Goal Setter and Goal Getter

Here we are again, another year complete and another beginning, bringing with it all the opportunities that life offers. Will you notice them, or immerse yourself in a virtual world of other people’s lives and beliefs and let them pass you by? Now is the time to look away from the virtual social world and give your own thoughts space to express themselves. Take time to reflect on the year past and look forward to the year ahead. As you anticipate the dawning of the new year, you often resolve to change something, a promise to yourself that will make next year even better than the last. You will take more exercise, get the body image that you want, take a training, learn something new, meet someone new, get that dream house, get that dream job.

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This raises a very important question. Have you ever really followed through on a New Year’s Resolution? I mean, really followed through with it and made it work long term?

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You often begin the New Year filled with motivation and good intentions and then the enthusiasm fades and you go back to the way you were before you resolved to change. Why is this? The simple answer is that the motivation to see through the New Year’s Resolution was never really there. There was nothing compelling for the unconscious mind to act upon and so it quickly put you back into your habitual mode of operation. So, this year, don’t resolve to do it, learn how to do it and then take action to do it! Anyone who has taken an Enhanced NLP Coach Practitioner Certification Training knows the specifics of great goal setting that gets real world results, rapidly and effectively. How to hit your targets with precision strikes.

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So, how does goal setting really work? Well, when the unconscious mind becomes focussed upon a compelling future, it naturally produces the behaviour necessary to support the realisation of that future, causing it to happen. So, you don’t need resolutions, you need well-formed goals which will take you into 2024 with your motivation running on turbo boost.

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Now here’s the thing, it’s crucial for your unconscious mind that you provide clear direction in terms of your focus so that it can produce the best behaviour for you to manifest your goals. The key is to focus on what you want, rather than what you don’t want. Remember, energy flows where attention goes, so be careful to put your attention firmly onto what you want. Your conscious mind is the goal setter and your unconscious mind is the goal getter.

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The process of goal writing is deeply satisfying and extremely powerful, when you are clear about what it is specifically you want to achieve. In NLP we ask ourselves a set of simple questions to ignite our thinking and add clarity and energy to our thoughts and desires for the future. What happens if you don’t know what you want?

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NLP offers you a simple question set which will lead you towards creating a well-formed goal. These simple questions will initiate deep reflection and move your thinking from your problem-based state or present state, to a desired state and in the process offers you a rich and detailed representation of what it is you want.

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Firstly, take a sheet of paper and write down your thoughts on these questions:

1. What do you have now that you no longer want in your life?

2. What do you want to stop or change being/having/doing?

3. Look at the two lists that you have written. Now ask yourself what is the exact opposite of all those things? Write down your thoughts.

4. Now you have a list of what you want!

5. Consider what you have now and what you will need to create what you want.

6. Is there anyone you can model that has done these things already? Write down their characteristics.

7. What do you already have and what can you do more of to hit your targets?

8. Set yourself a time frame for achieving your goals.

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Remember, you are in charge of you and there is always a way.

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The process of goal setting will allow you to bring your future desires into sharp focus. You can then write them down. Physically writing your goals is a great idea as it provides ‘muscle memory’ for your goals and really brings them to life. Remember, a goal that is in your head is still just a dream.

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It often helps with the clarity of your goals if you contextualise them. Reflect on all the areas of your life, for example, career, relationships, health and wellbeing, personal development, spirituality and family, then select the areas that could do with some fabulous changes. Choose one and complete the process of generating the goal before you move on to the next. When writing your goal with pen and paper, be really specific and include the finest of details. Include information from all your senses; what will it look, sound, feel, smell, taste like when you have achieved your most desired goals? A well written goal should make your heart race, the hairs stand up on your arm and energy rush through your body. This is motivation that will last!

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Remember the most important element in achieving your goals. ALWAYS FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT, be specific and then do something about it! Action takers are future makers.