In the first article of the goal setting series I discussed the benefits of goal setting. My thinking was that if you first saw the benefits you would then be inspired enough to overcome the resistances that I discussed in the second article. During the time that I have been mentally working on this article I have been listening to a CD and also I pick up a book that both highlighted the next step that I should bring to your attention and that is “to get discontented”.

Yep, we need to get discontent with our current situation in the given areas where you think you need to change. I will give you some areas that you should be looking at a little later, but first get discontent, and dissatisfied with the status quo.

If you are complacent, content or comfortable in the situation you are in, then there is no way you are going to change anything. This is not good! There are always areas in your life that could be improved and that could be bettered, where you could be achieving far more.

You can say to me “How do I know this? You don’t know me!” Well actually I do know you – you are a very special person, you are unique, there is only one of you and you are here on purpose with a purpose. You may well be fulfilling it partially, but I’m pretty sure you are not entirely. You are capable of more, of change, and of growth. You are special, valuable and worthy of more, much more! Respect yourself enough to look for and improve anything and everything that needs attention. This is good news, this is fun, and this is the start of a wonderful great adventure.

So where should you start? Well a good place to start is by evaluating how balanced your life is. Most of us lead fairly unbalanced life-styles. In his MAP4LIFE series author and friend Glen McQuirk identifies 8 areas of our lives that we need to be giving attention to with a view of growing or strengthening each area.

These areas are:

• Family and Relationships
• Intellectual/Emotional life/Thinking
• Physical Health
• Financial Wealth
• Career/Business/Job
• Social Responsibility
• Rest & Restoration/Social Life
• Spiritual

Glen has included a questionnaire in his diary that enables you to evaluate your progress in these areas and that which you need to do – take each one and see where you are not in each area. At a later stage we can discuss the areas individually, but for now take an inventory of each area and see which one or which ones need the most attention.  Bingo! Your goals are starting to take shape. Take out a piece of paper or better yet, get your journal and right down a whole bunch of goals for each area. Write down anything and everything you can think of in any given area, no matter how big or how small. Again in Glen’s Map4Life books he has pages that are allocated for just that purpose, but you can make columns for each area and add to them as you think of them in the next few days.

While I have been writing this I have also been multi-tasking and listening to an MP3 of Anthony Robbins - he is a brilliant motivator. He feels that perhaps the most important area to give attention to is your physical health and I readily concur. He points out that if your career and your financial wealth is going well – you are giving it a lot of attention and getting good results! But it’s not worth anything if you are in ill health and go to your grave early – it’s no good being the richest man in the cemetery, he points out. It’s true! So while setting your goals, be sure to give your health some serious focus.

This is a good time to be brutally honest with your self. While understanding and agreeing with that point of view I would also say that we should be giving the thinking, intellectual and emotional component of our lives some serious attention to. After all if you are feeling like you need to be “eating worms” all the time (have a “poor me” mentality) then it’s going to be pretty difficult to get working on any of the other goals. I have said in other articles that perhaps one of your first goals should be to improve your self image. With a strong self-image you will know that there is absolutely nothing that you can’t do, become or achieve.

If you are still struggling to understand that you are special and as capable as the next guy of reaching any goal that you care to set, then you may need to identify and eliminate any Life Sentences that may be contaminating your thinking as well. My book Freeing Your Mind could help you, and will do just that. It will free you up and clear the way for prolific goal setting.

So to conclude this article I will reiterate the plea that I have made and which I will make through-out this goal setting series, namely write down your goals and additionally in this instalment, look for the areas of biggest need and start with those, especially if it’s in the area of self-growth. After the last article I posted I received a note from someone saying that “the penny had dropped” and they had sat down and written some goals, why don’t you do the same i.e. sit down write down some goals and then send me a note and we will celebrate together!

You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things - to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals. - Sir Edmund Hillary