Goal Setting Hacks [3/3]

Align Goals with Personal Values

Personal values are related to the intangible things that are of fundamental importance to us. Our values guide us and dictate how we behave and react in different situations. One of the reasons why people fail to achieve success is because their goals and personal values are out of alignment. If you are a sales representative and you goal is to double your commission, then you would have to enlarge your sales territory, travel more frequently and spend more time at restaurants to preserve your relationship with clients. However, if your top personal value is the belief that the relationship with your family is of great importance, then there is a conflict between your goal and your values. Your goal is dragging you in one direction, but at the same time your belief is forcing you to spend more time with your family. You find yourself in a permanent emotional conflict, which will have a negative impact on your performance at work. As Tony Robbins would put it, “If you are running East, looking for a sunset, you got a problem”.

If your goal is to manage projects internationally, then you would have to be prepared to work across multiple time zones. Today’s technology will make it possible to collaborate with your team abroad. However, if your personal value is the belief that you need to be with your spouse and children after 4 p.m. your time, then you would be in conflict with yourself. Such emotional conflicts will give birth to anger, frustration and disapproval. This will be easily noticed by those who try to contact you at times that are unsociable for you, but sociable for them.

I remember interviewing a candidate in the past for the post of project coordinator of an international team. The time zone that divided him from the team was six hours. The candidate had all the virtues needed to function effectively at work. However, during the interview, I led him to talking about his priorities in life. After I realized that he valued more the time spent with his children after school than his availability at work, I decided not to give him the job. I knew fully well that sooner or later, he would lose his energy and efficiency at work because he would be drawn away by his moral responsibilities at home.  He was simply not ready to juggle children and his career. I found out later that he had secured a similar job in another company. However, he had to resign due to the frustration of having to be available at unsocial hours. You simply cannot manage a multinational team stationed in different time zones without being prepared to make sacrifices. I therefore appeal to you to take some time to identify your values before setting goals. Once they are in agreement, you are on your way to achieving what you desire.

Creative Visualization

Creative Visualization is a technique that is used to get the best out of the mind. It is the ability to influence circumstances and attract whatever you crave for in life, both personally and professionally. A properly-managed mind results in success. A mismanaged-mind leads to mental turmoil and mediocrity. Our subconscious mind will accept the thoughts with which it is being fed if these thoughts happen on a continual basis and with true faith. Once this happens, the subconscious mind will tend towards getting the required results by changing its awareness and actions. As strange as it may sound, thoughts that are strong enough may also travel from our minds to other minds and therefore influence the way others will perceive us.

If you want to achieve your goal, then make it a habit to envision in your mind’s eye that you have already reached your goal. Feel the pleasure soaking into your whole body whenever you create that mental picture of your goal. Visualize your accomplished goal just before going to bed, just after waking up in the morning and as many times as possible during the day. Make you brain satiated with these images and feelings and it will become more receptive. You become focused. You become motivated and you begin to notice possibilities and opportunities that will take you to your goal.

Do you want to lose weight? See yourself looking slimmer, healthier and feel the gratification linked to that new image of yourself. Imagine that people will begin to notice and admire you and feel a greater urge to connect with you. Imagine that you begin to feel important and your confidence and self-esteem begin to grow. These compelling images and feelings will motivate the subconscious mind to strive towards making you slimmer.

Do you want to get that dream car of yours? Import and implant images of the dream car into your mind. See yourself driving the car and feel the satisfaction of doing so. Go to the car dealership, sit in the car and allow the good feeling to soak into your body and mind. Once you convince your mind that you already possess the car, it will seek and find ways for its attainment. Remember, whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

Self-Flattery

Whenever I complete a milestone, I spend a few minutes congratulating myself on my performance. After that, I proclaim loudly to my family that I have just done a good job and then treat myself to a glass of red wine. Self-flattery pushes me to acquire even more and reach the ultimate goal. It allows me to get up and press on when things go wrong. Our brain tends towards pleasure and needs to be reminded that there is a reward for the work that has been executed. The reward is the positive reinforcement that keeps you motivated and increases your stickability. Of course, it would surely be nice if someone else complimented you on the good job you have done, especially someone higher up the corporate hierarchy. Unfortunately, in a world of competition and jealousy, people would most likely try to defame or criticize you. By doing so, they expect to subdue your ambition and eliminate you from the race towards success.

Some people believe it too childish to flatter oneself. However, it is an effective way to let your subconscious mind be aware that at the end of a great piece of work, there is enjoyment. You can go one step further by asking the right people for feedback on your work. They need to know that honest feedback is the best feedback, no matter how much it may hurt. The idea is to get information as to whether you are navigating along the right path. If you swerve a bit too far away, then sincere feedback will jerk you back on the path to success, especially considering that such feedback comes along with good advice. Feedback allows you to be aware of your blind spots and once that happens, it is easier for you to take the right measures to eliminate them and achieve better results.