Deciding Which Goals to Set
First things first, be clear as to your big objectives in life. Spend a few moments looking at the questions below to figure out the big objectives of your life.
- What are your ultimate objectives in life?
- Do you want to travel the world?
- Do you want to build a legacy in the form of a company or an organization or school?
- Do you want to help a lot of people in the form of a charity?
What are your big objectives in life?
Before you continue, give yourself a few moments to look at the big objectives in your life. You may have never done this, so take your time. As you reflect today, be sure to check back later and ask yourself the questions again.
Keep in mind since this is personal in nature; there is really no such thing as a right or wrong answer. One person’s big objective is no better or worse than somebody else’s. After all, we come from different backgrounds and different families. We have different values and we have different experiences. All these differences add up to the way we look at the world (our worldview) and the way we choose our objectives. You will need to focus on what objective makes most sense in your life and focus on the big ones.
What Do You Need to Do to Achieve These Goals?
Now that you’re clear as to what your big objectives are in life—and you shouldn’t hold yourself back when thinking these up—the next thing to think about is what you need to do. What kind of actions do you need to take to make these objectives a reality?
Note: If you have not taken time to look at your big objectives in life, do it. Just use a few minutes right now and reflect on the questions on the previous page.
You probably already know you can’t just simply hope and wish your objectives to materialize. The law of attraction does work, but it only works when there is action involved. You can’t simply just mentally imagine certain things happening and refuse to lift a finger. Don’t be surprised if nothing happens when you refuse to lift a finger. Success with come to those who work for it; not to those who sit down for it.
There must be some sort of objective change in the way you think and the way you talk and act for your desired reality to happen. Accordingly, focus on what you need to do to achieve these objectives.
This chapter started off with the big objectives in your life because you need to get pumped up about the ultimate reward. When you look at the big rewards at the end, you can then start tracing back to where you are today.
If your ultimate objective is to live in a $10 million mansion in the nice part of town, start with the vision of living in that mansion. Allow yourself to feel good. Allow yourself to feel pumped up and excited about that reality.
Next, start tracing back in terms of the actions you took from that point to where you are now. You are going to begin thinking backwards. Most goal setting programs want you to think forward but thinking backwards will change your view.
You need to do this so you can remain focused on the big objective and maintain the right level of motivation. However, more importantly, you need to do this backwards progression to create a map in your mind. You end up seeing the clear logical conclusion between the things you need to do in the here and now to achieve a certain future.
Start with the destination in mind. Begin creating that map in your mind and you will be able to see the steps you need to take the get on track to achieving your goals.
While we could have easily projected from now to the future, you’re more likely to get pumped up and excited when we start the discussion with the reward first. Regardless of how you do it, you should have a rough idea of the clear logical conclusion between the things that you need to do now and the kind of life you could be enjoying in the future.
What Could Go Wrong?
Now you have learned about focusing on your ultimate objectives first and then tracing back, what’s the point? Couldn’t you just have done it the same way, but projecting from now to the future?
Well, you could do it that way; and that’s exactly how many people choose to go about it. The problem is, they end up going around in circles. It’s as if they’re just chasing their tails. Day in, day out, they put in all sorts of effort, they try to focus, but nothing seems to happen because they just end up where they began.
The reason for this is they lack purpose. The idea that they have seems so fuzzy because it’s projected into the future. It’s too easy for them to get sucked up by the trials and tribulations of their life in the here and now. In fact, if you ask a lot of people who are working hard for a “future,” many of them simply lack purpose.
They know that they need to make a change, but they don’t know what kind of change or where to begin. They know they want a good future for themselves or “more money” or more opportunities, but they can’t quite put their finger on it.
This lack of clarity and ultimate purpose clouds people’s goal setting activities. They lack a clear view of “why.” It is no surprise that even if they know what to do or how to do it, nothing seems to work. At the very least, they’re settling for mediocrity.
The reason for this is simple – without a clear view of “why,” it wouldn’t matter if you know what to do or how to do it. You must focus on purpose.
Is your purpose strong enough to push you through all the hassles, challenges and setbacks you are bound to encounter?
Is your purpose appealing enough so that you would want to change and overcome your negative mental and emotional habits that get in the way?
That’s how important purpose is, and therefore I taught you to focus on your big objectives in life first. Once again, I know this sounds repetitive, but if you have not spent some time considering your big objectives of life, spend a few minutes now.
Clarify them. Make them as vivid in your mind as possible. Allow them to pump you up and get you excited.
Once you have that bright beacon long into the future or at the farthest end of possibility, you then trace back to where you are now. If you trace back realistically, you create not just a direct logical connection between your objectives and your excitement now, but you also create a map on how to get there.
Figuring Out Your Goals
This backward progression enables you to establish three big things:
- You figure your big objectives. Some people I know have never considered what their big objectives in life could be. As a result, they are just wandering through life without defining their objectives and their purpose.
- You become aware of goals that lead to these big objectives. Defining those big objectives gives you a sense of purpose, but also a long-term outlook for your life.
- You also would be able to break down these goals into sub-goals that you can do in the here and now. In other words, you get a realistic mind map that will enable you to get from Point A to Point B. You get a clear and actionable bridge from how things are, to what you would like them to be.
This is an exercise in your ability to change and impact your material reality. This is not an empty exercise. This is not just intellectual speculation. This is real.
Set Realistic Goals
It is very easy to get taken in by your big objectives. It’s easy to think that somehow, some way, you will come up with the right thing at the right time to impress the right people, so the right things happen in your life. Unfortunately, nobody’s that lucky.
For every mention of the word “right,” there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Many things need to fall into place and to automatically assume these things would just happen simply involves an all-abiding belief in luck. Again, nobody’s that lucky. It’s like asking to be struck by lightning several times at the same spot, at the same time.
The better approach is to look at the goals between your life as it exists now and the ideal life that you see for yourself in the future.
Understand those goals that get you from here to there aren’t just composed of one unchangeable set of goals. There are many alternative goals that provide the stepping stones that enable you to get from here to there.
Since you have a choice of different goals, your job right now is to figure out which goals are the most realistic. How do you wrap your mind around this? How do you make sense of this? Well, very simple. You apply the following five filters.
- You ask yourself whether these goals can be supported by the resources you currently have right now or the resources you can realistically build up. Maybe you can take out a loan, maybe you can get a job, or maybe you can get a second job. Maybe friends and family can help you. Whatever the case may be, don’t just focus on the resources you have right now, but also focus on resources that you realistically can quickly get access to.
- Next, you must filter your goals based on whether they truly fit your personal passion or personality. Now, don’t be disappointed if you’re not currently passionate about something or something doesn’t fit your personality now, you might fall in love with it later. Who knows? You might get used to it. Your mindset might change. If that is a realistic possibility, then your goal can still be realistic.
- The third filter that you need to apply is whether the goal can be broken down into smaller sub-goals. This is crucial to your current situation. If a goal cannot be broken down into smaller parts that can be achieved currently or within a reasonable period with existing or attainable resources, then you have a problem on your hands. Chances are, you’re just hoping and wishing. You’re probably just daydreaming. Do yourself a big favor and make sure that the goals can be broken down into sub-goals that you can act on or implement right here, right now or with minimal changes.
- Next, you must make sure that the goals you are pursuing can be placed on a timeline. You know you have a problem on your hands if the goal obviously will take forever or has no fixed start date. Make sure you can put it on a timeline. Your timeline is not just a set of annoying deadlines, but instead, it’s a measurement of how realistic your goal is.
Many times, the big difference between a realistic and an unrealistic goal is realistic goals can be scheduled. If you show up at the right place at the right time to do the right things, you will achieve your goal. Do that enough times and you get closer and closer to your big objective. If that’s not possible with your goal, you might be looking at something that’s unrealistic.
- Finally, you need to make sure that when picking among alternative goals that take you from where you are now to where you would like to be, these must be measurable in terms of attainment as well as the quality of success. If you feel the achievement of these goals is very easy, and pretty much any effort gets you there, then you might not actually be working with realistic goals. You might be disappointed with the results because it may well turn out that it doesn’t really get you to where you need to go
So, what are you big objectives?
Just some thoughts,
