Tricks for setting goals and achieving what you want

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We talked about why you need to set goals in the previous article. Today we will tell you how to set a goal correctly.

More specifics

The first thing you should pay attention to is the specificity of the goal. Not what you want to achieve in general (I want to lose weight), but in as much detail as possible: “I want to lose 10 kilograms by summer.”

If you wish “I want to travel a lot this year,” then you risk finding a job far from home and traveling from home to work and back every day. Are you satisfied with this result? I think no.

The request must contain the names of the countries where you would like to travel this year. Therefore, the more details, the better. But still, don’t overdo it, leave a little room for the creativity of the Universe, so that you don’t have to unnecessarily control the process of achieving what you want and avoid disappointment.

If you formulated the request “I want to buy green boots with heels with gold buckles next week,” and you received green boots with gold buckles, but without heels, you will most likely be upset.

Questions for last year

In order to conduct an audit of the past year, we invite you to answer the following questions. Try to be as honest and objective as possible, because your motivation to act for the good of the future depends on your assessments.

How did you enjoy the past year?
How many positive events were there? Which one would you like to remember forever?
What of your plans was achieved? What results have you achieved in various areas of your life?
Describe the past year in one phrase.
What tasks could not be completed? For what reason?
What have you learned? What knowledge and skills have you acquired? What books have you read? What experience did you have?
How much has your monthly income increased compared to last year?
What do you regret? Remember and forgive yourself.
Do you want to live this year the same way as the previous one?

It is best to complete the assignment in writing so you can re-read the results and decide whether you are satisfied with them. And if not, then ask yourself why out of 365 days you wisely used only a few of them for yourself? Was there really no opportunity to learn something new, to please yourself by reading a good book, or to go to some event for vivid impressions?

And, the saddest thing is, probably in January of that year you imagined exactly how your life would change if you set goals and began to realize yourself. So why were the goals set not realized?

The goal must be realistic

If you set out to lose weight in a month, and during this month you go on vacation, where all inclusive awaits you, then what you want will hardly be achievable. You will have to deprive yourself of pleasure, limit.

Or if you want a Bentley this year, and your salary is 40,000 a month. Problem.

In this case, it is better to set subgoals on the way to the big goal. For example, take up weight loss after returning from vacation and, before buying a Bentley, set yourself the goal of finding a good job for this.

Link the list to your vision

For example, you have a stated goal: to join the KVN team / League of Laughter, to overcome the fear of speaking publicly.

If you re-read the wording again, fear may arise in your head and the thought will settle in that this is impossible to do because it’s scary. That's right, many people are terribly afraid of public speaking.

Try reframing your goal . If your vision of an ideal day has you performing on stage as an expert at a conference, and not as a comedian, then choose a path similar to the vision. Example of a series of goals:

Take public speaking training.
Speak to schoolchildren to help them become more successful.
Speak to students 5-10 times to help them become more effective.
Give a talk at a small conference to inspire audience members to achieve their goals.

By adding “to help”/“to inspire” when stating your goal, you link the goal to part of your vision. You imagine how you will inspire the world through your work.

If, when reading the list, you have no inspiration, no desire to carry out what is written, you will never follow it . Therefore, use your own vision when compiling a list, this will help achieve your goals.

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The dream must be yours

And not your parents, neighbors, imposed by the generic program or society. For example, a person thinks: “Almost everyone has a car, it’s convenient and practical, and I need it too.” And at the same time, everything inside him is quiet from such a thought, nothing responds, nothing lights up. This means that this is not his true desire, subconsciously he does not want a car, but does not understand this.

How can you understand whether your desire is true or not?

Motivation appears inside to achieve what you want. Your whole nature seems to wake up and seethe at the thought of getting what you want.
It also happens that a person lights up even with a complex dream. In this case, most likely, very deep parental or generic programs have already turned on, then it is better to contact a psychologist.

Don't write too many goals

When you set more than 60 goals for a year, achieving them is at risk of failure. Such a volume is difficult to keep in mind , even when they are written down and not in the mind.

The idea behind writing is not to write down every single goal. The task of correct formulation lies in concentrating efforts on the main goals .

The same goes for a monthly, weekly or daily plan. It is better not to write more than 2-3 goals per day. It is better to keep a weekly plan nearby, and upon completion of goals for the day, proceed to the next goals on the list.

Don't let small problems confuse you . Our common mistake is that we do a bunch of small things that are not part of big goals.

It is important not only to write down the key goals for the year, but also to try not to switch to goals that are not in the plan. Find a way to keep track of yourself and eliminate small tasks outside of your plan.

Once your initial list is ready, revise it. Go through the Eisenhower Priority Matrix, determine what is not a priority now or can wait to be completed.

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Last stage: visualization

We imagine that we have achieved a result. Remember that thought is material, so don’t be shy and imagine what you want in all its colors with the emotions and mood in which you would bathe if you achieved the result.

Only here it is important not to overdo it. An overly zealous positive attitude towards what you want, a constant inspired scrolling in your head of “What happiness” will give the opposite result. Balance and a golden mean are important in everything, even in such magic as making your dreams come true. All in your hands.

The author's opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors. Would you like to write a column for Netology? Read our terms of publication.

Review your list of goals regularly

When the list of goals for the coming year is compiled. Now you need to create a ritual by which you will regularly review your goals . Or put it somewhere where you can't ignore it or forget about it.

It is useless to write a list and remember it once every six months. We recommend writing down your goals in a notebook and re-reading it at the beginning of each week to mark your progress.

Method for beginners . Print the list on a piece of paper and place it on the wall, refrigerator, or a place you use frequently. Almost like a vision board, only it's a list of goals.

You can attach the printed list to your table in your bedroom. Or to another place where it will often be in front of your eyes.

This will help you remember what's important and why you need to ignore distractions that aren't related to those goals. All that remains is to correctly formulate your life goals and go towards them.

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The famous “Harvard experiment” on goal setting

In 1979, Harvard University conducted an experiment designed to determine the impact of goal setting on success in a person's life. The experiment lasted about 10 years.

To do this, they selected a group of students and asked who sets their goals, and most importantly, writes them down on paper. It turned out that only 16% of 100% had at least some goals in life and only 3% of those who wrote them down on paper in the correct way.

A few years later, this group of graduates was surveyed again and it turned out that those who had at least some goals at the university earned on average 2 times more than their aimless comrades. People who were included in the 3%, who recorded their goals in writing, earned 10 times! more than their classmates.

There is something to think about, what do you think?!

How I set goals and achieved results - sharing my experience

At the age of 24, I set several goals using the technology described above.

The document with written goals was called “PLAN 30” , implying that they should be fulfilled by my 30th birthday.

Alexander Berezhnov (pictured) is the founder of the “PAPA HELPED” project. Yes it's me

At that time, I had no idea how I could achieve them, and only faith in success helped me move forward.

I won’t go into detail about my goals from 6 years ago, I’ll just say that the result even exceeded my expectations. During this period, I managed to get married, have children, buy several apartments in a prestigious residential complex in my city and a foreign car, and help my relatives financially.

I realized that nothing is impossible. And even if you now have no idea how you can get what you want, just act, and you will eventually be able to “eat the elephant piece by piece.”

From my own experience, I know that big goals scare people, and they continue to be content with little, instead of pulling themselves together and making their dreams come true.

Now I’m already working on my goals, which I called “ PLAN 40” . In 10 years (I'm 30 now), I'm going to build a number of large sources of passive income, strengthen family relationships, give my children a better education and raise them properly.

I will also definitely continue to engage in charity work, social activities and education. I plan to write several books and make my own film, visit 10 countries of the world and meet a number of outstanding people of our time.

We'll see which of these goals I can achieve in 10 years, but intuitively I feel that this plan is being implemented 100%!

Imagine your own funeral

This task may seem gloomy and extremely unpleasant, but its completion is necessary for a person to understand the value of his own life, and to clearly imagine what kind of trace he wants to leave behind. Don't take these questions as a bad omen.

Imagine being at your own funeral. Recommend something to yourself in the present tense from this perceptual position.
What will your loved ones, relatives, friends, colleagues and acquaintances say as a farewell word? How will they describe you and your achievements in various areas of life?
What would you like to hear from them?

After re-reading your own answers to the questions, draw conclusions that will help you improve the quality of your life and appreciate today. When faced with death, even mentally, a person experiences a powerful surge of life.

Alternative options for decoding SMART

The version of the SMART method that we discussed in this article is considered one of the most popular today. However, he is not the only one. In some sources, the abbreviation SMART is deciphered differently and is based on completely different criteria.

In this table we have collected all the most common decryption options:

In addition, some authors slightly “modify” the word SMART itself and get other abbreviations. Here are the most common ones:

SMARTER. Added Evaluated and Reviewed criteria. This means that each stage of achieving a goal can be assessed, and the goal itself can be periodically adjusted.

Another well-known option: Ecological (eco-friendly) and Recorder (recorded). An environmentally friendly goal means that it does not interfere with other goals and is consistent with a person's values and character.

SMARTTA. Added Trackable and Agreed criteria.

SMARRT. Added Realistic parameter.