How to Get What You Want Part 3

HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT

Part 3:

There is quire a bit here, so let's get to it.

Fire the gun!  How to take action

Welcome to part 3!

Lets have a quick recap at where we are at.

So far you have had a look at what success means to you and you have written out what you want to be remembered for when you have gone.

You should also have a list of goals and the compelling reasons WHY you want to achieve them.

Take the list of goals out and re read the reasons.

Do they make you feel energized and motivated to achieving them?

If they dont, you either need to write down better reasons or scrap the goal altogether!

You will only achieve a goal when it becomes an absolute MUST for you to do so.

It is the REASONS WHY you are doing the goal and not the goal itself that will get you to take action.

Here are some examples of goals that you might include for yourself:

Losing some weight
Running your own business
Gaining a better job or promotion
Owning a new car
Being more assertive
Having more time with your family and children
Earn more money
Learn to swim
etc

In its simplest form the definition of setting and achieving a goal is this:

You must first decide what your GOAL actually is. Then you must define it in comprehensive detail. You must then lay out the steps by which you intend to reach the goal and lastly you must put a deadline or a time limit to you achieving your goal.

You must also have a reason why you want the goal or you wouldnt have the goal in the first place!

Id like you to compare goal setting with going on a long distance car journey.

This comparison will make the whole concept easier for you to understand.

You wouldnt think of planning the journey without knowing where you were going to go and why and without having a map to guide you.

Firstly, before you even got into the car you would know exactly where you were going to go and why you want to go there i.e visit relatives, to go to the gym to get fit etc

You would have mapped out the route on how you were going to get there and thirdly you would have given yourself enough time to reach your destination.

Sounds familiar doesnt it?

Well, goal setting uses exactly the same method - only the car is you and the journey is your life.

It is no use thinking in a vague sort of way either when it comes to setting your goals.

If you were to ask anyone on the street to define what their goals in life were you would invariably get responses such as I want to be rich, I want to be happy, I want to be famous.

You would be fooled into thinking that these were goals, but they are not.

They are just generalizations that are desired by everyone.

A goal is something that you can define in great detail, and after having identified your goal and why this is the next key step that you have to do.

If, for example, one of your goals is to buy a new car, you must define the exact model, the color, the interior, the price and so on.

Make sure that you can picture it clearly in your mind and try and get away from those generalizations.

Be specific and be precise.

GOAL = TO BUY A NEW CAR
MODEL - BMW 3 series sports convertible
COLOUR - Metallic Blue
INTERIOR - Beige leather
PRICE  £25,450
EXTRAS - Air conditioning, CD Player, Electric windows..........

What color are the seats?

What is the number plate?

What makes is the CD Player?

Has it got Electric Windows?

A sunroof?

Is that Electric?

Has it got alloy wheels?

HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL - PLANNING AND ACTION

When you know what you want to achieve and have defined it in detail, the next step is to actually plan and map out exactly how you are going to achieve it.

Remember, any goal can be achieved, but first it is a lot easier if it is broken down into a series of sub goals

Each smaller goal should lead you, one day/week/month at a time, to your larger goal.

Example : GOAL = To lose some weight

If you wanted to lose some weight we would have to make the goal specific.

So the goal would look like this -  To lose 12 lbs in 8 weeks.

The next stage would be to break down the large goal into sub goals.

You could set yourself sub goals of losing 1.5 lbs per week for the 8 weeks.

I lost over 2 stone in weight by following this method, it is effective and it works.

Write down a table and post it on a wall so that you can see it. Suppose that you weigh 12 stone now and want to lose the 12 lbs - your chart would look something like this :
GOAL : TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT

SPECIFICS: 12 lbs in 8 Weeks
WEIGHT AS AT xx/xx/01 = 12 Stone
TARGET WEIGHT AS AT xx/xx/01 = 11 Stone 2 lbs

GOAL LOSS

WEIGHT

ACTUAL

End of week 1

1.5 lbs

11st 12.5 lbs

End of week 2

1.5 lbs

11st 11 lbs

End of week 3

1.5 lbs

11st 9.5 lbs

End of week 4

1.5 lbs

11st 8 lbs

End of week 5

1.5 lbs

11st 6.5 lbs

End of week 6

1.5 lbs

11st 5 lbs

End of week 7

1.5 lbs

11st 3.5 lbs

End of week 8

1.5 lbs

11st 2 lbs

In addition to the above you would need to devise an exercise plan and a healthy diet to help you achieve your goal.

Brainstorm all of the actions that you need to do in order to achieve this goal and chunk them into activities of a similar nature.

For example:

Exercise  what exercises? How often? Do I need new kit? How much?
Diet  What food?, How often?, How many calories?, Shopping List?
Type of gym  Locations?, Prices?, Clients?

It would be prudent to decide on what days you are going to exercise, what exercise you are going to do on that day and for how long.

Produce another table similar to that already produced with your exercise routine and healthy eating plan and stick to it.

The method used to illustrate the weight  loss example is sometimes referred as  stair stepping or chunking which means taking a big goal and breaking it down into smaller components.

By doing this you will have enjoyed any number of successes in the course of pursuing your final goal.

I always like to compare the stair stepping method with eating a PIZZA!

Think of it this way 

If you tried to eat an entire pizza in one mouthful, you would choke. But by cutting it into smaller, bite sized pieces it is more digestible and more enjoyable.

Someone once said

Success by the inch is a synch, by the yard it is hard.

Break your goals down and they will become a lot easier for you to achieve. 

I always like to say that if you concentrate on your sub goals, your major goal will take care of itself.

GET THE TIMING RIGHT!

One of the most important factors in goal attainment is setting yourself deadlines to have each sub/major goal achieved.

Putting things off until tomorrow or next week will turn into another tomorrow or another week.

In order to understand this Id just like to explain the different types of a word that no would-be successful person should have in their vocabulary - PROCRASTINATION.

When we talk about goals you could put things off by never choosing to do anything.

You could also put things off by choosing to do something, but then you never start it.

Then you could put things off by starting something, but then you dont continue it.

And then you could continue something, but then you dont finish it.

It is vital that you dont do something tomorrow what you really could have done today.

At every stage of your goal you must set yourself time limits and deadlines so that you dont put things off until tomorrow.

Breakdown your goal, allot your time and formulate your deadlines.

I like to call it a TIMETABLE TO SUCCESS.

One thing that your goals must be are both achievable and realistic.

A goal of passing your driving test after only 2 lessons is probably going to be out of your reach. Passing after 20 lessons is more attainable and more realistic.

The goal shouldnt exceed your ability, but on the other hand they should exploit them to the fullest. Thus closing the gap between potential and performance.

This is a really important point.

Establishing realistic aims creates the habit of succeeding when each one is attained, and Success breeds Success.

This will build up your confidence and help you to attain further goals.

Also, by setting goals, ones that are measurable and realistic to achieve, its easier to make corrections to them should you go off target.

If any of you are managers, would-be managers or have people working for you, please bear this in mind.

If you set unattainable or make unrealistic demands on your workforce, you will only do more harm to their motivation, self-esteem and their confidence, resulting in a reduction in productivity.

The same will happen to you as well if you ask too much of yourself.

You will become unmotivated you will ask yourself what is the point and you may give in.

The most successful people in the world and the best managers are those that can identify their own abilities and their employees abilities and potential and then set work/goals that will stretch their abilities without ever exceeding them.

These managers will invariably have highly motivated employees because he/she is getting the best out of them and they are feeling worthwhile.

There is a fine dividing line between goals that are too easy to achieve and goals that are probably out of your reach.

You can only ascertain which ones are which by using your common sense, knowing your strengths and weaknesses, knowing your potential to develop and learn and also by trail and error.

Goals can be and should be specified for particular areas of your life.

Your career, your finances, your possessions, your ambitions etc - for every area of your life you should set yourself goals in order for you to achieve more rewarding, fulfilling and successful outcomes.

What I would like to do at this point is to share some of the techniques and tips that I use with regards to the goals that I set myself and how I attain them.

You too can adopt these approaches.

As the saying goes An oral agreement isnt worth the paper it is written on

I believe that its no good if you say that you have got a goal when you havent written it down. You need commitment from yourself.

Setting Goals

An Example

What?
Lose 10 lbs in weight

Why?
It will give me greater confidence, enhance my self esteem and will make me more attractive to women

How?
Exercise, Diet, Allocating Time, Gym or home, etc

Chunking
Finding Gym, exercise routines, kit,  frequency
Nutrition
Time Management and organisation

Subgoals
Lose 2 lbs per month
Buy 1 new item of clothing each month
Visit gym 4 times per week
Increase distance or resistance each time

Timelines
Major Goal attained within 5 months xx/xx/2002
X weight in 2 months yy/yy/2002

Review
Whats going well?, What are the results? Do I need to adjust?

Adjust

Make sure that you write everything down, dont just commit it to memory.

If you havent already started to formulate your goals the exercises on the next couple of pages will help you to achieve just that.

For each of your goals brainstorm and write down all of the things you will need to do in order to achieve each goal.

What will you need?
Are you experienced enough?
Who can help?
What will you have to do?
Is there a cost?
Do you need any equipment?
Do you require any capital?

Chunk all of the actions into 3 or 4 main areas and then class these as sub goals and put deadlines on each.

Then, GO FOR IT!

On achievement of these goals it will give you great self-confidence and will set you on your way in achieving that winning habit. It will also put you in the right frame of mind to achieve greater feats.

Other uses of goal attainment

The use of goal attainment should be used in every day of your life.

If you are attending a course at work, establish exactly what you want to get out of it and why - what are your goals and objectives?

If you have got an important interview, set yourself the goal of getting up an hour earlier so that you can go through your notes once again.

If you are playing a round of golf and you shot a 75 last time around, set yourself the target of 73. And if you can lift 200 pounds at the gym, try for 210.

By setting yourself goals and by doing so in both the short and the long term, you will find that you will do things better, more efficiently, your performance will be enhanced in everything that you do and you will have more enjoyment.

You will find that you will start to attract more opportunities and you will become more successful in everything that you do.

There now follows a short case study which will illustrate the importance of goal setting in the workplace.

If you have staff, no matter what their experience, you will get the best out of them and aid their development when you set goals for them to achieve.