Before we can explore how to achieve your goal, it is crucial that you literally and figuratively see your goal or dream clearly.
Why is this so critical?
Firstly, because no matter how fast you work, with optimal focus and efficiency, if you are moving in the wrong direction, you will never reach your goal.
Secondly, our subconscious mind, except in cases of aphantasia (more on aphantasia in another post), strongly operates with images. These images have a profound impact on our physiology, our thinking, and our actions as our subconscious mind cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not. Think of an anxious person, for instance. They often have fearful images that rarely come true, yet focusing on those images can lead to tense posture, nail-biting, sweaty palms, increased heart rate, blood pressure, and so on.
In my keynote, I teach people how to activate their subconscious mind through focus and guided visualization to achieve their goals faster. Therefore, if the images we summon are so important, it's better to first meticulously think through where exactly you want to go and what image you want to invoke with your conscious mind. Of course, this does not exclude the possibility of adjusting the direction or vision over time.
What should your goal or dream meet? In the 1990s, technicians and builders came up with the SMART principle to encourage their managers to give specific instructions. The letters stand for Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, and Time-bound.
Specific means making the goal as concrete and unambiguous as possible. Ask yourself the questions "who, what, when, why?" at this stage. You don't need to worry about the "how" yet.
Also, make sure the result is measurable (in terms of weight, distance, time, etc.). In other words, how will you know when you have achieved your goal?
The goal should also be ambitious enough to activate your subconscious mind. Also, ensure the goal is realistic. Under this category, it's important to note that your goals should be ecological, meaning they should align with your core values. After all, isn't the ultimate goal simply to be happy? For example, if good health, a healthy work-life balance, and a happy family life are important to you, it makes no sense to choose a goal that demands complete dedication and availability. Even if you can achieve this through focus and the right techniques, it will come at the expense of other important aspects of your life. For example, if you have bad joints, it is not desirable to set the goal of running a marathon. So keep this in mind when choosing your goal.
With Time-bound, it is important to set a deadline for your goal. Don't underestimate this. Without a deadline, it's too informal, and your subconscious mind won't take action. If the deadline is far in the future, set interim deadlines to put pressure on yourself to take action.
It also helps immensely to create a kind of contract with yourself. This makes it less informal. You write "I, (name), hereby declare that by (deadline date) I will (briefly describe dream)" and sign and date it at the bottom. Put this "contract" in your phone case or wallet so that you are subconsciously reminded of your promise several times a day. This helps you maintain necessary focus.
Finally, one important note: "Kill your darlings." By this, I don't mean you should go and kill your household members, of course, but rather that you should limit yourself to just a few goals at most. Mark Tigchelaar calls this the 25/5 rule of Warren Buffett in his book "Focus, On/Off." When asked at an investors' conference about his secret to success, Buffett, one of the most successful investors of all time, replied: "It's simple. Make a list of the 25 most important goals in your life. Then circle the five most important ones. The rest is ballast. You must ignore or delegate the other twenty to achieve those five goals."
Studies confirm this view. A study published in the journal "Psychological Science" concluded that people who focused on just one goal were more likely to achieve it than those who tried to pursue multiple goals simultaneously. In another study in the journal "Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes," it was found that people who focused on a limited number of tasks were more productive and experienced less stress than those who tried to accomplish everything.
So here too, "Less is more!"
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