All people set themselves some goals in life. But not everyone achieves the result. We will explore how to correctly formulate goals, focus on the process and visualize the end result.
It has become fashionable to talk about achieving goals and “life’s mission” – this topic is discussed at lunchtime in the “smoking room”, at various trainings, psychological seminars. Someone cannot fall asleep at all without first reading another story about how someone reached the heights of success.
But such conversations are still rather an attempt to pay tribute to fashion and at the same time to elevate themselves in their own eyes and the eyes of others; in fact, it turns out that many do not have any specific goal – there is only a vague, vague desire to do something “great.”
After all, this work is rarely pure pleasure. Roald Amundsen strove to reach the South Pole. Korolev’s goal was the conquest of boundless outer spaces by man. And there are also smaller goals. For example, in 1990, a group of residents of St. Petersburg created an organization called Nochlezhka, which was involved in helping people without a roof over their heads. So what are they really – personal goals that are always, like that notorious shirt, “closer to the body”?
Concrete vs Abstraction
Difficulties await already at the stage of formulating a personal goal. “What is my mission in life? And why do I actually smoke heaven – so that every month I regularly pay for a communal apartment? ” There is an old joke that tells how the Chinese minister for the sake of pest control issued a law – for each locust caught, a citizen can receive one yuan. After that, all of China began to breed locusts. In order not to get into such situations, it is necessary to correctly formulate goals. This is one of the key skills required in the 21st century.
Understanding how to manage your life is not always easy. Even 40- and 50-year-old people who have no idea what they should do are becoming regulars of psychologists.
But it is worth considering that questions about the meaning of life always carry a shade of some pathos and majesty. It is much easier to answer a more mundane question: how do I occupy my time? With its help, it is easier to distract oneself from the couch reflections on the cosmic meaning of being and on the “divine” providence.
Dream formulation
What other methods will help you correctly formulate a life goal? Let’s consider some of them.
- Determine for yourself what you would like to feel. When a person wants to buy a brand new car, or a dress from Dior, it is not the purchases themselves that spur him on, but the feelings of delight and joy that the possession of them brings. It seems to a person that if he just gets behind the wheel of this beauty, he will immediately feel happy. In general, it is. But why not use your feelings to create a Wish Map? Ask yourself, what feelings do I want to experience in family life? What feelings should arise when I enter a work office?
- Many have already heard about the SMART goal setting system. However, in addition to being achievable, meaningful and other characteristics, the goal must also correspond to such a parameter as environmental friendliness. It is of two types – external and internal. For example, you would like to get the position of head of department, but this will entail a decrease in salary. Right now you have taken out a car loan. In this case, we can safely say that the goal will not meet the criterion of external environmental friendliness. The category of internal environmental friendliness includes the compliance of the goal with the internal beliefs of a person. For example, a girl wants to get married, but thinks that all men are “good …”. If the existing goals contradict the possibilities or beliefs, the person will be like between a rock and a hard place until he finds a balance.
- It is also helpful to ask yourself three questions to set the right goal:
- On a scale from 1 to 100, how realistic is it to achieve the result?
- On a scale of 1 to 100, what is your true desire to work towards this goal?
- On a scale of 1 to 100, how much does the end result depend on your own efforts?
In the event that the arithmetic mean (the probability of achieving the result) is less than 100, what can be done to increase the success rate? Are there other people in your life who could be of help? Maybe this goal is not yours at all?
And now about the victims
Another important question in defining a personal mission is: why am I ready to endure any difficulties? After all, no work can be a complete pleasure. If a person wants to become a truly professional musician, he will have to play for several hours a day, and maybe endure the teacher’s nagging for as many more. If he wants to become an entrepreneur, he cannot do without red tape with documents, visits to tax authorities, communication with dissatisfied clients. Each field of activity has both pros and cons. And if a person wants to become a professional, but is afraid of difficulties, he graduated before even having time to start.
Result visualization
Correctly formulated goals are half the battle. However, it directly depends on how the movement towards results will take place. One of the most popular and effective methods of making dreams come true is visualization. This concept is fanned by the aura of mysticism. However, according to the latest research by psychologists, the principles of its action have a completely materialistic basis.
Visualization was used by many famous athletes – for example, such as the boxer Muhammad Ali, or the professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, who became known for his victories as the “Golden Bear”. When a person imagines this or that situation, the same neurons are activated in his brain as in real life. In other words, before any difficult situation, you can fully work it out in your imagination. Moreover, for the brain there will not be much difference between the real situation and the one that is scrolling in the mind.
Visualization is a great way to mobilize strength for the upcoming test. In the difficult task of achieving goals, their main function is to provide the necessary portion of inspiration and motivation. Therefore, this method is effective only for those who take action to achieve a result. After all, no matter how much you fantasize that that beauty over there will reciprocate to me, this will not happen if you do not ask her what time it is.
Tiny steps
Achieving results is impossible without small actions that bring you closer to your cherished dream. These can be the most microscopic steps, however they must be done every day on a consistent basis. This is how stable habits are formed that allow a person to achieve impressive results. Family hour . An hour for your favorite hobby. Buying one healthy product. One smile at the moment when you want to say an offensive word. The idea is to methodically make dreams come true.
School of life and goal setting
We often look at life as if we are excellent students, for whom even a “4” is a failure. We do not allow ourselves to have both a cat and a dog, because we know that we cannot cope with caring for pets. We do not think about starting our own business, as we consider ourselves incapable. We are trying to make a choice in favor of one of the options, while we may well grab both. Life is much more diverse than school. Although you can look at life’s difficulties and as at school tasks. And if you can’t solve them, you can try to write off the “excellent students” of the school of life. Ask yourself what would Steve Jobs, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, or any other historical figure of admiration do if you were?
Concentration Rule: “Sterile Cabin”
The most important prerequisite for achieving this goal is the utmost concentration on the work process. In aviation, there is the concept of a “sterile cockpit”. During takeoff and landing, any conversation among the crew members that does not concern the flight itself is prohibited. During the flight, it will be possible to discuss the hair color in front of the passenger sitting in front, or the next Bond girl. But not at a critical moment. In order to concentrate as much as possible on the work, it is worth making yourself the rule of a “sterile cabin” – a psychological space, which implies complete concentration on the work being performed. If you need to write a term paper in three days, ask your family members not to bother you. If you are a designer who desperately needs to finish a project by a certain deadline,
When setting new goals for yourself, remember that they are guidelines for a long life journey. They can be achieved or not achieved, changed along the way. The main value is the life path itself.
