This week I have been setting goals for my business and whilst doing this I was listening to the radio station “Absolute Radio.”

The DJ - Simon O’Connell was talking about how his Dad, who was clearing out the attic, had found a list of goals that Simon had set for himself at 10 years old. Simon’s goal was to achieve everything on the list before he turned 40.

Now, as his 40th birthday is fast approaching a radio featured was created for the show, whereby he attempts to complete the goals before his birthday that he had not yet completed. He had achieved many of them but some that are left over are:

• Play Subbuteo with Bryan Robson (Ex Manchester United and England Football legend)
• Go on a date with Molly Ringwald (star of teen film Sixteen Candles)
• Have a day off school like Ferris Beullar (coming of age film starring a very young Matthew Broderick)
• Be the BMX World champion
• “Kick in” Darth Vader

It made me smile because it took me back to when I was a kid and all the dreams I had - be a Pilot, a Fireman, a Ninja, etc. Simon was fortunate that he wrote down the goals that he wanted to achieve and has been lucky enough to discover this list and take stock of his progress. The great thing about goal setting is, by knowing what you want, and being prepared to take small but consistent steps towards it, all kinds of resources jump out at you! In this DJ’s case the fact he has a breakfast show with millions of listener’s means that he was able to arrange to play Subbuteo with Bryan Robson the other day!

The other thing about goal setting is they become far more effective and real if you write them down. It is certainly worth making a list of all the things you want to achieve somewhere, maybe in a journal. If your goal is only in your head, then it’s only a dream… Commit it to paper and it becomes a goal. When you were a kid you would have dreams and not nessecarily consciously set goals. Your dreams were in the form of “when I grow up I am going to be a Footballer, or a Singer” etc. Then you would imagine what it would be like. You may of day dreamed about scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup, being on Top of the Pops and at the time, those dreams probably felt very real.

If you have grown up and have not achieved those dreams, it’s never too late to start! You still have that imagination and you have all the resources you need to achieve realistic and well-formed goals!

They may not be the same dreams you had as a kid and that’s OK! Things change and what was important to you then, may not be so important now. It is important not to dismiss the possibility of achieving goals right away, before you even start. It is common that when people think about doing something that they focus immediately on the obstacles, or have others point out obstacles. However, what is not realistic right now, may very well be realistic in a year or two – maybe you want to travel, swim with dolphins, buy a nice car or buy a house. Whatever it is, these 3 tips will help you:

  1. Aim high, but don’t be scared to miss, as sometimes just going for that goal with enough conviction can open up limitless opportunities that you would not have got, had you not been going for your goal.
  2. Always set goals in terms of what you want, not what you don’t want e.g. “I want to get promoted”, not “I don’t want to stay in my job” This is because an “I want goal, is far more powerful to our unconscious mind, than an “I don’t want” goal
  3. Know how you will know, you have achieved it. What will that be like once you have done it? What will you see? How will you feel? What will you hear? This is a very important step as it tells your unconscious mind what to look out for and what achieving it might feel like. It plants the seed that it is a good thing and this means it will help you get there!

 

In this way, you are making your chance to achieve your goals far more likely now that the end result is well formed. Why not write down 3 goals that you would like to achieve? Something that you dream about, maybe something you have never told anyone? Go for it, don’t be afraid of goals, there is no failure, only feedback and you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Good luck!