? Which exam? The one 2 weeks from now or the one 2 years from now? BE SPECIFIC.

2. Construct a Plan:

To construct a plan, ask yourself: What will I need to do in order to achieve my goal?
When I was studying for my 5 resits a year ago, I had a little pink stickie note on my laptop (where I saw it every day while studying) with an outline of my perfect plan. It had the following steps (for studying a lecture):
1. Read it
2. Understand it
3. Summarize it
4. Memorize it
5. Review it
6. Solve questions about it

No one helped me come up with that plan. I constructed it on my own and for my own, because it felt right for me. What feels right for someone may not necessarily feel the same for someone else. You need to trust yourself, because you are wise and once you set your goal and define it well, your mind will do the job for you. Your mind will look for the most effective ways to help you achieve your goal. So trust your intuition. Plus, learning is all about trial and error. If one plan doesn’t work, simply modify it or construct a better plan. But you must not give up too early. You need to put your plan to the test, see if it feels right and if it’s yielding results. Remember to be patient. It takes time.

3. Mark the Deadline:

When you construct your plan you must take into consideration the time you have to accomplish your goal, or if you don’t have a solid fixed date, ASSIGN one yourself. People work best with deadlines. Bring a calendar, and draw a circle around the date of the deadline. Count how many days you have left for the important event, or as I like to call it – “manifestation day”, and set your plan accordingly. For example, if you have 50 lectures to finish in 10 days, then you are aiming for about 5-6 lectures a day.

4. Follow Through With Your Plan:

If there is anything (besides mentality – which comes first) that distinguishes failures from achievers, it’s persistence.

You must be persistent. NEVER give up. Never, never, never EVER give up. You will get there, I promise you. You just need to believe you will get there (mentality) then continue doing your job (persistence) and eventually you will reach your goal. It’s like driving from Toronto to Ottawa. You will keep driving until you reach your destination, right? You’re not going to stop the car halfway and say, I quit! this is taking forever! You will need to be persistent, keep your foot on the pedal, and drive away the miles. And if you do that, are you not sure you will eventually reach Ottawa? Of course you are! It’s common sense. Then, what makes you doubt yourself? What makes you think you won’t be successful/attain your goal? If you follow your plan with perseverance, you WILL get there. Believe in that with all your heart. Quitters quit because they think they won’t make it. But you, my friend are NOT a quitter. You are an achiever.

So, once you construct your plan, KEEP at it.

And that’s it! The outline of the 4 basic steps to defining & attaining your goal. This is just the introduction - a prelude yet a crucial step in creating a “mind map” for your brain to follow. How simple and easy was it? And how fun was it too? If you did everything correctly and you truly believe you will get what you want, you should be feeling good right now. Inspired, motivated, hopeful, excited. These are good indicators that you are on the right path to achieving your desire.

Remember, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive it can achieve”. It’s all about mentality.

Now, what I want you to do is bring that piece of paper you were just writing on, and stick it somewhere you can see EVERY DAY. This will be your reminder. So make sure you read it daily, preferably when you first wake up in the morning and last thing before you go to sleep at night.

Cheers!

Ecstasy (Zina)