Royane Real

  

You can call me an expert in the topic of setting and achieving goals.

 

I’m an expert on goal setting and achievement in the sense that I usually do everything wrong.  I have to admit, getting motivated and staying motivated is a serious problem for me, and I don’t really know why.  I have been struggling with this issue for most of my lifetime.

 

For some reason, I find it very difficult to focus and maintain motivation on anything I need to do, yet I can stay obsessively focused on things that I don’t need to do, and that don’t really get me anywhere.  I don’t know whether my lack of focus is a form of laziness, or just bad habits that I developed, or the result of too much stress.

 

But the, bottom line is that focus and motivation is naturally difficult for me.  Goal setting and accomplishment is difficult for me.

 

That is why I am always on the lookout for books, articles and tapes that can help improve my ability to set and achieve my goals.

 

This article by Steve Gillman has a lot of useful information packed into one place that can help with the goal setting process.  In this article Steve Gillman provides a valuable service in clearly describing what’s really important in goal setting and what isn’t.

 

You can read many books on the topic of achieving success in your goals, and you probably won’t get any clearer a definition of what you have to do to accomplish your goals than what you get summed up in this article.

 

He explains very clearly that goal setting doesn’t always work.  It’s always easy to stay focused on doing the things you like to do and it isn’t always easy to stay focused on the things you need to do.  We have motivations that point us in one direction, but it’s not always the direction that we need to go.

 

Why does that happen?  One reason is that many of us are very focused on short term rewards and pleasures.  Sometimes that means we are only focused on what will make us feel good in the next five minutes.

 

That is why it can be very hard for addicts to quit their addictions.  They get so focused on how they can make the next five minutes more pleasurable for themselves, but they can’t really focus on what they need to do for the next five years to make their life work better.

 

If you have a hard time accomplishing your long term goals for your life because you're always distracted by what you want to do in the next five minutes, you have to start thinking seriously about what your real, deepest, long term values for your life are.

 

You’ll have to constantly remind yourself of what your long term values are, and you’ll have to remind yourself over and over again.  Maybe you’ll have to remind yourself every five minutes.

 

( The above introductory comments were written by Royane Real, author of How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative Learn how you can improve your memory and your intelligence.  Download it at  http://www.lulu.com/real  ) 

 

  

 

Setting goals sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Why is that? What makes it an effective practice, and when does it fail? It's all about how you do it, and later in this article you'll find six or seven tips on how to properly set goals. But first let’s take a deeper look at the "motivation factor."

 

A teenager might have a goal to be the best among his peers at playing some video game, and even if he knows nothing about setting goals he can succeed. Why? Because all he probably needs to do is what he loves - play the game a lot. That shows the motivating power of doing what we enjoy. In fact, it has been said that we all have plenty of motivation, just not necessarily where and when we want it. That's a key to this secret of successful goals.

 

Now, a goal to be a successful painter or businessman probably needs to be a bit more structured. Even if you love art or love business, there will be parts of the process that are not so much fun. A painter can't very often just paint. He needs to find galleries to display his paintings, and that means "selling" his vision to other people, which might not thrill him. A business woman needs to do a whole range of things, some more inspiring than others.

 

Building your goals on things that you are passionate about is a great start, then, because there is a certain amount of inherent motivation that keeps you going. But you also have to do those necessary things that don't necessarily excite you. There are two approaches to this

 

First, you can delegate such tasks or sub-goals as much as possible. If you want to invest in rental real estate but you hate dealing with tenants, you could hire a management company. If you want to be a great writer, but aren't thrilled about talking to publishers, try to find an agent.

 

Of course, you won't always be able to delegate distasteful tasks, and even the process of finding such help can be less than exciting. That leads us to the most important way to stay motivated to accomplish your goals.

 

Make goals based on your true values, then see and feel all the necessary steps as inseparable parts of the process. In other words, start with what is truly important to you, and don't pretend that the necessary steps are separate from that goal.

 

Don't pursue money for its own sake if all you want it for is to travel or have the time to write. Start traveling or writing! And if that requires making some money, see that as part of the goal, not as an unpleasant task that you wish you could avoid.

 

Look, if a boy doesn't want to feed a dog and clean the messes in the yard, does he really want a dog? Or does he just like his "idea" of having one? His idea might not include any of the work involved. If you really don't want what is required, do you really want the outcome? Is it a true goal or just a wish?

 

Start with real values, see the real costs and work involved in various options, and if you still want that goal, pursue it as an integrated process.

 

A runner can't win a race without running, and if you see the necessary steps as just that - absolutely necessary - you aren't tempted to resist them.

 

We put gas in the car not because it's fun, but because we see the necessity clearly. Similarly, we can find the motivation necessary for any goal if we don't allow any mental pretenses. If the goal is truly important and the task truly necessary - and we see this - we act.

 

Now here are those tips or "rules" for setting goals effectively:

The latter is important to proper goal setting and accomplishment. Once you have a target that inspires you, take any small step in the right direction. This creates a kind of momentum in your mind and in the process.

About the Author

Copyright Steve Gillman. For Free Self Improvement Courses, and to get the free Self Help Weekly Newsletter, visit: http://www.selfimprovementnow.com

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