Get a Clear Mental Picture

"A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done" - Vince Lombardi

One reason why people succeed at accomplishing goals is through their determination to become successful. You must first be able to visualize where you are going before there is any hope of achieving your goals. Written goals are like maps with directions.

You have got to have a destination, direction and a plan of attack.

If you were starting out on a journey or vacation would you just get in your car and drive with no sense of direction on how to get where you are going. You could get in your car and start driving and still end up at your destination. But the chances of you getting there faster would be greatly increased by using a map with directions to your destination.

Written goals are meant to be read like a map, you must have directions, a path on which to travel with the intention of arriving at your destination.

Write down a clear to the point statement of what it is you want to receive out of life.

Your Goals must be in writing. Once it goes into writing the mind will start working on them subconsciously. The traditional goal checklist is largely a product of old technology a pen and a piece of paper.

It is a good idea to write the goals down on a small piece of paper or index card and carry them around with you either in your purse or your wallet. This way you can review them often.

The difference between a goal and a dream is the written word.

Example:

Let's say one of your goals is to get a truck. The first thing you need to do is write the goal down. Write it down in the form of a positive affirmation.

I am going to practice my typing 30 minutes each day.

I will start smiling and saying hello as I walk by people at work.

a) Is this a goal you can actually accomplish? Is this goal believable? If the goal is not believable it is going to be hard to accomplish. Smaller goals are going to be easier to complete and the more you complete the more goals you will set for yourself.

Can you practice typing? Yes

Will you be able to find 30 minutes a day and practice typing? Yes

b) Is the goal going to be challenging? Those easy goals will form good habits as you complete them. You will see your self starting to make progress. The small goals will keep you motivated to write new goals. The larger goals that you set for yourself will force you to grow Mentally. You need to have short term and long-term goals so you can continue making progress while staying motivated.

Is the typing goal challenging? Yes

Is the typing goal a short-term goal? It could be a short or a long-term goal depending on how many words I want to be able to type per minute. If I am typing 30 words per minute today and I would like to be able to type 50 words per minute I might deal accomplish this goal in three months. If I want to be able to type 120 words per minute this might take up to two years. Now it would be considered a long-term goal

c) Start to make an outline on how you wish to achieve your goals. The help you will need to accomplish your goals such as the, information, knowledge, people, organizations. In each case write them out in a clear list and go over them that.

Here is an outline of my typing goal:

April 2, 2008 typing 30 words per minute

May 2, 2008 typing 40 words per minute

June 2, 2008 typing 50 words per minute

Do I need more information, a book, a teacher, computer software or do I need to find a local class on typing?

I will choose to get a computer software program and hold myself accountable for the progress I am making.

Keep your outlines simple and to the point.

d) Set a deadline for your goals. Analyze where you are now in relation to the goal and then measure how long you will reasonably need to complete the goal. It's not unreasonable for a long-term goal to be over five years.

In my outline I have provided dates and how much progress I am going to accomplish. If I can't meet my deadlines I just need to extend them a little longer. These deadlines are not set in stone and never should be.

e) As you can see I have written a clear goal with a proper outline and now I need to set the goal into action. You should read your goals daily. Set them by your bedside, your desk at work, or post them on the refrigerator. Putting these goals in action will require consistent action from you. I will practice typing from seven o'clock to seven thirty each night during the week. If I miss one day during the week I will use Saturday or Sunday as a backup day.

You can always plan on problems in reasons why you're not going to be able to practice typing one day. So in this case it would be great to be able to have a cushion as part of your plan. Things happen during the week that will interfere with being able to stick with your goals.

f) Start visualizing our goals. Get a clear mental picture of the goals one at a time. Start seeing your goals as completed. Follow the visualization process in Chapter 4. If you can visualize your goals clearly you will start to find ways to accomplish them.

Look at yourself typing more letters to your friends and family.

I can't use my new skills at work for career advancement.

Start visualizing what you are going to do with your new typing skills. Why do I want to be able to type faster? I am planning on writing and book therefore this will be a useful tool in being able to speed up the writing process.

"You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures" - Charles C. Noble

Let's say one of my goals is to go fishing in Alaska. I write my goals out in outline form. My flight plan, which fishing poles I'm going to use, whose going with me, how I'm going to get the money to pay for the vacation, where exactly I'm going fishing,(be specific). Now I start visualizing the trip from images off of the Internet or from magazines that I have collected about Alaska. Soon you'll find yourself going to the store for groceries as you drive by a sign that says Alaskan cruise packages. You have driven by this travel agency hundreds of times on your way to the grocery store. You think to yourself that's odd I remember seeing that travel agency before. What is happening in your mind is that you're reticular activator is now in motion. You are starting to see things that are familiar to your subconscious mind. This goes back to the experiment earlier on with visualizing things and now you start to notice them. Now while you are at the grocery store you are wondering in the back of your mind if this travel agency has any other vacation packages. On your way back home from the grocery store you go to the travel agency and you find out that they have low cost vacation packages that include fishing, Lodging and air travel.

This is a very common occurrence after you start goal setting you will start noticing more things that were always there before. You might seek help for a certain goal and realize a bookstore or local library ride around the corner.

Get a clear MENTAL PICTURE of the goal already accomplished. Make the image crystal clear, as vivid in the mind's eye as you possibly can. Play that picture over and over in your mind.

You can think about the goals as long as you want to.

You can plan out how you're going to accomplish your goals with a outline.

You can tell every person on this earth about your goals, you can print your goals out in big letters paste them all over your house, you can read them every day out loud, you can be the most positive energetic optimistic creative person around. But if you take no action you will never accomplish anything.

Now that you have written goals it is time to start accomplishing them.

Remember persistence and staying motivated are the main keys to accomplishing your goals. There is an old saying "Never... never... never... ever give up".