Top 5 Goal Setting Tips
Be specific in your goals!
Study after study has proven the fact that creating and visualizing specific goals is much more motivating than vague ones. Lose 5 pounds next month is much clearer than” lose some weight”. Also a goal like “Paint the spare room on May 1st” is not only more specific but makes you clear your calendar for that day.
Relate your goals to your amount of self control and your top priorities.
In the book Succeed by Heidi Grant Halvorson she mentions the fact that Barack Obama is having a hard time smoking and Oprah has a hard time staying thin. The point is that we all have only so much self control. Oprah admits that her life is out of balance and that affects her weight. I want to create another web site related to my business and IT expertise but when I get home I’m usually drained. Decide where you will apply your self control because we all run out of steam. Our self control gets tired like a muscle being over trained and then our goals fail. What is your priority in life? What are your main goals? Maybe you can’t do them all.
Shape the world around you to reach your goals!
Our will power and goals are largely driven by our rational and emotional minds. Our rational mind understands the positive effects of healthy eating habits and living a long life. Our emotional mind loves greasy or sweet foods that make us immediately happier during a miserable day. To avoid using the mind shape the world around you. Do not buy sweets or greasy foods and bring them into the house. Have your money automatically go into a retirement account. Make it so you take away as much mind temptation as possible. Shape the world around you.
Your habits rule 90% of your goals.
I eat 2 fruits and a small yogurt at 10:00 in the morning every work day. This is a very healthy snack and allows me to get in my daily fruit and avoid vending machines at work. To do this I shop at a fruit and vegetable market every Sunday morning. These are habits I’ve incorporated into my daily and weekly routines. If you set a life changing goal it will most likely create a life changing habit. Thus, losing weight, saving money, reducing weight or living your dream life will mean changing lifelong habits. Decide what goals will turn into automatic habits and stick to them. Or you will fail over and over. Decide on a couple of mini goals today! They will turn into great lifelong habits.
If you always fail at your goals get your ass kicked hard.
This website provides tools, tips and articles to help you make life changes. But I know from looking at statistics that most of you come in for a few minutes and then leave. I’ve mentioned here that the $4.95 a month deluxe version of My Life Changes is cheaper than a MacDonald’s Happy Meal! And this site has a ton of life changing information! But some of you prefer to pound back more hamburgers or cry in your mountain of debt. It’s hard for me to kick your ass from here. So hire a coach. Why do you think Jillian Michaels of The Biggest Loser or Gordon Ramsey of Hell’s Kitchen are able to motivate people to lose huge amounts of weight or become world class chefs? Because they kick peoples ass and take them out of their comfort zone. They make people realize their toughest goals can be met. Often they make people cry. Are you going to run to MacDonald’s now or cry in your bills again? Or are you going to do something about it? If not, go hire someone to kick you in the ass really hard. You will need it.
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Tags: best goal setting tips, Goal Setting, top 5 list
That is a great idea! Focusing and contemplating on the fact that you won’t do something like eat that cookie or get seconds at dinner will also help.
I like that you use Jillian Michaels because she truly challenges people to push past their comfort zone and she calls people out when they are giving up or aren’t giving 100%. Gordon Ramsey, however, is condescending and rude. He doesn’t motivate people, he just puts them down. He uses their culinary mistakes to insult them as a human being. It’s a far less effective and very inefficient way of motvating people to improve.