Warning: Be Careful What You Wish For, Because Using This Technique Will Ensure You Get It

One of the most challenging aspects of setting goals is believing in them. Sounds simple enough, right?

It’s certainly an easy task to imagine, and even write down, some extremely creative and challenging goals for yourself, yet this is a far cry from being able to visualize yourself actually accomplishing them.

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Why the disconnect? It is simply a manner of changing how you mentally approach goal-setting. Your goal needs to be managed within a foolproof system. There is no way you can allow for any other possibility, other than your desired outcome, to occur. Besides, if you don’t truly believe it can happen, with every fiber of your being, you stand a strong change of your worst fears coming true: being right.

Write Your Own Future?
Here is how my approach to setting goals works..

1. I make a very clear description of my goal, writing it as if it has already been accomplished. To do this, I use past-tense verbs and positive, congratulatory language. I was so happy when I… The positive language further stresses the feeling that it has already been accomplished. If you think of your goal as something you have already done, half of the battle is over.

2. I imagine myself writing my autobiography. Obviously, my frame of reference in this scenario would be long after this particular goal has been accomplished. This is what affords me the opportunity to visualize myself in this way.

3. The current chapter I am writing is where I am at in my life now. Note that this does not contain my goal or any future plans. This gives you a reference point for where you want to be or what you want to do. This is also the only real variable within the entire system, so you must ensure strong control over it. The only unknown is how much longer you have left in this chapter.
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4. The goal I am striving towards can be found in the next chapter, which has conveniently already been written. This is what gives the entire process an air of inevitability. No matter what happens in the current chapter, the next one has already been written and has already happened. The end is finalized, it is only the means that is left.

This might seem like a lot of work, but most of it can be done in your head. Obviously, the more you do it, the quicker the entire process becomes. The benefits are rather straightforward. If all you do is the first step, you have already given yourself, and your goal, a great boost. Let’s say your goal is to complete a marathon. You have many options of phrasing this goal to yourself, but the most common would be something like:

I want to complete a marathon.

Compare that to:

I was so ecstatic after I completed a marathon.

You are convincing yourself that you have not only already completed this goal, but that it was a wonderful experience. This is a very powerful tool.

The other steps help to reiterate that the only outcome is success. The current chapter of your autobiography has yet to be finished, but waiting for it is the next chapter, your goal, which has already been written. The only variable is how many pages are left and what you will have to go through to get there. This forces you to remove judgment from any failures or successes. It doesn’t matter how many obstacles you are going to have, as this is a goal you have already accomplished!

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 28th, 2008 by Chris at 3:50 am and is filed under Self Improvement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.