If Your Life Isn't Going According to Plan, It's Probably Because You Don't Have A Plan

Another year’s come to an end. I don’t know about you, but for me is seems like just three weeks ago that 2009 was just beginning and I was working on my New Year resolutions. Today I’m taking a few hours to revisit those resolutions. I knew before I even sat down today, that I hadn’t achieved all my goals, so why bother to go through this? Better yet, why am I telling you that I didn’t achieve all my goals?

I’m telling you because there’s a lesson here, one I hope you’ll take to heart. I’m going to reveal to you the one thing you must do to boost your goal achievement results to near 100% - every time, every goal. You’ve heard me say it or have read it in my writings numerous times… “You can’t fix what you don’t track”.

Let me get one thing out of the way first. “Every goal you set is a life goal”. Whether it’s a business goal, a relationship goal, a health goal, a spiritual goal or a financial goal, every decision you make, every goal you set has a personal consequence. Every decision you make, every goal you set affects you and those around you. So even if you don’t own your own business, PAY ATTENTION!

We all know our goals need to be “SMART” goals.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results oriented and Time defined.

And yes, if you follow that process it will make it easier to accomplish your goal, because you will have clarity, and being clear about what you want and tracking your progress are the only two things you need to do …regardless of what the goals programs you may have purchased in the past tell you to do. Save your money.

Why do most people fail to achieve their goals? There’s only one reason …they don’t want what they want badly enough! They aren’t willing to put in the effort. “Dang, you want me to write it down and then you expect me to spend ten minutes a month making sure I’m going in the right direction too?” Sorry to sound so callous, but if you aren’t willing to do whatever-it-takes to live the life you want to live, save yourself the aggravation and maybe even the embarrassment and don’t bother with goals.

If you truly are committed to achieving your goal, there are six things you need:
1. DESIRE – this one is easy. When you want something, you know it

2. MOTIVATION – this one is tougher. You must have a HUGE WHY.

3. A [WRITTEN] PLAN – this is a necessity. You must be clear about what you want. Writing it down gives you that clarity.

4. BELIEF – You have to believe that it’s coming to you, that nothing will get in the way.

5. DETERMINATION – It’s about commitment. What are you willing to do to have it?

6. OPEN MIND – you must become resourceful. Expect it to happen, but don’t set limits or have preconceived notions as to when or how it should happen.

7. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS – Absolutely, Positively the most important step to achieving your goal.

I’ll say it again; “the only reason most goals aren’t achieved, is because they aren’t tracked”. That’s it. That’s all that’s standing between you and the goal you want to achieve. What’s so important about tracking your goal? It keeps your eye, you mind, and your heart focused on your dream.

Some goals will be accomplished in a short period of time with little effort; some will take months, even years and will take considerably more effort and determination. Don’t quit! If you can dream it, you can have it. Believe it and you will achieve it. Utilizing the seven steps above, there will be no goal you cannot achieve.

So, if your life isn’t going according to plan, it’s probably because you don’t have a plan. How much effort are you willing to put into making your life the life of your dreams? Actually goal setting takes surprisingly little effort in relation to the alternative.

The lowest common denominator in this equation is you. Unless you’re happy living the plans others have made for your life, isn’t it worth the extra time to design the life you want to live, and actually go for it?

One more thing; a few months back, as I was checking my goal progress again, I discovered one of my goals had changed. It was no longer something I wanted or needed to accomplish because it didn’t fit into the overall picture I have for my life anymore. (Things change and your life goals may change as well). That was an exciting discovery that saved me time and money, but better than that, eliminating that goal expedited another goal that was dependent on the achievement of the first one. I would never have known that had I not been tracking my progress. How cool is that?

“The reward for achieving your goal is not the goal itself, the true reward is the person you have become while striving for its achievement.”

...on your side,
Sieg