What am I talking about? Goals and Danger - those two words don't usually come hand in hand. Let me explain to you why Goal Setting can be very dangerous.
Consider what people feel are important in the end.
How many people do you think would wish they had attended more meetings or worked more hours?
There are a few problems with the way people commonly set goals:
They don't know what they really want
The problem that often occurs though is that they may achieve the goals they set but when they get there they realize they still are not fulfilled/satisfied/happy or that they are bankrupt in areas where they did not set goals.
What's the secret ingredient you need to successfully set goals - VALUES.
You must first determine what is really important to you
Having a lot of money?
Good health?
Accumulating Possessions to Impress People?
Having Leisure/Family Time?
Spiritual Depth?
What do you really want to have? what kind of life do you really want to live?
To get what you want - you must know what you want - the second thing is be able to enjoy it when you get what you want.
What is important now?What will be important in your life?
What do you really want to have?
What do you really want to do?
What do you really want to accomplish?
What do you really want to be?
Why don't you write out some answers to those right now?
But there can be a problem
Our values are often preconditioned by various factors:
It's often the case that people absorb values from others and their environment. How many kids in US are urged to become doctors and lawyers for instance.
Make sure it is really what you want not preconditioned thinking. Let me tell you about CBS (no not the TV Show) - It stands for Core Belief System. It is said that 50% of your CBS is established by time you are 5 years old (how many goals did you set before age 5?), 85% of your CBS in place by time you are 18.
Here's the kicker though - 95% of decisions you make are automatic responses to your belief system. Only 5% you really think about. That's ok if belief system is right - what if your belief system isn't right?
Look at what you wrote down - are you really writing down what you want or acting out preconditioned thinking - what others say you should do or be...
J. Paul Getty was the most "successful" man of his generation. He was worth billions of dollars at a time when a dollar was worth at least two or three times what it is today. Yet he had a failed marriage, was often lonely and frustrated, and has been widely reported to have said: "I would give up all the money I have ever made if I could just have one happy marriage!"
Here's a question you can ask yourself to help establish your true values"If I knew that I could do anything and knew that I could not fail - would I still put down the same things?"
Let's take a look at a story about wrong values -
Man has a terrible crash - as he is being wheeled into the ambulance he looks back at his car and exclaims "My Mercedes, My beautiful Mercedes - it'll never be the same". The ambulance man replies - "Sir, that's not your problem look down there". The man looks down and sees his severed arm and cries out "My Rolex, My Rolex - Please not my Rolex"
Important to remember when setting goals the difference between goals and objectives (an objective gives you direction). I want to make more money/want to be rich- that's not a goal that's an objective.
How important is it to set goals?
In a landmark study done on the Yale graduating class of 1953, it was discovered that only 3% of the graduating class that year had established career goals. When the class was surveyed 20 years later, the 3% that had established goals had amassed personal net worth's that surpassed the other 97% COMBINED!
Goal setting gives you focus. Like magnets - attract things to help you make your dreams come true.
Write Goals for 5 areas of life
1. Career/Professional/Financial Goals
CAUTION: This is where many people make mistake when goal setting and why it can be so dangerous - most people write career and financial and possession goals - and if you only write goals in those - it is entirely possible you will accomplish those and be bankrupt in other areas of your life. Goals give you focus and determine what you release your time to. If you only set goals in one area of your life
2. Marriage/Family Goals - do you want to be a millionaire and single?, How much marriage time do you want with your partner (going out for a meal...), what about vacations together, fun times...
3. Social/Relationship Goals - Some complain they have no friends but have never set a goal to obtain friends e.g. 5 close friends in a year
4. Personal Goals - how long do you want to live, what health do you want?, how do you want to look?
5. Spiritual Goals - How long in meditation and prayer? leading people to your religion, helping people out, visualization
If you haven't set yourself goals for 2005 why not sit down and brainstorm your goals based on the values that you have identified as important to you. Would you like to be like those 3% of the graduates who amassed more than the wealth of the other 97% put together?
Paul T Cowen is a Full-Time Internet Marketer who aims to help people excel in their Lives and Businesses. If you've enjoyed this article please visit http://ezine-signup.onestopnettraffic.com/ and claim over 100 hours of audio and over 5000 pages of transcripts
