Why Do You Set Goals?

Success Tweet: List the reasons for each goal you set for yourself. These reasons will come in handy when you get tired and frustrated.

Why Do You Set Goals?

Here are Denis Waitley’s ideas on goal achievement.

1. Your goals need to be clear.
2. Your goals need to be written.
3. Your need to focus on your goals several times a day.
4. You need to visualize yourself achieving your goals.

Listing the reasons for your goals can help you with visualization. This is turn will help you when you get tired and frustrated. Tweet 14 of my FREE e-book, Sucesss Tweets, says, “Don’t visualize the pain of failure, visualize the euphoria of success.” Achieving a goal should be a euphoric experience. If not, you probably didn’t set a high enough goal. If you want a job with a specific company, list the reasons why you want to work for that company then visualize yourself showing up at work the first day and entering your new office. If you want a promotion, list the reasons you want it and then visualize yourself reading the congratulatory e-mails from your friends when they read the announcement of your promotion. If you want to start your own business, list the reasons for starting a business and then visualize yourself depositing your first check. If you want to marry the woman (or man) of your dreams, list the reasons you want to marry that particular person and then visualize yourself on your wedding day and honeymoon. Listing the reasons for each of your goals and then creating a vivid mental image of the euphoria you’ll feel when you accomplish them is a great way to keep you going when you are struggling with a goal. I used to work for Marathon Oil Company. My job with Marathon was my first business job. Prior to that, I had been working in government. I met my future Marathon boss at an ASTD convention in Atlanta. He invited me to company headquarters to interview. I arrived there the night before I was scheduled to have a full day of interviews. I had the names and titles of the people with whom I would interview. I had one big reason for wanting this job – it was my ticket to a career in business, a stepping stone to creating my own business one day. That night, before I went to bed, I visualized myself on my first day of work there. I also visualized (and rehearsed) what I would say to each of the people with whom I would interview the next day. This visualization and rehearsal helped me relax during the interviews. I kept the image of me on my first day at work for Marathon in mind as I interviewed. I got the job. I was euphoric. Many of the naysayers in my life told me that, since I had worked in government for five years after college, I would be unlikely to get a job in business. I proved them wrong – because of my very important reason for wanting the job, my visualization of my success and because of my preparation. I knew more about Marathon Oil Company than many of the people who interviewed me. These days, I visualize myself as a successful Internet entrepreneur. I work in my home office, creating new information products that I sell on line. I see big numbers in my PayPal account. My reason is simple. I want to spend more time at home with Cathy and doing all of the things I like to do in beautiful Colorado. I want to spend less time on planes and in hotels. What are your reasons for each of your goals that will lead to your career success? Are they really important to you? Do you have a clear vision of you achieving these goals? Are these mental images sharp, clear and vivid – or are they fuzzy and out of focus? If it’s the latter, sharpen them up. Create a really vivid mental image of you achieving each of the goals you’ve set for yourself. Use the reasons for setting these goals in the first place as a place to start. As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts and in several of my career success coach books, visualization isn’t daydreaming. It’s important work that will help you become the life and career success you deserve to be. The common sense career success coach point is simple. Successful people follow the career advice in Tweet 25 in Success Tweets, “List the reasons you set for each goal you set for yourself. These reasons will come in handy when you get tired and frustrated.” As a career success coach, I’m here to tell you that you will get frustrated as you pursue your goals. Your reasons for each goal will help you better visualize the euphoria of achieving it. If you can vividly imagine the euphoria associated with achieving your life and career goals, you’ll be well on your way to achieving them. Visualization makes it easier to do the work when things are not going well. The reasons for each of your goals helps you create clear and vivid images of you as a success. Photo Credit: Shutterstock