As with anything else in life, there’s always a process to getting things done. If we observe our goals the same way, we can become much more effective at bringing them to completion. For some people their goals only remain in their head. Others may manage to write out their goals and basically it ends there. Then, you have some people who actually take action towards their goals but seem to lose their momentum and leave their goals on the side lines. Next thing you know, you have a bunch of open-ended, uncompleted tasks. A bunch of things you’ve started but never finished.
I fell into the latter pile of people for a long time. It wasn’t until I learned and implemented these few tactics below that I was actually able to complete my goals and bring them into full fruition. Put them into practice and see how much better you get at crushing your goals.
Create a pros and cons list
This is an amazing tool to keep you focused on your goals. It can literally be used for any goal, no matter how big or small. This tactic allows you to see the reality of both outcomes depending on which path you take. It gives you a clear perspective of what your choice to do or not to do could potentially create.
Also, if your goal is really small, you can create the list in your head. So, it may be something as simple as deciding to cook dinner or not. You can think of the pros and cons of cooking or not to quickly come to a decision.
The list can have as many or as little pros and cons you can think of depending on the size of your goal. The pros and cons list also places things into perspective because we tend to overanalyze our goals. The paradox of this list may reveal to you that not accomplishing your goal may not be all that bad. Depending what’s on the cons list, you may actually feel better and less tense about not completing your goal. This, in an ironic way, can still motivate you to act towards your goals because you may see that you don’t have much to lose. So, even if your plans flop, you won’t be that bad off after all.
On the flip side, if your cons list is substantial you can use that as your motivation to keep working towards your goals. Look over your list daily to remind yourself that in order not to end up in the reality of your cons list you must take action!
Make your goals immensely small
I learned this neat little trick from a YouTube video I came across about a year ago. He calls it the two-minute rule. I love this strategy because it takes the burden off of you from feeling like you have so much to get done. With this trick, you give yourself only two minutes to work towards your goal. That’s it. Another reason why this is simply amazing is because what it’s really doing is psyching your mind out. It’s a way to get you into action. But once you’re in action, most times you’ll end up working on your goal for much longer than two minutes.
Most of the time, it’s not the hassle of completing our goals that’s the problem. It’s getting started. Once we get started a natural momentum starts to build and we can typically get quite a bit done. You would feel more motivated to get started if you knew you were only going to give it 2 minutes of your time versus having to work on it for hours. The thought of working on it for a long duration of time automatically drains us and we begin to procrastinate.
Some people may think well if you’re only giving it two minutes what’s the point of doing anything at all? First off, depending on what you’re doing a lot can be accomplished in two minutes. And again, it’s about psyching your mind out just so you can take some sort of action towards your goals. And think of it this way, giving your goals 2 minutes of your time will still get your further along than giving it no time at all.
Make this step your own
So, would you rather write two-three sentences of the first chapter of your book? Or would you rather feel so overwhelmed just thinking about all you have to do to write your book and get nothing done at all? Everything is about perspective. As I stated previously, from personal experience, once I tell myself I’m only going to give this two minutes of my time, I always end up working on it for much longer because I enter a natural flow that keeps me going.
And you can make it your own. It doesn’t have to be two minutes. You can choose any amount of time that feels comfortable to you. Also, you can do it by tasks instead of time. Break your goals down into the smallest task possible. So, the one task can be actually purchasing the workout equipment you’ve been putting off. Or opening up the investment account you’ve been talking about. Take one task at a time instead of stressing yourself out by thinking you have to get it all done right now.
Give yourself a rewards system
We all like the feeling of being rewarded for our efforts. If you knew you had something fun to look forward to after completing a task on your goals list, you would feel more motivated to do so. You don’t have to wait for the world to reward and congratulate you for your efforts. You can do it for yourself!
I do it all the time. I celebrate every task I complete. It can be whatever reward you want to give yourself. Buy yourself something nice. Treat yourself to your favorite meal. Have a night out with your friends. Whatever you feel that you would like to gift yourself with, go for it. This works because our minds can be like children. You have to bribe it sometimes to get it to focus. Just like you may tell your child you’ll buy them that new game they want if they clean their room; that’s exactly what you’re doing to your mind with this step.
You’re telling yourself that you’ll receive a reward once a certain task is completed. This gives a feeling of excitement and eagerness to spring into action. It also creates a pattern of self-recognition in your brain. This boosts up your confidence because you realize that you’re now a goal crushing bad a$$. You also realize that you don’t have to be dependent on other people to acknowledge your efforts. It feels good being able to acknowledge and reward yourself for your own efforts. It’s an intrinsic reward.
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