To be successful, the important thing is to be effective. We can define effectiveness as the union of knowing where you are going, with the discipline of staying on course. That is, goals (know where you are going) + discipline = effectiveness
Goals are the guide that will help you not to waste your time. These will be your compass.
It is important to have long-term and short-term goals. Long-term goals are the big picture of what you want to achieve. This makes it easy to create short-term ones, since we always have that beacon that guides us.
When you have clear goals, before making each decision, ask yourself if what you are going to do brings you closer or further away from your goal. Once you have clear goals and you commit to achieving them, the unconscious mind begins to work to give you ideas, attract people, books that can help you, etc.
The biggest failure is not trying. If you currently have a goal that you consider unrealistic, break it down into short-term goals that you have to achieve before you achieve the bigger goal. Once you achieve it, reward yourself. It is important that you give yourself some recognition.
Exercise: Every day, in your notebook, make a list of your achievements, no matter how small you find them. For example, if you want to overcome your shyness and today you dared to talk to someone new, write it down on your list.
Although it appeared not to be, I was very shy. My self-esteem was on the ground. I remember thinking that nobody was interested in wasting time talking to me, so if I saw someone I knew but who was not my friend, I would cross the street so that they would not have to “waste time”. I thought I was doing them a favor. When I decided to heal my incorrect thoughts, I made it a goal to greet two people a day. After several days of doing this, I not only managed to delve into my fear and say hello, but I realized that people felt very happy when I recognized their presence and greeted them. How wrong I was.
This exercise helps you to put things in perspective. We are used to looking at the things that we fail at and overlooking those that we do not. In addition, the exercise will help you put your mind in a positive frame.
I recommend this exercise to learn how to set your goals.
• List five important goals you want to achieve within the next year.
• Pick your two most important goals and put them in clear, measurable terms.
• Write the critical steps necessary to achieve each of them.
• You will develop a realistic itinerary for each step, and then you finish the form by evaluating the two goals you selected and rewriting them at the bottom of the page.
• Think specifically about the results you want to achieve. Use dates, amounts of money, job description etc.
• Once you know where you want to go in a year, you can create short-term goals to get there.
• Do this for two years and five years.
Exercise My Goals
Period from (day, month and year) to (day, month and year)
Five goals I want to achieve this year are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Of these, my first goal is …
My second goal is …
Critical steps required to achieve my goals by (date)
First Goal Second Goal
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
INDIVIDUAL GOAL SETTING SHEET
GOAL (MUST BE SPECIFIC TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE IT) | OBSTACLES TO ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL | ACTION PLAN TO ELIMINATE THE OBSTACLES. (IF YOU CANNOT DEFINE THE STEPS, THE GOAL IS NOT SPECIFIC) | DATE WHEN I WILL ACHIEVE MY GOAL | AWARD WHAT WILL I GIVE ME FOR ACHIEVING IT |
| ACHIEVING THIS GOAL WILL BRING ME CLOSER TO THIS OTHER GOAL IN THE LONG TERM: | ||||
I want to end with a writing that I love on commitment and clearly explains the above:
Until one is commited, there is hesitancy,
the chance to draw back, always
ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of
inititiative and creation, there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which
kills countless ideas and splendid plans:
that the moment one definitely commits
oneself, then providence moves too. All
sorts of things occur to help one that
would never otherwise have occurred. A
whole stream of events issues from the
decision, raising in ones favor all manner
of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance which no man could
have dreamed would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
“Whatever you can do or dream begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!””
W. H. Murray
The Scottish Himalayan Expedition