Many of us have goals, things that we want to achieve in our lives.
Some of our goals may be small such as losing a few pounds this month, others are large such as making your first million.
No matter how small or large your goals is, there are strategies that make it easier for you to complete your goals.
One strategy is one I call The Golden Path.
The Golden Path
Most people look at where they are, then where they want to be. So if you have a financial goal, you look at what is in your bank now and then imagine a path between your current bank balance and your future bank balance. If you want to lose some wight, you weight yourself now then picture what your weight will be in a month.
Try doing the opposite. Concentrate on where you want to be. Imagine that you are already there right now. Then look back from where you came from, trace a path from where your goals has been achieved to when you started to work on your goal. This path reveals how you got to completing your goal. This is your Golden Path. It starts with one single action. Do that single action right now.
Create an image for your goal
Visual thinking is more powerful than verbal thinking. This is why mind maps are such a good visual tool as they enable you to visualise complex processes. Spend some time imaging that you have achieved your goal, that you are at the end of your Golden Path. Think about how you will look (especially if it is a health goal) and think about how you will feel.
Find a picture that represents the achievement of your goal. For example, if you have a financial goal, find a picture of a new car or a new house, something that represents what you can buy with your wealth. You could have a picture of banknotes, but few of us get excited by pictures of money. It's what money can do for you that excites you.
If your picture is a car then either in a scrapbook or on a computer drawing program, paste a small picture of your present car. Then paste a much larger picture of your dream car. Make a gold coloured line that stretches from your present car to the dream car with an arrow head at the end touching the dream car.
Look at this picture everyday, visualising yourself sat in the driving seat of the dream car.
This process re-enforces our Golden path in your subconscious mind. It will make the achievement of your goal more real.
Feel
You get motivated and excited by feelings. When you imagine achieving your goal, see how you will feel. Actually have that feeling. Observe how people feel when they achieve something great. Watch marathon runners faces as they cross the finishing line. Observe the body language of the X Factor, or American Idol contestants as they get voted through to the next round. Feel their excitement as they jump in and down with joy! That is how you want to feel when your goal is achieved.
Important goals usually take hard work to achieve. Losing weight takes will power when you stand in front of a chocolate cake. Creating a new business can take long hours of hard work to set up. By focussing on how you will feel when you are leaner and fitter or more wealthy will give you the strength to carry on.
Steps
Visualise your Golden Path as a staircase. Each step of this staircase is an action. Large goals can appear overwhelming. By focussing on the individual steps, then all you need to be concerned about is the next action, the next step, whilst keeping in mind that each step gets you closer to your goal.
Projects
You will often find as you look at the Golden Path, that some actions can be grouped together into projects. For example if your goal is becoming healthier, then one project could be implementing a healthy diet. Actions within this project are:
• Research the best diet for you
• Find the best source for the ingredients
• Get some recipes
• Start cooking great dishes that are both enjoyable and good for you
Another health related project is exercise which includes the actions:
• Find the best local health club
• Join the club
• Commit to daily attendance
Rehearse
Top athletes spend time rehearsing in their mind how the race will go. They imagine going to the starting blocks, leaping forward as the starting pistol fires, then racing to the finishing line before the rest of the field. In their minds they are already a winner.
Research has shown that this technique improves performance considerably.
See yourself walking your Golden path, climbing the stairs until your goal is reached. Rehearse this every day. You can do this in 90 seconds or less.
Reward Your Self!
Image that along your Golden path there are some purple coloured steps. These represent significant stages along the way. If your goals is to lose 16 lbs then each purple step could represent a 4 pound loss. In the business example, a purple step could be landing your first large contract.
When you reach a purple step, reward yourself. Go for a celebration meal at your favourite restaurant, buy some music by your favourite artist, go away for the weekend with a loved one. Rewarding yourself will motivate you and give you the strength to head for the next purple step.
When your goal has been achieved the really celebrate and have an extra special treat.
The Golden path strategy is a powerful way to achieve your goals. Why not try it? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
