77 Goal Setting Tips 12 through 21

12. Use affirmations: Affirmations can move you forward dramatically in achieving your goals. Put them in the present tense as if you have already achieved them and say them out loud! Also, create the affirmation with lots of details and positive language rather than negative (no, not, can’t, never, don’t etc.).

13. Join or create a support group: Getting help from others is one of the secrets of successfully reaching your goals. So be sure to find or create some sort of support group of similarly minded peers.

You could decide to form a Goals Success Group consisting of several people who decide to work together on goals. Your job as a group member is to help and support the other members’ goal setting efforts in any way that seems appropriate. They should reciprocate. The authors have been meeting with a Goals Success Group for over 6 years and it has really changed our lives for the better.

14. Model the strategies of successful people: Think of people you know or you know about who can serve as models. Modeling your actions after someone who has already achieved what you want can help you save time and prevent the painful trial and error that you would have to endure without this kind of help. They can provide an effective roadmap to move you ahead.

15. The 3 “R’s” - Review, reevaluate, rewrite: Review your goals regularly and write the steps for the day on your “to do list”. Reevaluate and rewrite your main goals every three to six months. Because things change, you may find that what you wanted a few months ago is not exactly what you want now. Be sure to reevaluate sub-goals, steps and strategies.

16. Patience is a virtue: Don’t be too impatient—some goals take longer to manifest. Delays in reaching your goals do not imply that you won’t reach them. When you plant a seed, you can’t keep digging it up every week to see if it has sprouted, sometimes reaching goals is the same. You must believe in what you want enough to keep pursuing your dream while putting your attention on other things as well.

17. Keep your balance: Maintain a lighthearted attitude while working on your goals. Although commitment and persistence are important, balance in your life will keep you motivated and enthused. Too much focused intensity may keep you from opening up to new possibilities and can actually hold you back.

18. Pay attention to hunches: Make a commitment to pay attention to hunches and intuition when taking actions towards your goal. Sometimes these are very subtle nudges that move you in a beneficial direction you didn’t expect.

19. Be public with your goals: This may create some pressure on you to keep going after what you want and will probably help you take consistent action. Be sure to only tell people who will be supportive towards your success that you are absolutely committed to reaching your goal.

20. Rehearse and visualize your success: Imagine having your new car, new house or vacation whatever your vision is. Imagine with all your senses having already achieved your goal. Think about how great that feels, looks and sounds. (For more details, see Imagery and visualization section).

21. Use a “to do” list for taking daily actions: Using a “to do” list and prioritizing your goals regularly is a useful technique. Sometimes you will get bogged down in day-to-day busyness and you might overlook the steps needed to get to your goals. Be sure to integrate the goals into your “to do” list daily or weekly (at least), then put the highest priority goals at the top and take action on those first.

One of the secrets of successful people is they take action on the most important things every day. Avoid focusing a lot of attention on things that are not important. Here’s a quote from Robert Allen (a best selling author and motivation expert), who recommends facing the hardest things first. “Don’t do first things first, do feared things first!” An even more outrageous way to start the day from Allen is to “dig a hole, throw in a crocodile and jump in!”

Continue to Goal Setting Guide 22-24 - Self Appreciation