When writing down your goals, it’s important to keep the following in mind:
The biggest problem is the deadly word “more.” For example, take the goal: “I’d like to make more money this year ,” or “I’d like to spend more time with my family this year.” The problem with “more” is that it is too vague.
Imagine that you are giving this list to your fairy godmother to work on, And imagine that she is a rather lazy fairy godmother who, although dedicated to helping you achieve your goals, will do the minimum stated. If you pick up a penny on the street and that was one penny more than you made last year, your fairy godmother will check that off her list and move on to your next goal. If you spend one more minute with your family this year than you did last year, then bingo. She’ll tick that one off too. She is a very literal woman. So to get the most out of her (and the universe), it really works to have clear and specific goals and wishes.
Describe as specifically as you can what you are hoping to achieve.
Try, “I’ll make twice as much money this year as I did last.” Much clearer and specific. Or, “I will be home four nights of the week at 6 pm for dinner with my family.” Or, “I will dedicate an hour every night to playing Scrabble™ with my children.”
You now might wonder what is the difference between a goal and a wish. A goal is a specific objective that you commit to, such as: I will write 50,000 words this year. A wish is something you might like to have happen, but it may be out of your control. An example is, “I wish my book is a bestseller.” Or it might be something you aren’t willing to spend a lot of time and energy to make happen but would love to attract effortlessly. You can “make” a book a bestseller in some cases with clever marketing, but if you aren’t willing to devote your time, energy and resources to making that happen and still want it to happen, put it on your wish list. I always do!
Some things don’t work as well as wishes. I make fitness a goal so I put it in my daily schedule. Also, I have discovered that wishing myself fit doesn’t work—it takes daily action.
I make a list of goals that I want to commit to and book those into my schedule (or they won’t get done). Then, I write down a list of wishes that I want to effortlessly attract. Every year I’m amazed at how many wishes come true (over 60%) just by making this wish list. So don’t forget to do your wish list. And be specific, in fact, the more specific you are, the better!
How to Set a Big Goal that Motivates You
Now, you can use this same sort of thinking to work out your own big goal. It should be big enough to excite you, but it shouldn’t feel overwhelming or impossible and it should be achievable in one year.
If you have a 4-year goal (i.e., graduating Magna Cum Laude from a university) then you can break that goal into one-year segments. If your goal doesn’t excite you enough to get you jumping out of bed in the morning, then it isn’t big enough or you’ve set the wrong goal.
The other day I thought I’d take a nap, but then I got into bed and started thinking about LifeCoach.com. After ten minutes, I popped out of bed and went to work. I thought of a good idea and had to implement it right away. If you don’t know how to pick the right goal (one that will pop you right out of bed) then you might benefit from having a life coach—we’ll soon set you on the right path!
Now what? You’ve picked your big goal and it is exciting—really exciting! Now the trick is to pick the tiniest little thing you can do now to start right away. Yes, today!
My tiny thing to get started right away: Write the outline of the Ideal Life course so that members who are about to finish the Coach Yourself to Success online course can keep on going with the next level of personal growth.
Now, what is your big goal for this year?
You may also like to read the article Goal setting 101—learn how to set goals you can achieve.
