GOAL ACHIEVEMENT

Hi All,
The new year is almost upon us, and I would like to help each of you move towards achieving your goals, as I work on achieving mine. There are lots of goal setting methods, but I have developed a different route based upon creating good habits that has worked very well for me and others I have shared this with. Here is a brief outline- please let me know if you have any questions.

GOAL ACHIEVEMENT
New Type Of Goal Setting – Set Habitual Goals, not just destination goals. Set goals to develop certain habits. Good habits will take you to your goals with ease.

GOALS -
1- Martial Arts

2- Life (Work, relationships, fitness, diet, etc.)

MODEL – Think of or research someone who has achieved the goal you seek and find out what they did to become successful. This will serve as a blueprint for your plan. Write down the person you wish to emulate, along with his or her methods for goal achievement.

PLAN – What steps must you take to reach your goal? What steps did your role model take? What kind of study or preparation do you need to engage in? Write them down and make a roadmap that will take you to your goals.

HABITS - Now that you know what must be done to reach the goal, determine what habits you need to develop in order to reach your goal. Successful people have developed habits that they use to continue down the road of success. You will first need conscious will power to perform these new actions, but with practice these new actions will turn in to habits that run automatically. This way, you will stay on the path without relying upon willpower to guide you.

CYCLICAL GOALS – Often, your goals may seem very, very far away. Instead of looking so far in the future, determine what your habitual goals must be for each week. These can be checked at the end of each week, and then you can make adjustments in order to reach those goals each week. For example, your goal may be to come to class twice per week, and to practice at home two more times per week. If you are having trouble with the home training, you may adjust the time of your workout, get a partner to train with, change the location to a local gym, etc. Do what you must to reach those cyclical goals. Having the weekly habitual goal will allow you to assess your progress often, and make adjustments quickly. And, if you stray back into old bad habits, you will get to make a fresh start with the new week.

DEADLINE- Set a deadline for achieving your goal. Sports teams don’t just keep playing round-robin year in and year out. They have a season where they are focused on reaching a goal (a championship) in a certain amount of time. Do the same by setting a season for the accomplishment of your goal, then work towards it every day.

MOTIVATION – The word “motivation” is related to the word “motive” which means “reason”. If you want to feel motivated to create new habits, you must first have a very good reason for reaching that goal. Determine what you will get when you achieve your goal, and what you will lose if you don’t.

POSITIVE SELF TALK – Most people have negative phrases that run in their heads all day long which kill motivation and stifle our dreams. We often don’t even notice that they are there because they have been running for so long. It is imperative to re-program your self-talk, because negative self-talk will lead to discouragement, which leads to quitting. Only you can say, “I quit”, and you will never get there if you can remain in a state opposite of discouraged- “couraged”!
First, check your mind to see what it is saying to you that holds you back from reaching your goals. Phrases like “I will never be able to do it”, or “I am a failure”, “I’m not good enough” were placed in your head by others a long time ago. But you can reprogram yourself. When you notice those old negative phrases popping up in your head, state your new positive phrase and overwrite the old programming. Each time you hear that voice, say “no”! Then give yourself some positive self-talk, such as, “I am doing it!”, “I am succeeding!”, or “I am more than good enough!” Write these down and say them often.

MAKE IT FUN! – The more fun the steps to achieving your goals are, the easier it will be to put in the necessary effort. Don’t go extra hard at first. Whether your goal is to run a marathon, get stronger, write a book, or pass a JKDU test, use the concept of Progressive Resistance to ease yourself into it. Keep it fun, and you will look forward to each leg of the hike.

So, set your goals, model someone who has already achieved what you wish to achieve, make a plan, determine what habits you need in order to do what your role model has done, set those cyclical goals, give yourself a deadline, and remind yourself of your reason to achieve your goals to maintain motivation, and keep it fun. Your goal is within reach!
Burton Richardson