Turning Goals Into Actions

A week ago I asked you to consider and write down the three biggest goals that you wanted to achieve in 2009.  This gives us a good basis of the general direction that we are seeking for the New Year.  Once we identified the areas of concentration, then we can begin to break our task into manageable components.

As we know, action is the key to all accomplishment.  However, we cannot simply go out and lose 50 pounds.  There are certain things which must be done to achieve this result.  It is crucial to realize that any success is the result of many smaller actions.  Rome was not built in a day. Rather, it was erected one stone at a time.  The same is true for your life.

Once we got the three areas of focus, we want to select one to concentrate on now.  Write that goal on a piece of paper.  Underneath, we are going to identify the important actions that we need to undertake on a daily basis.  Every goal that has any merit is achieved by doing something everyday towards reaching that outcome.  This is what we want to identify now.

For example, if losing 50 pounds is our goal, what are some of the actions we need to take each day to make this a reality?  One thing would be to workout daily.  A combination of aerobic and strength training is required.  In addition to daily exercise, we also want to alter our diet.  This starts with having a regular dose of fruits and vegetables.  We might also consider eliminating those foods which are high in fat content.  There are basic components that will lead to a healthy diet. We need to put these on our list.

As you can see, we are starting to move from a goal which is an abstract idea to concrete actions we can take.  Instead of focusing on the outcome, we now can concentrate on doing what we need to do.  Actions are what allow us to reach that end.  If we follow this path, achieving our goal is a natural outcome to our efforts.  In effect, we are developing a plan for our success.

It is best to list a couple of things for each goal.  We do not want to create such a long list that it gets overwhelming.  For example, if we listed 90 things we needed to do each day to lose the 50 pounds, how likely are we to quit?  Very!  This idea is to have a few activies listed that will be done every single day regardless of other circumstances.  This is what will lead to the successful outcome you seek.

Once having completed this for the first goal, do it for the other two.  In total, you might have 6 or 9 things to do each day.  This is a manageable number which will offer major changes in your life.  You are already laying the foundation for an incredible year.

Next, we will discuss the value of habits and how we can put our life on autopilot.  How would you like to achieve your goals by default.  The next session will show you how habits can be developed to guarantee success.

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