On Track to Achieving Your Goals – Write Them Down

Last time we spoke about making goals precise and realistic to make them achievable. This time I want to talk about how to go about achieving your goals.

The first and most important step is to write your goals down. Don’t just have them flying around your mind, hiding in between all those other bits you need to remember. Write them down and then put them somewhere where you can always see them. This could be posted on the fridge with a magnet , on a yellow sticky note or in your diary or all of the above. This way you are always reminded that there is something you are working towards and your subconscious will do some of the work for you. It will, for instance, come up with different ways how to overcome obstacles and find different avenues to follow to help you along the way.

Studies have shown that people who write their goals down are more likely to achieve them than people who don’t. One famous study from Yale in 1953 said that the 3% of Yale graduates who had written goals had more wealth years later than the other 97% of the class combined. Makes you think, right? If it worked for these guys then it can work for you, too.

Formulate your goals in the positive. Instead of saying what you don’t want, what you want to avoid or what you want less of, specify what you do want, what you want to attract and what you want more of. We get what we focus on. If you focus on “less stress” you inadvertently focus on “stress”. The brain doesn’t really register the “less”. You will get more of what you don’t want.

Also, keep writing them. Refine them. Make them more precise. This makes your goals more real since it’s a process that is always fresh in your mind.