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How many times do you think that people try to achieve their new goals before they give up?
The average is less than once. Most people give up even before making the first attempt.
Research has shown that people who had clear, written goals and plans do better in life than those who have no written goals.
What makes written goals so powerful?
The answer lies in the fact that the process of putting goals down on paper forces you to ask questions which help clarify in your own mind as to what the goals is, how important it is for you, and what obstacles you might face. In fact writing down goals also helps in breaking down big long-term goals into small chunks which provide clarity of steps when it came to taking action.
But more importantly, I have found that the process of writing down goals also has an important effect on how our mind grapples with future plans we make for ourselves. The planning process itself is a left-brain (our rational brain, conscious mind) activity, but the process of putting the plans down on paper makes an impact on our sustained commitment to act which requires our sub-conscious (right brain) to be fully engaged. Only when the sub-conscious is fully awake to the rational plans (need to lose weight, make a career change, etc) we make for ourselves, can we get the drive and momentum to keep going.
In the seventies and eighties, a huge amount of research was carried out by several psychologists on how the most successful people set their goals and went on to achieve these. They identified four key factors that made goals powerful and must - only when goals are stated in these terms, our right brain remains fully engaged and drives us to achieve the goals:
· Prove-able - Goals must be specific and measurable: want to be 'rich', 'successful' etc., are not measurable; some people will consider themselves rich with a thousand dollars in their pockets, for some a few credit cards in their wallet is enough to give them a feeling of being rich.
· Positive - goals must be stated in positive terms. Our brain does not understand negative commands: instead of saying 'I want to lose weight', write down 'I (want to) weigh xxx stones'.
· Present tense - goals must be stated in present tense, as though you had already achieved these goals. For example, you would write, "I weigh xxx stones." Or, "I run my own business with a turnover of xxxx."
· Personal - must be personal to you; i.e., it is in your control. Instead of saying 'I would like my employer to give me a promotion', state as 'I have demonstrated my ability to handle complex jobs requiring senior level managerial competencies and therefore I want to stake my claim for a promotion during the next annual review'.
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