Why other people don’t set goals

There have been numerous studies which have demonstrated the value of Goal Setting in the achievement of success, yet it is estimated that only 3% of us have clear written goals. This article examines what prevents the majority of people from setting goals.

 Why people do not set goals – 1. Lack of awareness

 Firstly, it is evident that most people cannot realise the importance of goals. This is perhaps understandable if, for example, you grow up in an environment where no-one had goals, or you spend the bulk of your time with a group of friends where goals are neither discussed nor valued.

 We will tend to learn from the books we read and the people we associate with. If you are not exposed to the principles of goal setting you may potentially go through life without ever realising how powerful they can be.

 Why people do not set goals – 2. Lack of Knowledge

 The second reason that many people don’t set goals is because either they don’t know how or sometimes think they have them already, when in reality, they have a series of vague dreams or wishes like, “Be happy,” or “Make a lot of money.”

 These however, are not goals at all but merely fantasies that are common to nearly everyone. In our definition, a goal is something distinctly different from a wish. It is clear, written and specific. It can be quickly and easily described to another person. You can measure it, and you know when you have achieved it, or not.

 Why people do not set goals – 3. The Fear of Failure

 The third reason that people don’t set goals is because of the fear of failure. Failure can be both emotionally and often financially painful. Often however, the fear of failure is even more distressing and debilitating than the failure itself.

 Everyone has experienced failure at some time. Each occasion, they resolve to be more careful next time and avoid failing in the future. They then make the mistake of unconsciously sabotaging themselves by not setting any goals at which they might fail. They can end up going through life functioning at far lower levels may be truly possible for them.

 If we stay within the ‘safe harbour of the known’ we will be protected from potential or actual failure, however we will also be condemning ourselves to small lives of frustration and wondering, what if.

 Imagine success and failure either side of a swinging pendulum. If the pendulum points straight down, in the neutral position we will most likely be protected from failure, but at the cost of not experiencing success. The further the pendulum is pushed to the failure side, the further it can swing back to success.

 Why people do not set goals – 4. The Fear of Rejection

 The fourth reason that people don’t set goals is because of the fear of rejection. People are afraid that if they set a goal and are not successful, others will criticize or ridicule them. This is one of the reasons why, when you begin to set goals, you should keep your goals a secret or only share with trusted supporters who will encourage you and, if necessary, keep you accountable.

Don’t tell just anyone. Let people see by your results and achievements what you have accomplished, but don’t tell them in advance. As Brian Tracy says “What they don’t know can’t hurt you”.

To find out how using goal setting software can propel you towards success, further information is available from The Goals Workshop.

Interesting Blogs

Share on Facebook

The Reasons Why Affirmations Work

Have you ever driven a familiar route, only to arrive with no real recollection of how you got there? Scary when you think about it isn’t it? Yet while we were learning to drive, it took all our powers of concentration to coordinate our hands and feet, not to mention negotiate a busy junction.

All the things we do on a daily basis without even thinking about are stored in the subconscious part of our minds. These include the way we brush our teeth, the way we tie our shoes, the way we drive and so on. All the things we do without thinking now, that we once had to think about, have become a deeply ingrained habit.

Think of the subconscious mind like a footpath through a cornfield. Constant traffic has created a path, so most trips that cross the cornfield will just follow the same trail. If you want to go somewhere else it’s going to take a bit of effort. You have to get yourself out of the old path and then create a new one.

This need not be as hard as it seems. New pathways are created the same way the old ones were – by repetition. It took effort to create those original paths. You had to think about it and then repeat it until it became easy. This is how affirmations work. The repetition of affirmations is part of the process of creating new habits, new routines, and a new path for your mind to run on.

In addition to the effect of repetition, here are three reasons why affirmations work.

Why Affirmations Work 1. The mind cannot differentiate between what’s real or not

Our brains aren’t limited by the concept of reality. That is why you can feel worried or upset by just thinking about something, regardless of whether it actually happened or not. It also explains why you can get really scared at movies, which cause actual changes in your physiology, such as making you jump or your hairs stand on end. And why today you still feel “I can’t do Maths” just because your teacher said that, maybe 30 years ago.

By practicing self affirmations you are continually verbalizing & visualizing what you desire. When done with intensity and repetition, your mind will treat it as reality and you will begin to develop a new belief.

When that happens, your idea of your potential will increase and your subconscious mind will find a way to make it happen. To make what it perceives as real become your reality.

Why Affirmations Work 2. Your thoughts become things

According to quantum physics, everything in this universe is energy, water, air, soil, light, the stars, even us. Just like everything else, your thoughts are made of energy.

Our physical universe is ‘shapeable’. When you have a thought, it carries (or rather is) energy and goes out all the way to the universe. This energy contains the contents of your thoughts and the Universe starts to manifest it. Due to the relatively low vibration level of the physical plane, there is a lag to the manifestation. It doesn’t happen immediately; therefore you will need patience and faith.

As you practice self affirmations, you are sending thoughts out and the more you do it, the stronger and faster the manifestation. That’s the second reason why affirmations work. Now you might ask ‘If it’s that easy, why haven’t I gotten my Ferrari yet?’ Read on.

Why Affirmations Work 3. Consistency vs. inconsistency

At this point it is easy to be sceptical based on your ‘reality’ in this moment. For example if this is all true, why don’t I see a million dollars in my bank account? Where is my Ferrari? Realize that in the physical world, there is a lag time to the manifestation. The thoughts you give out now will not manifest until later in the future. But what have you been focusing on in the meantime?

If you are not consistently holding the positive thought, then the energy & momentum gained in the manifestation will gradually dissolve. Let’s say you lost focus along the way and you started to doubt the possibility of achieving it. Before your initial desire can be manifested, the change in your thought energy stops that manifestation process. Instead, now you are sending out the thought/message that it cannot be achieved.

That is why you must maintain strong faith & belief. Don’t lose hope. Even though you cannot see the results yet, it doesn’t mean that underneath the surface great things aren’t happening.

This explains why most people who are successful are usually those that stick to their thoughts and rarely change their minds.

This is why affirmations will work if you practice them consistently.

This video offers further explanation of the power of positive affirmations

Interesting Blogs

• Positive Affirmations to Help Boomers Lose Weight | Applied Creative Evolution
• How To Use Affirmations And Visualization To Create Wealth | Business Wealth Job Creation Personal Wealth Systems
• The Secret To Attracting Money With Affirmations « Law of Universal Attraction
• Law of Attraction | Wealth, Money and Abundance Affirmations | Abundance Creation Nation
• Sanskrit Mantras vs Affirmations and English Mantras for love, health, wealth, stress, etc | xForce Articles
• Sleep On It — How Your Subconscious Mind Works For You — Silva Method Life
• Who is in Charge the Conscious or Subconscious Mind?

Share on Facebook

Jim Rohn Tribute – Darren Hardy

Share on Facebook

A Design for Life – Free book and self improvement newsletter

Yours FREE to welcome you to  A Design for Life, the self improvement newsletter from URSuccess.net - simply add your first name and email to the box below.

Interesting Blogs

Share on Facebook

Listen to the URSuccess podcasts

As a special new feature you can listen to regular podcast from The Success Channel – another way to receive ideas and inspiration for your best life.

Share on Facebook

How to create positive affirmations

Like many things we don’t fully understand, it would be easy to dismiss the power of affirmations, but there are sufficient respected and highly successful people that recommend them, that they deserve investigation.

Regrettably, many of us grow up with a set of beliefs about ourselves that are less than empowering. As we grow up we begin to put ourselves down for any slight failure, whether real or imagined. Our parents, teachers and other influential adults can inadvertently create a diminished self image and install a number of limiting beliefs. This is compounded by the numbers of times we think or talk to ourselves everyday in negative terms. The use of positive affirmations is a powerful technique to change that negative self-talk into something more positive.

Leading thinkers and researchers on the use of affirmations include Jack Canfield and John Assaraf. Research on the effectiveness of positive affirmations as a life enhancing tool has led to the formation of the following eight step system for setting positive affirmations.

1. Affirmations should start with the words I AM. These are two of the most powerful words in the English language as they send a command to the subconscious part of our minds.
2. Positive – our minds like to work in pictures, therefore we cannot not think about something. So trying not to think of a pink elephant will undoubtedly bring up an image of a pink elephant. An affirmation such as I am enjoying breathing clean air will be more effective than I am no longer a smoker.
3. State in the present tense. This sets up an imbalance in the subconscious which it will then seek to correct. For example if you want to gain a particular position at work, state I am the regional sales manager, rather than I want to be or I will be.
4. Specific – Our subconscious minds require clear specific instructions which allow them to accurately pursue what we have programmed in the form of positive affirmations. So “I am rich” is not specific enough, better to say “I am earning $100,000 per year”. You may also like to add the phrase this or something better, because if you are too limiting in your desires, such as “I want to marry Susan”, she might not be interested, available or the best match for you.
5. Contain an active verb – without getting into high school grammar mode, an active verb is a do-ing word such as living, having, achieving, earning and so on.
6. Contain a feeling – this magnifies the power of your affirmations by adding the fuel of emotion. Consider including feelings such as joyful, excited, thankful or freedom
7. Keep it brief- to be most effective, your affirmation should be easily remembered and repeated often. By keeping it brief you are far more likely to remember it. As a fun exercise you could consider trying to make it rhyme. In this way, similar to advertising jingles, your affirmation will stick in your head.
8. Make it personal – your affirmations should be about you. You will not be successful in trying to change another person, neither are you likely to be fully engaged with words that someone else has suggested for you.

A suggested format might look something like this:

“I am so thankful for the freedom that being a millionaire brings me” or “I am so proud to be accepting my diploma in front of my family and friends”

The final thing to remember about positive affirmations is that they must be repeated frequently to reprogram your subconscious into accepting they are true. Some teachers suggest 100 times a day, others recommend putting your affirmations on your bedside table and reciting first thing in the morning and last things at night.

Here is a free video on the power of positive affirmations

Share on Facebook

An Attitude of Gratitude

Do you remember as a child being encouraged to write thank you letters for the gifts you received at Christmas? Can you recall how much easier it was to write to the relative who gave you something you really liked and were grateful for, compared with the ill fitting jumper from your aunt?
When we have genuine feelings of gratitude writing the letter becomes easy, almost automatic, as our feelings rush out onto the page.

We can extend this principle to other areas of our lives today. If we approach the working day for example or perhaps our important relationships with gratitude, imagine how much more positive energy that will generate and the impact it will have.

Right now, take a few seconds and reflect on the things that you are, or could be grateful for. I guarantee you will feel an immediate benefit.

Share on Facebook