TURN YOUR DREAMS INTO REALITY
If you want to have, be, and do things that you aren’t doing, you need to set goals. Everybody should have both personal and professional goals.
One reason many people don’t get what they want is that they don’t turn their wants into a set of specific goals. If you don’t turn them into goals, then they are just a wish list.
There are three reasons to set goals:
Number 1. When you set a goal you are making a declaration of what you want. You can’t get what you want if you aren’t crystal clear what it is that you want. Just thinking about a wish doesn’t get you there.
Number 2. A goal is an outcome that you want. Having a goal keeps you focused on that outcome. It also creates a gap between what you have now and what you want. . That gap creates some stress and that stress is motivation to close the gap and reach the goal.
For example, let’s say I want to lose 10 pounds this year. The gap is the difference between what I weigh now and my goal. Each time that I step on the scale and haven’t lost 10 pounds, that stress motivates me to keep working on my goal.
Number 3. As scientists now know the human brain is goal seeking. We take in millions of images, sounds, messages and thoughts daily. We cannot possibly process everything; nor do we need to. Our brains have a filtering system called the Reticular Activating System that filters out the stuff we don’t need.
Goals give your filtering system a crystal clear image of what you want. Your brain’s filter then starts working day and night to let stuff in that it didn’t before. You will start seeing opportunities, get ideas, meet people that you didn’t before.
Experts recommend that you work on no more than three goals at a time. Make goal setting a habit and one-by-one you will see your dreams come true.
What is an area of your life where you would like to be more successful?