GOALS

Or take your time, plan, then move forward step by step.

This chapter is about goals and finding a way to reach them. Everyone has goals. That’s a good thing, necessary even. Imagine, everyone would be happy with the now. Humans would have always been complacent with the present state. Everyone that came before us would have been just okay with how and where they are. Time for some stoner-thoughts. Without goals…

• Would we still be single-celled?

• Would we still have to bang on stones to spark a fire?

• What’s for dinner? Berries.

Goals are a good thing, otherwise no one would want more. Therefore humanity would not be where it is now. You would not have a comfortable bed and no coffee maker. Imagine waking up after a short night on the floor. After you cracked your bones, there would be no cup of coffee to start the system. Unthinkable.

Having goals, being dissatisfied, wanting more is not bad.It only becomes problematic when one desperately wants and wants to, but is too scared to do.If only I is pretty much the worst sentence ever, no matter how it ends, right? I can think of a lot of If-only-I-scenarios. How about you? Oh well. All the missed opportunities are gone, let’s not dwell on them. We should be forward.The beauty of life is that a new opportunity always arises.

When can you achieve a goal? For example now … and now …. and again.

It may be obvious to you, but I have to remind myself: The goals we set can only be achieved if we give it a try. The people who achieved more so far are not better than us, they don’t have better genes or a wired differently. They just took chances. Nothing comes from nothing. He who does not try has already lost.

A goal, such as finding the perfect partner or job, could be reached by pure luck. A perfect 10 might invite you to dinner, a headhunter might contact you with a job offer. Or … maybe not. Therefore we want to increase our chances and take the initiative.You have to take action to achieve goals, otherwise you become dependent on the actions of others.

We can increase our chance of achieving a goal by making good choices. We up our chances, if we stack our deck. The more work you put into achieving a goal, the more likely you’ll reach it. For example …

• You could spew a pick up line under your beer breath at every person you meet. But lets be honest, it takes more than a few dishonest words, some ketchup stains on the t-shirt and hoping for the best.

• You could send an online application to a high-end boutique. All with holiday photos and spelling errors. But you can’t expect that anyone will want to hire you, if you put zero effort into your presentation.

No! You have to put in work, to get the results you desire. The more measures you take, the higher the possibility of reaching a goal. You’re more likely to succeed if you…

• Put on some nice clothes, present yourself in the best possible way and compliment a person, if you’re a attracted to them.

• Get a haircut, write a resume, take decent pictures, call, send in your application, call again.

Of course, goals do not end with the partnership and the profession.Mostly it’s the personal stuff that we want to achieve. It’s about the dreams we want to fulfill, the art we want to create.

Which goal do you want to achieve?Become self-employed?Build a house? Write a book?Lose weight?Since you are a fine person, your goal will not maliciously harm others.Any goal that makes you happier is good in my eyes.And if something does not make you happier, it’s notyourgoaleither. You let yourself get influenced. As always: You are the main actor. Putting others before you can be respectable, but you can play Mother Theresa in the next show at the village theater.

Road to success.

Before you get going, you need to have the right mindset.

• If it’s not what they really want, most people are wishy-washy when it comes to action steps. You don’t want to depend on others to accomplish your goals. You should be able to achieve goals independently. Of course, a little bit of help here and there is unavoidable. But if they flake out or leave you hanging, you have to able to do it alone. For example, if your weight loss plan involves always going jogging with Anja, you make life unnecessarily difficult. What if Anja has no desire to leave the house today, because she has an appointment tomorrow. You’re two days on the couch, therefore two days behind your plan. The day after tomorrow she has a headache.
• You should set a time frame. How many days do you need to accomplish your goal? You want to lose 20 pounds. That’s nice and well. But until when? Planning is important and should be done as accurately as possible from the start. You have to estimate how much time you have available every day. When can you reach your goal?
• Be focus and sacrifice! It is important to set priorities. Reaching a goal takes time, of course it depends on your dreams and expectations. Nevertheless, part of your life probably needs to be restructured. If your friends are out and about, you may have to work. So what, it will be worth it. The more ambitious the goal, the more sacrifice. Remember: You can only achieve great things with change. So you can either gossip for two hours with your gang. After the third bottle of champagne you and the girls can come to the conclusion that Paul is a blabbermouth and Anja should break up with him. Or you use those hours for something that has substance. Everything costs time. Unfortunately one has very little time, if one is under thirst for action. To reach your goal in time you have to stop wasting time like watching the rerun of that show with the yellow family. You already know what happens in this episode after they on the couch. Dad is eating too much, mom is grumpy, baby is acting weird, son annoys bartender and daughter annoys viewer. Free hours can not be wasted, if you have a big plan. If you want to achieve something, you simply have less free time.

Goals do not have to be easy to achieve, but have to be clearly defined. People who set blurry goals likeFrom now on, everything will be better will have problems.There are worlds betweenI am getting rich nowandThis is my business plan.

A goal must be firm: I will have A

The way must be logical: To have A I have to do B, C, and D.

Your battle plan needs the ultimate victory: What do you want to achieve? And then it is time for the right strategy. The more accurate the plan, the easier it should be to implement it. And above all it gets easier to stick to a good plan, then having to rethink every other move.

Let’s get to work. Grad a pen, grab some paper. The to-do-list you have to write is a contract with yourself.It is a promise to the future you. Writing a to-do-list seems like a chore. But it’s a reminder to keep on trucking and an overview of where you’re at right now. If you had problems reaching goals in the past, you should add your motivation under the big plan. That will do wonders, if you want to quit. I’m going to be self-employed because my boss is annoying!

A to-do-list for your project is just like shopping at the supermarket. It’s not fun, but it is helpful. Things on the shopping list are a must, just like you have to spend your time on your project. The wasted time for nothing but leisure reminds me of the cravings for junk food that you get so when streaking through the corridors. It makes a difference, when you can rely on your list. It will be easier to skip the bag of chips, because you have written down that you only need oatmeal and apples. Just like it will be easier to turn off the TV, because there is an item on your list you have to work on today.

Divide and conquer. On the road to success you need some good morale. Divide your big plan, set some interim goal you can reach and pat yourself on the shoulder for. Achieving intermediate goals means experiencing success, means more self-confidence, means more momentum and therefore picking up speed.

Each of the intermediate goals can be reached through certain activities and processes.

• What are your tasks up to intermediate goal A?

• To interim destination B?

Of course, the intermediate steps should not be ridiculous.A brief and concise guide is certainly more useful than being reminded, that in order to build a spice rack you should pick up a hammer and then nail it.To omit important steps in the description, however, means that you could end up with a shopping cart full of spices but no rack.

The decision is made, the plan is made. Now your goal doesn’t seem so big anymore, right? Any realistic goal can become reality, if you follow a certain path.

It is important to concentrate on individual steps. Work on one of them until you can check it off. If your plan was perfect, you’re at the top when you’re at the bottom. Congratulations! You have reached that big old goal that is at the top of your to-do-list.

Example of a battle plan: I will write a book

For this I need: idea, story, characters, environment, history, plot, writing style.Interim goal: complete research and planning.

I have to start writing, finish the first chapter, write the second chapter, write a first climax. I have to be inspired, I have to wonder if the reader is still entertained.Interim goal: finish the first half.

Then I have to: Work on the vocabulary, reread the first half, so I’m up to date. I have to write four more chapters, I have to surprise the reader, I have to go back and remove repetitions. Interim goal: getting right to the big twist.

I have to read again, take notes on how the ending becomes more exciting. Write, write, write.Interim goal: I write The End and save my first book.

I have to proofread, make improvements, think of the book titles. Accomplishment: I wrote a book.

It is motivating to hang your battle plan in a prominent place, as you will be reminded every day. I want, so today I have to! The best place is a fitting place, where the to-do-list acts as a reminder.

I like couples of goal and solution. If you want to lose weight, putting your plan on the fridge seems like a good idea. If you want to become self-employed tape it on the screen of your TV. If your goal is to get in the best shape of your life, your battle plan could be placed on your mirror.

one by one

I’m sure there is a lot you want to do. But reaching goals is just like counting. One after the other is the way to go. Don’t get ahead of yourself, trying to accomplish two things at once. When you focus on one goal, not only can you build momentum more easily, you also have some pressure to finish that project. It would be pretty embarrassing, if you do not even get one measly thing done. Child’s play!

But in all seriousness. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Surely you have heard a housekeeper complain that he/she/it has so much to do that he/she/it comes to nothing. She is right. For the easy life, focus. Focus on a target like a laser, then you can move planets. If you do ten things simultaneously, you jump in a circle and accomplish nothing.

Failure

Goals and failures, plans and setbacks go hand in hand. They’re what we have to deal with. Interim failure is always better than not trying. When you feel like quitting, visualize the end. I’m sure you already thinking about the steps it takes to reach it. If you want to quit, remember why you started your project in the first place. Setbacks and failures are part of every goal. Even if you plan as and accurately as possible, some circumstances will change. If need be rewrite your steps. No plan will work out perfectly, and admitting that is a big part of reaching a goal. An alternative route is not a problem as long as you reach your destination.