Copyright (c) 2009 Michael A Jones

Is a goal setting theory that is easy to comprehend and employ and which produces spectacular results just an elusive dream? Thankfully no. Although we may be forgiven for thinking so in view of the wealth of information available on goal setting, some of which makes it appear unnecessarily complicated. Perhaps that explains why many who set goals also fail to get results as they drop by the wayside.

Here are two goal setting theory approaches. You can pick the best out of each or use the approach that suits your personality and style. They can be summarized as follows:

Goal Setting Theory 1: You don’t need to know how you are going to reach your goal, just set the goal and keep it in front of you.

Goal Setting Theory 2: To achieve your goal you need a specific detailed definition of what you want to achieve and a step by step plan on how to get there.

Let’s explore these two aspects of goal setting theory.

Jack Black, a popular motivational speaker in the UK, used a catch phrase “Don’t ask how!”. His view was, by asking “how”, you kill the goal right there. Perhaps the goal seems totally unrealistic given a person’s circumstances in life. If a person born in poverty with no connections in life dreamed of being a famous actor, those around them might naturally ask “How?”.

Yet there are many life stories of individuals born in very difficult circumstances, with it seems, everything set against them in life, who hold on to a dream, and eventually get there! They don’t ask “How?” because, if they did, the desire and the goal would die. They just keep it in the front of their mind day in day out, year in year out, and they get there.

RAS (Reticular Activating System) has a role in this. Here is a definition of RAS: “the network in the reticular formation that serves an alerting or arousal function”. It describes a particular way the brain works. Have you ever had the experience of wanting a particular automobile? You have in mind an exact model, color, specific extras etc. that you would like. You can just see yourself driving it. Then, within a short time, you start seeing this exact vehicle all over the place. Why? Because your brain is filtering information and as you have alerted it to a specific object, you now begin to notice it whereas before it was there but you didn’t pay any attention to it.

This really is the secret behind goal setting theory that says, “Don’t ask how”. By keeping the goal in the front of the mind, reminding oneself of it daily, constantly thinking about it, dreaming about it, you are training your brain to identify opportunities and the means or tools needed to get to that goal. They were there all the time, but the brain now filters information in such a way that they now leap out at you.

Goal setting theory number 2 some would say is much more realistic. You set an attainable goal. You craft a carefully worded ‘mission statement’ of what you want to accomplish. You research, find out the resources you will need. You identify pitfalls and things to avoid. You make a plan. You then take action on the plan. You break the goal setting exercise into bite size pieces. You set time limits on each section, etc. etc.

Perhaps some are put off with this approach. After all, it does sound like hard work. You might well be exhausted before you even start! However, many high performers in business, in sports, and other areas of life, have used this kind of formula and achieved outstanding results.

Aristotle is quoted as saying: “Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.”

So the choice is up to you. Perhaps you can combine the main concept of approach number 1 and allow your brain to filter the information you need naturally, with a basic framework suggested in approach number 2.

Maybe goal setting theory number one appeals to your temperament while goal setting theory number two doesn’t have any appeal at all. Or it could be the other way round. Whatever your viewpoint, do set goals! There is no doubt they are an essential ingredient in high achievement and satisfaction in life!

The literature, which supports the effectiveness of proper goal setting, is overwhelming. I must emphasize however the words ‘proper goal setting.’ The small percentage of people who do set goals, do so incorrectly which is why over half of people who make New Year’s Resolutions abandoned them after three months. One of the biggest problems for people in the goal setting process is that they fail to set measurable goals. Take for example the following list of some of the most popular goals set by people.

• Spend more time with family.

• Get in shape

• Have more fun

Proper Goal Setting requires your goals to be measurable.

These are all great ideas but they are not goals. Remember when you went to the family reunion and someone had set up the volleyball net. Slowly more and more people made their way over to the court while you rallied and played around. After a period of time, rallying gets boring an inevitably someone says, “let’s play for real.” Suddenly the game changes. Now you have people getting in their ready stance, positioning becomes important, people start diving for balls and arguing whose ball that was that just landed in between them. What changed to make people behave differently? The ball is the same, the court is the same, even the people are the same. What changed was the fact that now you are measuring. Now as you count points, effort matters. At the end of the game there will be a winner and a loser.

The principle is true for all areas of life. If you really want to change something then you must measure it. Another way to look at this is whatever you measure, you focus on, and what you focus on you change. When you engage in goal setting, you have to set goals that can be measured.

Lets take a look again at the goal ‘Spend more time with family.’ How are we going to measure this? How will we know when we have reached the desired amount of time to deem ’successful’? We need to break this down and ask ourselves, what does this goal look like? I once had a goal setting session where I set a goal resembling ‘Spend more time with family.’ My family helped me out by defining it for me. This is what they said:

• Stay off the computer between 5:00pm and 8:00pm

• Take my wife on a date every other week.

• Once a week have a one-on-one with one of the kids.

Now I had something I could measure. At the end of a few months I could even give you a percentage of how I had done. My family was not looking for perfection here but improvement. If I could show my family that 80% of the time I had done what they had asked, they would certainly determine that to be successful. My family really helped me out that day in my goal setting process.

What about the goal ‘Get in shape’ what does that look like? Last I checked ’round’ was a shape but I don’t think that’s the shape you are talking about. If this is one of your goals you have to break this down into something you can measure. Is it a certain weight you want to reach, inches you want to lose, a cholesterol number you want to get to, a blood pressure reading you want to lower? After you have defined what ‘Shape’ is then you have to set some measurable goals that are going to get you there. They might be things like exercise for 45 minutes three times a week, or stick to my meal plan everyday, or cut out all junk food. Make sure you goal setting is as practical as possible.

Now let’s take a look at the last goal to ‘Have more fun.’ Again, how will you know when you have reached this? Last time I checked there was no such thing as a Fun-Meter, which you could hook yourself up to and get a reading. First of all what activities are fun for you? Once you determine that then do some goal setting to motivate you to do those activities more often. Lets say hanging out with friends is what really gets you jazzed, then set some goals for times with friends every month. You might want to set aside two Saturdays each month for entertaining guests and designate one weeknight as movie night where you go and check out the latest movies. Goal setting in the areas of things like time with friends may seem a bit weird, but if it helps you build some new habits, it is worth it.

The secret is to make your goals measurable otherwise they are not really goals at all but rather good intentions. But if you take the time to find a way to measure your goals and create the supporting steps to help get you there, in no time at all you will experience incredible success in your life. Remember that your goal setting must be measurable.

Personal Development teachers and Self Improvement gurus have constantly told you that if you want to create joy, abundance and success in your life yu must first change your beliefs. They tell you that in order to achieve the same level of success as the high-achievers you must also be willing to take some form of action no matter how small it is. But how do you motivate yourself to take action when your whole world seems to be telling you that you can never achieve your goals?

There is only one way!

Change your beliefs – This is real Personal Development Power!

The greatest of Self Improvement teachers tell you that in order to achieve success and have the ability to take action you must first alter your beliefs. But why is this and how can you do it?

Well, our beliefs are merely a set of thoughts that you have about a given subject. They do not need to be, and usually aren’t, based of any real hard facts. Did you know that there are many psychological studies that show the views people have about themselves are wrong. Most people tend to be very hard on themselves and rarely give themselves creadit for their achievements or recognize their own strengths. If you are a normal human beiing then you are doing exactly the same thing!

Since thought always precedes action, it is imperative to change your disempowering, self-defeating destructive beliefs to empowering ones that will create drive, confidence, faith and, ultimately, success!

By changing your beliefs your core thoughts will change and thus your actions will be completely different than they have been before and in alignment with your desires. I can give you 3 simple, yet highly effective, steps which you can start to use immediately to change your beliefs and your life. They only require a small amount of effort but you do need a lot of persistence to keep following them! Remember its all about taking action.

Step 1. Learn to recognize your emotional responses and you will learn to control your thoughts.

When you begin to watch your emotions you will learn to control your thoughts. Our emotions are just a by-product of the thoughts we are thinking. When you think a sad thought you get sad and when you think a happy thought you feel happy. Although to many people this sounds overly simply YOU must realize that there is great wisodm and huge rewards that come from watching your feelings.

When you feel bad it means you are thinking about the things you do not want. When you are experiencing joyful happy emotions it is a clear indication that your thoughts are in the same direction as your goals and desires. Feeling good means you are focusing on the things in life that you really want! Teach yourself to be aware of your emotional state. By watching how you feel you can easily regulate your thoughts.

Make the decision now to watch how you are feeling, especially when you are concentrated on your goals and desires. When you feel bad and are experiencing negative emotions it is a sign that your thinking is in the wrong direction. Feeling bad is an indication that you are focused on the things in life that you do not want. If you are feeling good then you are focused on the benefits of actually having what you want. You always get more of what you focus on even quantum physics is now telling us this!

So, use your emotions to gauge how you are feeling and if you are feeling bad then begin immediately to change your thoughts to the opposite. Focus on what you want until you begin to feel good. Through persistence you will thus condition yourself for success.

Step2. Let Go!

Don’t try to force the issue by trying to work out every little detail of how you are going to achieve your desires. Just by focusing on them you set in motion powerful forces that will bring people, situations and circumstances that will open up opportunities for achieve what you want.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a plan of action. In fact this is very desirable. Just don’t get so caught up in the plan that you lose sight of the goal.

Learn to have an optimistic yet detached view. By grabbing and trying to force every situation in your favour you merely cause yourself frustration. This will mean you never enjoy the journey towards success but more than that it means you are focusing on the lack of your desire. You always get more of what you focus on!

Step 3. Take action!

Being flexible and allowing the Universe to show you the way towards your goals and desires is definitely the best way to achieve success.

It is necessary, however, for you to take some action or at least be willing to take some. Take one step forward and the Universe will take ten steps to meet you!

The whole point of changing your beliefs is so that your thoughts change and thus your actions change also. If you take action, even tiny baby steps, towards your desires and goals you have already ensured that you will eventually reach them.

If you want to walk from LA to New York you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer hugeness of the goal. However, if you walk 5 miles every day within a week you will be 35 miles closer to your goal. It may take you almost a year and a half to reach your destination but it is possible when you break the goal down and take some action! When you are willing to take action you will find that strange things begin to happen. You may just find that the Universe sends a Porsche to give you a lift! – “The journey of a thousands miles begins with a single step”, Chinese proverb.

If you diligently follow the 3 steps I have outlined I promise you that your life will be transformed and your dreams will be fulfilled in ways that will amaze you.

Everyone has at least one goal in their lives, one thing we want to obtain or to achieve. The only problem is if we reach our goal. There may be many reasons why we are held back, deviated from our path but the main obstacle that lies in front of us is ourselves.

Along out path there may be many things that could influence the outcome of our journey. The most important thing to any personal development goal is to keep your mind on the result and anything that comes between you and your goal should be overcome or went around.

Keeping this in mind, there are a few things you should do in order to get closer to success. The goals you set for yourself should be practical and reachable and not start thinking about how it would be to own a small island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Once the results are set, the problem is the journey to that point. The road to any personal development success is bound to be full of obstacles and challenges. Remember to keep focused on the outcome and not the stumbles along the way.

If one thing is true is this: what doesnâ??t kill us makes us stronger. Keeping this in your thoughts let the troubles begin. If there are more troubles along the way, but you still achieve your personal development goals, the taste of victory will be that much sweeter.

What you need in order to overcome those obstacles is self confidence. Be aware that you can overcome anything and if you approach every challenge with this way of thinking, your personal development journey should really be a synch.

Something that can boost your self confidence is remembering your successes. Because of this, you should keep track of what you achieve, even if those things may be almost meaningless to anyone else. Letâ??s talk about a practical situation to make things clearer.

Since this is the age of information, we should talk about computers. Letâ??s say you are a computer games enthusiast and you want to have a high performance piece of equipment in your living room. Here are a few pc tips to make the purchase process easier.

Contrary to common belief, it is not the hardware that is used most in a computer, but the software. You may have the most advanced computer available on the market today, but if you do not have any software to run on it, that thing is the same as furniture and all you can do is look at it.

Consider this as one of the most valuable pc tips of all. Do a little research about the software you want to run on your computer and the requirements that need to be met. Different software programs may have similar requirements and to meet them all you need to know what you need.

If you want more pc tips on what to look for in a computer, pc tips regarding the maintenance of your hardware, personal development tips for achieving your goals or just a few guidelines concerning life in general be sure to visit girishk.com.