By Ceena Giselle

Goal Setting is pointless. That is what the people you don’t want to be, tells everyone. The successful people on the other hand, live and die by it and that is already enough reason to believe that it works. I like to call this goal recalibration and I will tell you why in a second.

This stage is the single most important stage in lifestyle design because without this stage, you will never ever start! I define lifestyle design like what you probably think it is. It’s simply designing your lifestyle to the way you want it to be. No fancy explanations, just simple and easy to understand. Know what you really want and more importantly, don’t be influenced by others that want to make that decision for you. This is the foundation of lifestyle design.

Now I want to tell you why I call this recalibration. To calibrate means to correlate the readings with those of a standard. Everyone, you included, already have many goals in mind and those goals are usually “calibrated” to the standards of who you know, what you see and how they want you to be. I want you to re-calibrate your goals to the standards of the “uncommon” people. The successful one’s, the people you envy the most. Recalibrate your goals so that you’d know what is important to you and only you. Do it like how they do it. Find someone you know and look up to and observe them, see what makes them successful at what they do!

So how do you do it? It’s pretty simple actually. Here’s something you can follow right now.

* Close your eyes now and clear your thoughts. Brainstorm personal goals and write them down immediately.
* Impose a deadline. This is important so I suggest you pick 6 months for now. You can change this later on for other goals. Don’t make it too long though because you will lose steam. Remember you crammed before an exam then you still got those high grades? That’s what you want.
* Write your Long Term Goals. These should be finished within the deadline of 6 months. Don’t be worried about how hard they are and don’t over think them. Just keep a positive mindset and stop thinking of conquering the world.
* List your Short Term Goals. Think of what you could do now to start your long term goals.
* Lastly, list down your Medium Term Goals. Without this, you sometimes lose steam and lose track of your goals. Here’s an example. Your long term goal is to be able to fit in that dress of your that your mom gave you last Christmas. So you state that your short term goal is to enroll in the gym and start training to lose weight. Your medium term goal is to lose at least 30 pounds in 3 months. This is like a checkpoint or a big stepping stone towards the milestone. Remember to reward yourself when you finish a medium term goal. This will keep you motivated and positive throughout.

Eventually, when you get the hang of it, you will learn about tracking your progress which is equally important to see where you are at and what you are doing wrong. Do not be afraid to fail, keep working towards your goal and never give up.

In conclusion, simply state your goals and divide them to Short, Medium and Long Term Goals. Write them down and be dedicated to it. Without your whole hearted dedication, you will notice that will stray away from what you need to do and start doing time wasting activities.

Posted by Nicholas Daniels by Direction Janet Schlarbaum

By: Steven Gillman

Janet Schlarbaum found this article interesting.
Does personal goal setting work? Many people want things, situations or accomplishments, call these goals, and then are disappointed when they don’t get them. Call desires goals if you want, but just naming your desires sure isn’t effective goal setting. Good goals have some or all of the following:

1. They are specific. “I want to be healthy” is too general. “I want to lose weight and walk three times a week,” is better.

2. They are measurable. How many pounds do you want to lose? How much money do you want to make? How will you know if your relationship is better?

3. They are in writing. There is power in writing down your goals. It makes them more real, and this influences your subconscious mind, especially if you review the goals regularly.

4. They are realistic. Sorry, but even if it is possible that you could become an astronaut, if you’re already 55, you better try for becoming a pilot for now. Unrealistic goals set you up for failure.

5. They have deadlines. You’ll have a new job by when? Setting dates really helps your progress.

6. They become plans. Making a goal into specific steps makes it much more likely. It isn’t overwhelming to take one step at a time.

7. They are motivated. Having the goal for the right reasons is a good start. You should also learn how to re-motivate yourself, and reward yourself when you make progress.

8. They consider personal factors. Can you really get what you want if you feel like you don’t deserve it? Maybe, but good goal setting takes into account personal changes that are necessary or useful.

9. They are followed by action. One of the keys to motivation and to getting where you want to be is to start with any movement towards the goal. Action begets action. Start slow if you must, but start.

10. They are not written in stone. Goals naturally evolve. Why would you become a doctor once you learned that you liked doing lab work better?

The last one is a tough one. An excuse and a change of course are not the same thing, but to know the difference means you need a certain level of self-awareness. Develop that, apply the keys to personal goal setting above, and you’ll get to where you want to be.

Posted by Janet Schlarbaum

By: Koz Huseyin
Setting goals is a great way to achieving them! We find only a few percentage of people ever goal set. I am going to make a bold statement that everyone sets goals. However, there are many reasons why goal setting just is not working for you.

Our desires are a key to a successful outcome with our goals. However, the desires that we have can be summarized into a couple of types. These different types of desire can make or break your goal setting efforts.

Often we will chase symbols. We see that nice car, that nice house and we just want it. Perhaps it is to be better than the Jones or you just feel you got to achieve that goal you set yourself.

Achieving any goal is down to the right kind of desire. With the right kind of desire, the seeds come with the fertilizer, and the plant (your set goal) can grow. But, it needs the water. Without water the goal that you have set will never appear.

Conscious desire is that seeking symbols. It is as a child wanting something so bad, and when you finally received it, you wanted something else! This can be thought of as water that is polluted. Often these kinds of desires make goal achievement not possible. The universe, higher power, God, etc always knows your deepest needs and wants, and will only manifest those things which are necessary for your growth.

So, what is the best kind of desire to have, whether you want to achieve financial success, business success, or even a happy life? The desires which come from deep within, those kinds of goals we place on instinct. We just don’t know why we are having that desire. Kind of like the desire is when you have fallen in love with someone. You just have that feeling.

These subconscious desires are great desires to have. When you find them realize that you have gold in your hands. You have a desire which comes from a higher power, God, angels or whatever you want to label that higher power. These kind of desires always come with the necessary resources for there attainment.

When you goal set, these kind of desires can tell you whether you will achieve them or not. Now I am not saying that no conscious desire manifests, they do manifest. Though a simple look at every lottery winner and you will find that even though they attained the conscious desire, it soon vanished as fast as it came in. Often leaving the people one step behind.

You can start living your dreams when you understand the process of goal setting in the right way. Anything you truly desire can come to fruition. All it requires is taking action, as soon as you feel the impulse of that subconscious desire.

Posted by Janet Schlarbaum

 By Tim Whiston

Most of us only focus on goals we believe are realistic, or reasonably within our grasp. But to achieve true success and happiness we must allow ourselves to dream about the things we really want, no matter how big these things might be. This article will help you move past your limitations and focus your energies on your highest goals.

Take just a minute to consider how you want your life to look five years from now. Think about your ideal standard of living.

How much money will you have?

What will you be doing for a living?

Where will you live and what will your home be like?

Will you have a mate or partner, and if so what will he or she be like?

Be as detailed as possible. Visualize every part of your life exactly as you want it to be five years in the future.

Once you’re done, review your vision. Are you allowing yourself to see what you truly want, or are you holding back because of the need to be “realistic”?

Here’s an easy way to find out if you’re being fully honest with yourself about what you want from life five years from now. Do the visualization exercise again, only this time pretend you could wave a magic wand and have things exactly the way you want them.

If you had a magic wand there would be no reason to limit your vision, right? So go ahead and see things the way you really want them to be.

If you don’t like the analogy of a magic wand, pretend you have made friends with a multi-billionaire who is willing to cut you a check for any amount so you can fund your dream life. If this were the case you could have pretty much anything imaginable so let go and really dream up your ultimate life.

Odds are your ideal life situation looked considerably different the second time you did the visualization exercise. By default most of us restrict ourselves when we set goals and/or think about how we want life to be; but it only takes a simple exercise to loosen these restrictions and envision the way we truly want things to be.

Another version of this exercise is to imagine how you would make your life if you were god. In this simulation you are able to cast aside any and all limitations because most people think of god as an unlimited being with unlimited power. Give this one a try and think about how you would create your life five years into the future.

Many times when people apply one of the tactics above they are shocked to see just how much they were limiting themselves before. This can be a great eye-opener that will help you remove limitations and restrictions you have been unconsciously living with.

And these exercises need not be used solely for visualizing the distant future. Five years is a great point for visualization, but you can use these liberating techniques for short-term goals as well.

Instead of setting a goal to lose five pounds, why not look at what you really need to lose and go for it? If you honestly need to lose 12 pounds then make this your goal and be confident you can do it.

Instead of wanting to make an extra $200 a month, why not find the figure that really makes you happy? Set your sights for $500, $1,000, or more!

You are the ultimate creator of your own reality. Science has proven that what appears to be the world around you is actually a series of signals and communications taking place within your brain. So there is absolutely no need to hold yourself back from wanting what you really want.

By Victor Ghebre

Just the thought of those words may make some of you cringe. But it’s time to step up to the plate and really get into the career game.

If you could change your job situation tomorrow, would you do it? If you said yes you are among the thousands of folks who are unhappy or unfilled in their jobs. Maybe you no longer find satisfaction in your career? You may be looking for a job that better reflects your passions and interests and some of you could be just getting into the job force. Stop fighting it, career goal setting is your answer to figuring out all your career headaches.

The fact of the matter is, if you want to uncover a career that is fulfilling you will need do some introspection. As you do this you’ve got to forget about all social pressures and be open to all possibilities; no matter how far they may be from your current position. And of course write it all down!

One of the first steps in the career goal setting process is to determine exactly what it is that you
want from your career. Remember, the career goal setting process is a journey and having a well thought out plan or map to guide you is crucial. But before you lay down your plan you must first do some research, and in this case the research topic is you. This will involve some soul searching to figure out if you are even in the right field or that the career path you are considering is best suited to your interests and strengths.

Here are a couple things to ponder about: If you could do anything what would you do?
What moments in your life bring you the most joy? Be attune to various issues or topics
that you are passionate about. In this state of introspection, let your mind and imagination
run free. Don’t sensor yourself and don’t discredit or do away with career possibilities that seem
silly or out of the ordinary. Discovering true happiness and satisfaction in your career may take
some time, so be patient and be open to taking different paths to get you to your goal.

Effective goal setting involves knowing exactly where you want to go and why. And while
it is important for you to take inventory of all your interests and skills; you must also pay close
attention passion.

Passion plays an important role in maintaining fulfillment in all aspects of your life including
your career. As you think about your future career situation, take your current skills as well
as your passions into consideration when making a decision. That way you will have a larger selection of
career fields to choose from. If you only consider your skills you end up limiting your options.

Once you’ve focused on your passion, take some time to review your strengths and weaknesses. Literally write them all down (even the things your mom says you’re good at!) If applicable, assess the skills you currently utilize in your job. Friends and colleagues may also offer some interesting insights.
Once you’ve done this self-assessment you will have a more clear and vivid picture of what you as and individual has to offer.

For some of you, a self-assessment may reveal that you do not have the skills and qualifications necessary to pursue the career goals that you are passionate about. As part of the career goal setting process you may now need to develop a plan that will allow you to acquire this qualification.

By Trisha Webbe

The key to success is YOU.

Do you know what you want in life?

How do you think that you can be successful if you don’t know what you want to achieve?

Try it with something simple, go to your local supermarket with no idea in your head what you want, do you find it easy to walk straight in and come out with something useful?

It never works for me. If I even dare step into my local M & S Simply Food shop I will undoubtedly come out with way more than I bargained for – I need to have a list!

DREAM IT

Your dreams and aspirations for yourself and others can form part of what you want, but it is up to you to make it happen.

Are your dreams based on reality? Do dreams come true? If you ask Oprah Winfrey, Hilary Clinton, Pete Sampras, Tony Blair, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods it would be a resounding ‘yes’.

“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”
Victor Hugo

So what do you do with these dreams?

We have to give them a makeover, we have to design them. We have to give them real life, because we know that sometimes our dreams may not be based in reality.

Think about it, what are your dreams? Write them down. Put them in context. Are they attainable? Do you truly know what that dream looks like? What does it smell like? What will it feel like when you have achieved it? If you had to describe it as a colour what colour is it?

Doesn’t doing this make it seem more real, more possible, more tangible, and more achievable?

DESIGN IT

So what do we need to do to get this show on the road?

Some results oriented goal setting. Lots of people set themselves goals, some achieve them and some don’t. Which category do you fit into? If your desire is to achieve a certain goal and you keep failing to achieve it this is going to lead to dissatisfaction, disappointment, poor performance, stress and in its strongest form depression.

We can accept certain missed opportunities in our lives, but if we have a strong burning desire to do something we want to achieve it 100% of the time.

“Desire is the key to motivation, but its’ the determined commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal, a commitment to excellence, that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
Michael Jordan

The dream that you have for your life is not going to just magically happen. You have to set interim goals to get you there. These goals may be short, medium or long term. Short term goals are usually goals which are measured in days and weeks, medium term goals would be goals which you measure in months, and long term goals are goals which are normally measured in years.

It doesn’t really matter what you consider to be a short, medium or long term goal as long as you have some and more importantly you have them written down. You are not going to get very far without them. The goals you set yourself are the stepping stones to achieving your dreams.

A useful technique to help you set your goals is a SMART one. Your goals need to be:

Specific
Measurable
Action oriented
Realistic
Timely

Your goals also need to be personal to you. For example if you want to lose weight and get fit one of your goals may look like this:-

I want to lose 6lbs in weight and be able to comfortably run 5km by 1 July, so that I not only look better, but feel more confident.

DO IT

So, what next?

We know that we are the key to our own success. We know that we need to achieve our dreams and be SMART with our goals, but seriously, how is it all going to happen?

We have to implement these plans we have to take action, somehow, somewhere, sometime.

In order to do this you need to be focused and inspired and therefore motivated. If you are to be all of things you need to be clear about what it is you want to achieve, know and have people around you that inspire you (idols, role models, family, friends, the dream itself).

We need to keep our eye on the ball and on the challenges and obstacles you will face on the way, because trust me they will be there!

Preparation is the key. It is much easier to stay on your chosen path when you have anticipated obstacles and interference, eg emergency procedures to evacuate building, planes etc. Where would we be without these.

When we tap into what truly motivates us and what is really important to use we are able to summon up great strength, which we often never thought, we had.

No matter who you are and where you stay today, if you think deeply, there must be something that you want to achieve in your life right now. Maybe you want to earn more money and quit your boring day job. Maybe you want to lose weight and have slim body. Or maybe you want to have a good relationship with your love one and live a healthy life. These are what I called dreams. And with your dreams written down, they will become goals. The interesting thing is, I’m going to show you exactly how you can achieve your goals as long as you follow through the strategies that I’m going to lie down to you.

The problem with most people is that they do not know what they want in their life. If you do not know what you want to achieve, how can I help you to achieve it? Besides that, even if people know what they want and they do write down their goals, but they are still not achieving them. Why? This is because many people thought that goal setting is just a simple process of writing their goals down and things will come to them automatically. This is not the right way. Therefore, follow through all the strategies below and you will learn how to set empowering goals that keep you going all the time.

1. Write down your goals on a piece of paper, make commitment by signing on that paper to show that you will achieve them, and then paste that paper on somewhere you can see it often. You must do this if you are serious in achieving what you want in your life. You have to constantly remind yourself about your goals so that they will sink into your subconscious mind.

2. Every night before you go to sleep, take 10 minutes to visualize about the feeling of achieving your goals. For instance, if your goal is to drive a luxury car, then imagine that you have bought it and how and where you are going to drive your dream car to. Imagine the smell of your dream car, feel the steering as your turn and feel the soft cushion that you sit on. The key here is to make your visualization as tangible as possible.

3. Take at least 3 action steps toward your goals everyday without stopping. Simply writing down your goals will not bring on the results you want. It is the action that you take that will bring you what you want. Therefore, take at least 3 action steps everyday to make sure that you are moving closer toward your goals each and everyday. Persistency and consistency are very important here.