Start big, go big, and never look back. We must always go beyond. (Arnold Schwarzenegger)

This article is a continuation of the article “How to set goals correctly and achieve them. Why you need to be able to set goals ”, where we examined the main reasons why people do not achieve their goals and what it means to set goals correctly.

In order to independently and CORRECTLY set goals for yourself and, accordingly, achieve them, I will reveal to you 10 rules (or you can call it secrets, chips) for achieving the goal.
Even if you use at least some of them, you will significantly change the difference between "you BEFORE" and "you AFTER".

Proper goal setting includes 10 rules:

1. Break down your life into its component areas

Career, business, family, communication, self-development and others that you have.

Determine which of these areas are the most significant and valuable.

Here is a great opportunity to see what your personal life is filled with ...

2. Identify the areas of life that make the most sense to you

If you find it difficult to determine from the first time which area provides the greatest significance - think about what you will always find time for, no matter how busy and tired you are.

For example, even if you return tired from work, you will always find the time and energy to talk with your child or put him on your lap (if the child's age, of course, allows).

3. Create yourself two time charts:

The first is what you have enough time for, what you spend it on.

The second is what you would like to devote more time to, what less. Such a diagram of the ideal use of your time.

Compare these two charts.

You will get an answer for yourself what is taking your time now and what you should change in your life in order to get closer to the second diagram.

4. Dream! Yes, yes, dream!

Think about what you are striving for, what you want to achieve, what will make your life truly filled and happy?

I usually have such dreams during internal dialogues with myself: a bunch of options for what I want to be or what to be able to do in my head, and as a result, the brightest image is chosen.

5. Many of your desires can become your life goals.

How is a desire different from a goal?

Desire is just a dream, an idea, a thought.

And the goal has its own criteria and guidelines by which you can determine how much you have already done and how much you still have left.

Take yourself mentally into the future.

What needs to change in your life and how?

Set yourself benchmarks for the goals you will move towards.

6. Your goals must be specific.

You must clearly understand what you want, so your goals should be formed as specifically as possible.

“Becoming a businessman” is an example of a non-specific goal. Absolutely nothing is clear:

• In what area (what do you want to do)
• Whereby
• What does it mean for you to be a businessman: for some it is to open a company with a multimillion-dollar income, and for someone it is enough to cover their life minimum with the help of “bought and sold” ...

Maximum specifics:

• When?
• With whom?
• How much?

7. Define your quantitative criteria for achieving goals

A question to check the correctness of the definition of criteria: “How will I understand that the goal has been achieved? »

• Don't get strong, do 100 pushups.
• Not to become rich, but to earn 978564.00 money.
• Not to lose weight, but to lose -20 kg of weight.

8. Set a time frame for your goal when it needs to be achieved

This will encourage you to achieve it as soon as possible and put you in a clear time frame.

Set a time range for your goal

Do you know the state when you rewrite some goal from year to year? Do you know why? Because you didn't set a time frame for it!

• Earn 978564.00 money by the end of this year.
• Do 100 pushups in 1 minute.
• Lose -20 kg of weight in 4 months.

9. Set yourself realistic goals

Real goals are those goals that you can accept in your mind that do not make you feel that you and your goal are completely different parts of the world.
For example, the goal of flying into space for an ordinary man in the street, who saw space only on TV, is not realistic.
But for a professional pilot who has dreamed of space since childhood, this goal is much more realistic.
Although ... Now for "many millions of dollars" you can fly into space and without preparation right from the couch. This greatly increases the reality of this dream for ordinary citizens. It remains only to find many millions)))

How to set goals and achieve them? How to understand that the goal is "your"? Why are some goals not achieved? How to get off the ground and enter your bright future now? Read about this and much more in this article.

How to formulate goals correctly

Recently it has become fashionable to make a “Dream Map”, to make lists of goals, and you have probably read more than once about how to formulate goals correctly. I'll tell you briefly how goals are set using the "smart" technology. The goal should be:

1. Specific
2. measurable
3. achievable
4. realistic
5. Defined in time

In other words, if you dream of having your own home, your goal should be something like this: “I am buying a house in the center of Sochi for ten million rubles in February 2021.” And don't forget that the goal must be realistic. If now for you ten million is an indecently large amount, or if for some reason you are unable to move to Sochi, do not set yourself such a goal. First of all, you yourself must believe and adequately relate to your goal. Without your sincere faith and calm attitude towards the possibility of achieving this goal in 2021, the goal has no meaning.

The goal must be positive. In your wording, there should not be a “not” particle (because your subconscious mind does not hear it) and there should not be negative words coming from the opposite. Such as, for example, "get rid of", "stop" or "stop". These words are usually followed by what you want to get rid of, and not what you are going to. For example, the goal "I want to stop drinking" focuses entirely on drinking, not on not drinking. Also, the goal “I want to lose seven extra pounds” refers our subconscious to extra pounds, and not to harmony.

The positivity of the wording lies in the fact that it should contain only positively colored words. They focus your subconscious mind on what you are striving for, not on what you want to get away from. The goal should be directed towards something, instead of moving away from something.

A well-formulated goal is already a big step towards it. Most people don't even know how to properly formulate goals and don't write them down. If you do not want to be in the majority, take your diary or piece of paper and right now, correctly formulate your main goal.

So, we learned how to correctly formulate goals. We are already at the start. Now it is important to familiarize yourself with the rules of the game and start confidently moving towards your bright future.

How to set goals and achieve them - 7 simple rules

If a person lives his life without realizing exactly what he is going to, and his thoughts are dispersed, he will not be able to achieve the goal. A person living in this way, at this moment solves someone's problems, unconsciously helps others achieve their goals.

In order to start confidently moving towards your goal, you must first of all be confident in yourself. How to raise self-esteem and form inner self-confidence, read this.

When a goal first appears in a person’s head, it means that he already now has all the resources to achieve it. Our subconscious mind forms only those desires that we can potentially fulfill.

So if you don’t live with the flow, but strive for something more, and if you already have a correctly formulated cherished desire in your head and on a piece of paper, then follow these simple rules. They will help you start moving confidently towards your goal. So, how to set goals and achieve them - 7 rules:

Rule #1: You should be the only target

Exclude other people from your goal. Your goal should be only you. When the goal includes another person, it becomes dependent on him. All these “I want him to marry me” or “I want my mother to stop controlling me” do not work! The goal should be only yours, and depend only on you. As you get closer to the goal, the space around you will change, and maybe this will make your loved one want to marry you, or maybe your mother will look at you differently and allow you to make your own decisions. The main thing is that on the way to achieving the goal, focus only on yourself, and everything else will follow.

Consider the goal in detail. You need to clearly see the goal and the path to it. What color will the house by the sea be? Where exactly will it be? How exactly will you save money for it? How much will you save each month? If you know where you are going and clearly see your goal, over time the path to it will begin to appear by itself, out of nowhere, the space will begin to change circumstances to suit your goal. Remember, the road appears under the steps of the walker. So go ahead and don't stop.

Rule #3: Are you worth it?

Don't confuse a goal with a dream. Ask yourself, "Do I deserve this?" Often we want something and at the same time understand that we do not deserve it for some reasons and excuses we have invented. As a result, we are afraid to achieve this. We must boldly face the truth. To be afraid of your goal means on an unconscious level not to believe that you can achieve it. If you think you deserve your goal, then go for it! If not, read the fourth rule.

Rule #4: Share until you deserve it

Break the target into pieces. Every time you share a goal, ask yourself the question: “Do I deserve this goal?” Divide it up until the answer sounds affirmative and confident. You are definitely worthy of this small goal, so start with it.

Danger! Don't discount your goal if it seems small to you. Ask yourself: “What more do I need this for?” Achieve it with the same zeal and perseverance with which you strive for a global goal.

Rule #5: Sustainability

The goal should be environmentally friendly. In other words, it should not negatively affect other areas of your life. Achieving some goals may entail, for example, the rupture of relationships, the loss of work or friends. We may not suspect this, but our subconscious mind takes this into account, and as a result prevents us from achieving the goal, trying in this way to protect us from losses.

Let's get back to the goal of buying a house in Sochi. If, for example, one of your close relatives periodically needs your help, or, say, your child would not like to leave, he has friends and a school here, then your subconscious mind will prevent you from achieving your goal. You will actively strive for it, but something will constantly stop you.

In the world of cinema, the so-called "love story" has recently appeared. oscar's curse”: over the past couple of decades, almost all women who received the coveted statuette divorced their husbands after the award. Could they have known that their goal is not sustainable? Ask yourself, “Will achieving my goal negatively impact other important areas of my life?” And if it does, do you agree to lose something important in order to achieve your goal?

Rule #6: Attention to the goal

Where attention is directed, energy flows there. What is your focus? On the hurts of the past? Or maybe it runs from one thought to another? Or maybe it is aimed at series and social networks?

Concentrate all your attention on the goal, think about it constantly, do, if possible, only what brings you closer to it. Only in this way can you achieve it.

Rule #7: Do whatever it takes to get closer

Don't stand still. Each activity either moves us away from the goal, or brings us closer to it. Constantly ask yourself: “Is what I am doing now bringing me closer to my goal or further away from it?” Don't get caught up in the little things, focus on the big things. The moment you do nothing to get closer to the goal, you move away from it. Think, while you are lying on the couch, someone else is already achieving your goal.

How to understand that the goal is "your"?

There are goals that for some reason are not being met. They are on our list of targets by mistake. Probably, someone imposed them on us, and we began to think that we ourselves want it. So how do you check if the target is “your” or not?

Everything is very simple. Energy is allocated to any target. If you have the strength for this goal, then it is yours. Your goal gives you the energy to achieve it.

The most important resources are within us. This is a high energy level, a desire to do something, an interest in it, as well as any positive emotions. Here's everything you need to reach your goal. If, as you approach the goal, you feel an emotional and energetic rise, then you are on the right track. After the first few steps towards “your” goal, you will have a drive, you will want to do more and more, get closer to the goal faster, you will go into a rage and do everything until you get what you want.

If the goal exhausts you, you have no strength for it and you always want to take a break or get distracted, then this is not your goal. And don't even try, you won't be able to achieve it. And if by chance you can do it, it will not bring you the desired satisfaction.

What to do right now to ensure that you reach your goal

Take a pen and paper. Write down your goal according to all the rules you read above. Now write down the points that you will do step by step to reach this goal. Our brain is designed in such a way that if you break down the goal into points, and these points are simple and even pleasant for you, then the brain will automatically start working.

After you have written all the steps, choose four of them. Do one right now. Three more this week. So you start in your subconscious mind the mechanism of movement towards the goal. Already this week you will determine whether this is your goal or not. If so, she will begin to pull you towards her like a magnet. You will be surprised where forces, energy, people, money will be taken from somewhere for your goal. The main thing is not to lose regularity in your pursuit of the goal, the goal will pull you towards it, but you will also need to make efforts to achieve it. And if these efforts are regular and systematic, then you are guaranteed to achieve great success.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have just learned how to set goals and achieve them. Remember where attention is directed, energy flows there. And where your energy is, there is your goal. The more attention and energy your goal receives, the faster the circumstances will adjust to its implementation.

Keep focus on your goal, think about it, consider it in detail. How does she look? How do you feel when you think about her? You well? Then boldly go to her, and not a step back! Remember: every second either moves you away or brings you closer to your goal. So keep your movement under control and stop at nothing.

And don't forget to download my book How to Love Yourself. In it, I share the most effective techniques with which I myself once raised my self-esteem, became confident and fell in love with myself. This book will be a big step towards your goals! After all, the achievement of any goals begins with self-love.

I wish you to achieve all your goals! If you need individual help and support along the way, you can contact me for psychological help. I will help you learn how to achieve your goals. Even those that now seem impossible. We will work with motivation, and with self-discipline, and with everything that hinders and helps you achieve what you want.

You can book a consultation with me via in contact with, instagram or . You can get acquainted with the cost of services and the scheme of work.

Subscribe to my Instagram and YouTube channel. There's a lot of good stuff in there!

I believe that you will succeed!
Your psychologist Lara Litvinova

Have you ever wondered why some people get closer to their goal every day and achieve it in a very short period of time, while others just live as they have to, without thinking much about tomorrow? As a result, they meet old age, realizing that they do not have to brag about special successes.

The answer to the question why this happens is very simple - the first people live according to a life plan, while others do not even think about it, but simply go with the flow of life. However, even the very existence of such a plan does not guarantee success, because when drawing up it, you can make a lot of mistakes, as a result of which they simply will not be of any use, only you will lose time in vain.

To prevent this from happening, right now, Phototrader magazine will list The 10 Most Important Tips for Planning Your Life, which were given by experts in planning and time management.

No. 1. Always start small

It is always nice to fantasize that in a year you will have your own sports car and a two-story house, only fantasies cannot be realized without your participation. It is much better to start planning your life from one day, hour by hour, what goals you should achieve.

It's simple and very convenient. Most importantly, at the same time, each such goal brings you closer to an even greater goal, even just one small step. Remember, there are 60 minutes in one hour, and every minute should be used to your advantage.

Make a clear plan for the day and see how you manage to follow it, how effective your actions are.

No. 2. Determine what exactly you want to achieve in the near future

Alas, many of us often pursue certain goals, and when they achieve them, they understand that these were not their thoughts and desires at all, they were imposed from the outside, and therefore their achievement does not bring any pleasure. Therefore, right here and now, stop and think about where you see yourself in the future.

Have you built a successful career? Have you become financially independent? Created a strong and happy family? After all, if one person dreams of becoming the head of a corporation, the other dreams of a house in the forest, where it will be quiet and calm.

No. 3. Make a list of tasks to be completed

It is important not only to set goals, but also to determine the tasks that will lead to their achievement. First, identify the areas of activity that are important to you and that you should work on, and then, under each of them, make a list of actions that provide a result.

No. 4. Create plans for each of the periods

For five years, 10 years, the rest of your life, and, of course, for six months and a year. Each list should be accompanied by a list of tasks, while the plan for the next six months should be in your work, and now you should complete the tasks indicated in it.

As for plans for a longer period, they should be hung on the wall, preferably so that they are constantly in front of you, and you remember what you are working tirelessly for.

No. 5. Analyze your results

Don't just make a plan and complete the tasks one by one, but analyze the results. When a task is completed, it should be removed from the plan. How? Just cross it out. As soon as a certain period has passed, you can easily analyze the results obtained - how many tasks you set for yourself, how many of them were completed, and which ones failed and for what reasons.

#6. Remember to set specific goals and objectives for yourself.

“I will lose weight sometime in the future” or “I want to become slim” - these are not goals at all, but your desires. Goals are set differently - “I will lose 10 kg in 5 months”, or “I will wear my favorite dress in a month”.

The goal should have a specific deadline, and the goal itself should be specific, not vague.

No. 7. Write tasks in a notepad

All tasks and goals must be written down. If you once correctly formulated a goal, mentally identified tasks to achieve it, but at the same time forgot to write it all down, consider that you have not done anything useful. You will simply forget about this goal, and even sooner than you think. Record, record, record.

All goals simply must be on paper or in your notebook. If you don't like your handwriting, you can type the plan in Word and print it out. So it will be even better, because you can hang it over your desktop, and you will always remember it.

No. 8. Be flexible

You are clearly sure that in five years you will buy an apartment, for example, in Istanbul. But now 5 years have passed, you have saved up money for your goal, and are already ready to fulfill your dream, when suddenly a civil war begins in Turkey. And as luck would have it, it is in Istanbul that its epicenter is. Of course, this example is conditional, and Fortrader experts hope that there will never be a war in Turkey. We say this to the fact that life is able to make adjustments to our current plans, and you should be prepared for this.

And it does not matter if instead of an apartment in Istanbul you move to your own house in Bulgaria, because you also like this country. Do not be afraid of changes and adjustments, because this is also part of our life. Not everything in it we can foresee with 100% probability.

No. 9. Don't forget to encourage yourself

Of course, you should include only those tasks in your plan that will bring you closer to your goal. But this does not mean at all that you should not add a few nice “bonuses” to it.

For example, if you've always wanted to enroll in a dance class or visit Japan, but those goals don't align with your ultimate goal, include them in your plan anyway. The most important thing is that your entire plan does not consist of only “wishlists”. And pampering yourself from time to time is not a sin.

No. 10. Right now!

It is impossible to achieve complete success without defining a goal. What does "set a goal" mean? This means to understand and formulate for yourself the state in which you want to come as a result of certain actions. Moreover, this wording should be extremely clear and clear, so that once you are in the desired position, you know for sure that the goal has been achieved.

In addition to a clear formulation, the result of setting a goal should be a description of its quantitative and qualitative properties and features that would make it possible to accurately and unambiguously establish whether the goal has been achieved or not. In other words, to the question: - "How will I understand that the goal has been achieved?" – there was a clear answer.

When setting a goal, you need to understand that the responsibility for achieving it rests with the one who made the decision to move towards it. When making mistakes and causing harm on the way to the goal, the damage to the guilty person will have to be compensated by personal resources. This requirement is a law for every system. Its violation is punishable by the expropriation of resources or the destruction of the system. The supra-system acts as a controlling and punishing body.

Proper goal setting allows you to determine the end point of the path. But its necessity is caused not only by this. The task of goal setting also includes motivation and motivation for faster and more economical (at the lowest cost) reaching the destination.

Summary of the above. Setting a goal increases the degree of its attractiveness, promotes awareness of its importance, creates an incentive to start the implementation of the plan as soon as possible and obtain the desired result.

How to set goals for better results

When setting a goal, you need to describe the desired result. But this alone may not be enough to create a strong motivation and desire to reach the final destination. It is necessary that there are also additional motivating conditions. What exactly?

Materialization of the goal

The desired state must be materialized, that is, recorded on some medium, made visible. It can be plain text on paper that describes the condition, image, audio or video recording.

A graphic image, unlike text, makes the target more vivid and memorable. It can be a drawing, diagram, or diagram representing the essence of the target. There can be several drawings, collected in one place they will represent a kind of "wish map". In a word, you can use any means and opportunities that will make the image of the goal more memorable.

An additional plus of materialization is that with it the subconscious is activated and begins to work. The result may be the birth of some original ideas that allow you to modify and improve the display of the image of the target, which in the end will make it even more tempting.

Positive Goal Format

Formulating and displaying the goal, you need to strive to ensure that it has a positive character. At the same time, one should try not to use negative characteristics at all, even if they are mentioned in the sense of getting rid of them. The format "aspiration" should be used. to... ", not "deliverance from... ". To make it clear what we are talking about, let's take an example. Instead of a phrase "I will get rid of poverty, failure and disease" nessesary to use "I will become rich, successful and healthy".

If the goal cannot be formulated without a negative format, you just need to ask yourself the question: “What do I want to have instead?”. The answer to it will automatically have a positive character.

Why is it so important to formulate the goal positively? Because a positive shape, representing a happy future, increases comfort and motivation. While a form with negative aspects, on the contrary, can create discomfort and demotivation.

Valuable and attractive result

It is desirable to formulate the goal as a “result” and not an “action”. This will allow it to be expressed in the form of a “value” that is acquired after the goal is achieved. That is, you become the owner of happiness, comfort, health, love, freedom, harmony, and so on. If, however, the goal is formulated as an action, then it will be presented in the form of work that needs to be done. Agree, the hard work ahead is not the best incentive to start acting. But when happiness, wealth and success are expected ahead, it is much easier to get down to business. “I will get a strong, beautiful and healthy body” sounds more pleasant than “I will run and lift weights.”

Hierarchy of goals

It is quite obvious that each goal will have a certain structure, hierarchy. That is, it can be subdivided into sub-goals, which represent separate stages on the way to achieving the main task - over-goals. The actions that need to be performed to achieve the latter are also hierarchical and structured.

It is also obvious that there is a limit to each hierarchy. There is a super-goal, a dream of a lifetime, the achievement of which means that a person has reached that highest state that corresponds to his meaning of life. Having reached the over-goal, a person enters a state of complete satisfaction and harmony, his life mission is completed, he created his legacy and improved the world. When formulating a goal for yourself, you need to answer the question of whether it ensures the fulfillment of your purpose and self-realization.

Forming a hierarchy of personal goals, you need to understand that the achievement of each sub-goal should provide some new resource. It will be needed in order to reach the next goal. And so each sub-goal will provide the necessary resources. And the actions performed when moving towards the goal will be a transformation of the resources received when achieving the sub-goals.

The creative activity of a purposeful person is the organization, transformation and integration of simple systems into more complex, balanced and harmonious ones. However, the construction of such systems is very difficult. The larger and more complex the goal, the more uncertainty, excitement, fear and discomfort a person experiences. He is forced to fight with himself, to overcome great internal resistance, which hinders the achievement of the goal. Breaking complex and difficult goals into simpler ones that seem less scary and difficult and therefore do not cause fear and discomfort helps to cope with doubts and fear. Breaking a difficult goal down into simple ones and moving towards it in stages is a way to make a difficult goal more appealing.

So, the correct setting of the goal involves determining what sub-goals it consists of, what actions are needed to achieve it, what resources will be required, where they will come from, and how they should be transformed. For each goal, you need to determine its super-goals and the resources that will be required to achieve it. The presence of such a clear hierarchical structure increases motivation and contributes to the achievement of the task.

But the very first point is the realization of the main goal of your life. It serves as the starting point from which the construction of an action plan begins. In practice, it might look like this. The goal "to have a beautiful and comfortable home" is divided into sub-goals: "to have a plot of land" - "to have a building project" - "to have an agreement with a construction organization" and so on. The over-goal can be “to have a comfortable lifestyle”.

Green Goal

When setting a goal, you need to try to foresee absolutely all the consequences of achieving it. It is quite obvious that the solution of any task and the implementation of actions to achieve it will necessarily affect the entire environment in some way. On people who are around (family, partners, colleagues, friends, just acquaintances).

To begin the analysis of the consequences of achieving the goal, you need to start with your state. A change in one's position in one respect will certainly affect others. You need to make sure that achieving the goal will really improve your life in the desired respect, and will not worsen it in others, will not create any negative consequences and emotions. For example, going to the gym to improve physical health will result in less free time. Therefore, you need to consider whether this will create any serious problems for other activities.

If it turns out that the activities to achieve the goal will indeed negatively affect other areas, it is necessary to determine the extent of the damage, to see if it can be reduced. You need to compare the negative and positive points to make sure that the positive compensates for and exceeds the negative.

It will be very useful to draw up in some form (text or graphic) a balance that would reflect the possible impact of the results of achieving the goal on other areas.

If the damage to other areas is too great, it may be necessary to adjust the goal to minimize the harm. As a result, one hundred percent fulfillment of the main task may not work out, but it will be possible to avoid large negative consequences in other areas. That is, you have to sacrifice a little, so as not to lose a lot. An example of this is the same case with the gym. If his daily visit will lead to the inability to do other things, then you need to reduce the number of visits to 3 times a week, increasing the intensity of training or resigning yourself to a more moderate progress in physical fitness.

Then you need to evaluate the consequences of achieving the goal for the people around you. Will their physical condition worsen, will they experience negative emotions. If so, is it possible to minimize them, and how to do it. The easiest way to establish the consequences of your behavior on any particular person is simply to ask him: "How would you feel if I did this." Their answer will give information that cannot be obtained by any speculative reasoning. There is no need to address this question to absolutely everyone around. It is enough to ask the closest and most important.

Deadlines for achieving goals

Parkinson's Law says: “Work fills all the time allotted for it”. From this follows the following conclusion - the work will last exactly as much time as you release on it. If you plan to move towards the goal for a very long time, then you will not achieve what you want soon.

To increase the efficiency of your work, you need to immediately set a certain reasonable time for it. It cannot be excluded that you will not meet the deadlines. Then you have to correct them. But at the same time, it is necessary to determine why the allotted time was not enough, find the cause and fix the problem. Without this, it is impossible to guarantee that the timing adjustment will be needed more than once, and as a result the goal will be achieved much later than planned.

So that the fear of not meeting the deadlines does not make you nervous and does not interfere with work, does not become a demotivating brake, you can leave for yourself the opportunity not to complete all the planned tasks on time. But at the same time, set yourself an increased reward, if this can be done. This approach will create a positive incentive and speed up the work.

By setting a short deadline, you can impose on yourself a compressed work plan, in which the main, most important and useful things will still be completed on time. This will be in accordance with the Pareto principle: "20% of the cases bring 80% of the result".

At the end of the planned period, it is necessary to evaluate the results obtained. In the event that their quality is not satisfactory, adjust the deadline and further action plan. If the result is good, then reward yourself for it.

Resources to achieve the goal

When setting a goal, it is imperative to determine the resources that will be required to achieve it. They can be different in their kind - technology, skill, experience, capital, connections, and so on.

If something you need is not available, you need to decide where and how you can get it - make or create it yourself, rent or loan it, change it for something, and so on. All needs that are necessary to achieve the goal must be satisfied. Without this, the goal cannot be achieved.

Resources is one of the main elements necessary to achieve the goal. Uncertainty about them, not knowing if they can be obtained, makes motivation low. Therefore, you need to be sure that the resources are available, or at least that they will certainly be received later.

Awards

Motivation can be significantly increased if, in addition to achieving the goal itself (which is a reward in itself), additional bonuses are promised. It will be very useful, because the larger the reward, the higher the motivation. Therefore, it is useful to determine in advance how you can reward yourself additionally. It can be buying a new thing, going to a restaurant or theater, going abroad, and so on.

Moreover, the size of the reward should be proportional to the usefulness and complexity of the goal. A grand goal requires great motivation, and therefore a significant reward corresponding to it. Her anticipation will combine with all other incentives and give a powerful positive impulse at the start to the goal.

Summary of the above. All of the above conditions do not need to be met in full. If the goal is not difficult, then some of them can be omitted. But the more important the goal, the more thorough and thoughtful should be the preparation for the start of the movement. It is necessary to establish the best way to achieve the goal. With maximum motivation and results, with minimum costs and collateral damage.

Goal setting methods

There are several standard ways to set a goal. Their use helps to simplify the task.

Smart/Smarter method

When setting a goal, the following set of criteria should be used.

• — Concreteness(specific). The description of the goal should contain specific results obtained when it is achieved. For example, with the goal of “Creating a trading network”, you need to specify the number of stores, the staff of specialists, the amount of fixed and working capital, and so on;
• — Measurability(measured). It is necessary to specify quantitative parameters that make it possible to state that the goal has been achieved. For example, there are 5 stores with 100 employees and an annual profit of 200 million;
• - Reachability(Attainable). The resources needed to achieve the goal must be identified - finance, tasks, furniture, equipment, employees, and so on. If there are no problems with their presence, the goal can be considered achievable. If there are not enough resources, you will need to set intermediate goals to obtain them.
• - Relevance(Relevant). It is required to determine whether the achievement of the goal will actually get what you need. Or maybe the necessary is achieved by setting another goal. For example, instead of building an object, you can buy or rent it;
• - Time constraints(Time bound). Deadlines and milestones need to be defined. Open the first store in half a year, the rest in 2 years, and so on;
• — Environmental friendliness(Ecological). Determine how the goal being achieved relates to other goals and the environment. Does it violate the interests of other people and existing laws. If there is damage, it is better to change the goal or even abandon it. For example, if being in a trading business prevents you from spending enough time with your family, you can hire a manager;
• - Reality(Real). You need to determine the possibility and your readiness to achieve the goal. If they are not there, you need to analyze what is required for them to appear, or even abandon the goal.

It is not necessary to describe all of the above criteria. This is determined by the importance and complexity of the goal. It is possible to postpone the description of some criteria until the time when the task is more specific. Otherwise, you can stay too long at the goal setting stage and waste a lot of time.

HAC-image of the target

The goal is created most vividly and accurately with the help of human representational systems. In this case, one speaks of Visual-auditory-kinesthetic image goal result. VAK-image is created by a whole set of feelings and sensations and is represented by:

• - visually- in the form of bright pictures;
• - auditory- in the form of sounds (speech, music, etc.) that will arise when the goal is achieved;
• - kinesthetically- what will be the result to the touch (its texture, temperature, etc.);
• — digitally- what thoughts and feelings will cause;
• - olfactory- what smell will it have;
• - gustatorno- how it will taste.

It is desirable to arrange this information in the form of a picture or an audio or video recording. If necessary, it will be possible to quickly restore this image to consciousness, revive and strengthen motivation and desire to achieve the goal.

VAK-image can be created in two formats - perception from two points of view.

• - From the outside (dissociated), that is, how it will be perceived by others.
• - From within (associated)- through personal emotions, thoughts and sensations, that is, with the help of kinesthetic and digital perception that occurs in a person who sets a goal for himself.

VAK-image makes it possible to present the result of the goal from all possible sides and angles, to describe it exhaustively, with all aspects and layers. This creates positive emotions, increases motivation and gives additional energy in moving towards the goal.

Consequences of Goal Setting

It must be understood that the fact of setting a goal does not mean that it fully corresponds to what is required. This is just a project that is being done on the basis of the experience and knowledge that is available on this moment. Reality often differs from imagination. In addition, on the way to achieving the goal, the person himself changes, gains experience and knowledge. This may change his idea of ​​the goal, as a result, it will need to be adjusted or even abandoned for the sake of other goals that have appeared. There must be a certain flexibility in moving towards the goal, it is necessary to take into account the changing situation and change your actions depending on it.

Proper goal setting means creating an image of the ideal result. This makes the goal understandable, bright and attractive, minimizes uncertainty, anxieties, fears and risks. The main result of accurate goal setting is an increase in motivation and an increase in the chances of success.

When you realize what you want, do not stop, dig even deeper. Is this your goal? Is that what you want? Maybe your mother wants this, the environment or other foreign voices impose their own?

Are you sure you really want it. Choosing and setting the right goal is half the battle and the basis for a successful outcome. Let's analyze the criteria for correctness.

concreteness

It is not enough to set the goal "apartment". It is necessary to describe the nuances in as much detail as possible, otherwise discrepancies are possible. The apartment seemed to have appeared, there is a place to live, but it is not yours, you cannot dispose of it as you please. This apartment is not the right size, in the wrong city, this is not an apartment, but a room in a communal apartment. Has the goal been reached? Yes. Is this what you wanted? No.

Wrong target: flat.

Correct target: three-room apartment without encumbrances in the center of Moscow in my property.

measurability

Let's say your goal is to become a popular blogger. Thanks to social networks, there is a simple and concrete sign of popularity - a large number of subscribers. If you find it difficult to determine this figure for yourself, look at how many subscribers a person you think is popular has, take this number as a guide.

Wrong target: I want to be popular.

Correct target: 5,000 Facebook followers.

Reachability

As one boss said, ask the impossible, you will get the maximum. Set ambitious goals for yourself, wish to jump above your head with your heart, believe in yourself, and then land and take into account objective reality. It makes no sense to set yourself the goal of growing a third arm.

Wrong target: I want people not to get cancer.

Correct target: employment in a cancer prevention organization.

Significance

Ask yourself the question "Why?". Repeat until you come up with an answer like “This will make me happy”, “I will feel satisfied”, “I am fulfilling as…”. Ultimately, most human desires come down to these simple things. Therefore, it is not recommended to set a goal for a certain amount of money. Money is not a goal, it is a means to achieve what will bring joy, benefit, happiness.

Wrong target: I want a lot of money to buy a yacht.

Correct target: yacht.

Timing

Deadline is a necessary parameter to achieve the goal. Without buoys, the sea of ​​time seems endless, but suddenly life passes. The approaching deadline stimulates acceleration, will help to correlate the current progress and the rest of the time.

Wrong target: I want to learn how to draw.

Sign of goal achievement

By what sign will we understand that the goal of “getting married” has been achieved? An official document will appear confirming this - a marriage certificate. I will say a seditious thought, but in achieving the goal we go rather not to the goal itself, but to the sign of its achievement. Without a sign of achievement, the goal ceases to be specific. It's not enough to want your car. The car becomes mine at the moment when my name is entered in the vehicle's passport.

Wrong sign: Dodge car.

Correct sign: Title for a Dodge car.

Goal Achievement Tools

Countdown

List the key milestones in order from last to first. This will help the question "What do you need to ..?" Establish tentative dates for each stage, so that later you can refer to the plan.

Example

Goal: October 2019 - housewarming in my own house, which I will build.

• What do you need to celebrate housewarming in the house that I will build? Interior decoration (September 2019).
• What do you need for interior decoration? Bring communications (May 2018).
• What is needed to communicate? Cover the roof (April 2018).
• What do you need to cover the roof? Build the Walls (March 2018).
• Lay the foundation (September 2017).
• Select a construction contractor (June 2017).
• Order a project (April 2017).
• Find an architect (tomorrow).

So we come to the first step: tomorrow write a post on the social network and ask to recommend an architect.

Action every day

Do at least one action every day to reach your goal. Even if you only have enough strength for one microtask, let it be done: curtains, call the architect and discuss the date of the meeting.

Create an environment

Fill in the air. Subscribe to thematic resources, meet and communicate with experts and experienced people, read, watch. This contributes to the accumulation of knowledge, helps not to forget about the goal.

Ideally, if close people support, encourage, help. Specialists and experienced people can also provide moral support, not limited to expertise.

Self-tuning

A method for those who do not deny that thought is material. Place yourself in the desired image. It can be a visualization of the goal: someone draws a goal, someone makes collages from their photos and photos of the goal. Someone practices the principle “Live as if you have achieved it”, models and cultivates the feeling that you have what you want.

What to do if the goal is achieved or not achieved

Regardless of the result, analyze it. What hindered the achievement of the goal, what helped? What inspired, what provoked procrastination? What needs to be considered or improved next time?

Analysis and adjustment:

• The goal was not achieved in the desired period. Revise the deadlines, adjust them in accordance with the input data.
• The target is irrelevant. Perhaps interests, values, life situation have changed. Adjust the goal or abandon it.
• The goal is relevant, but the priorities have changed. Life has made adjustments to plans, other issues require attention. Review your goal and timeline.

Do not regret, do not criticize yourself, analyze, look for cause-and-effect relationships, draw conclusions. Accept a situation that cannot be changed. It will be easier if you give all your best and enjoy the process along the way. Even if something didn’t work out, at least you had a great time. What's next on the list?