The First Key To Success: Be Specific About Your Goals And Dreams

By Paula A Parker

Everyone likes to set goals and to dream big, but actually reaching those goals and dreams is often difficult. One crucial problem may be that you aren't being specific enough when thinking about and articulating what it is you want to achieve.

It's hard to begin or maintain a goal when your objectives are too vague. Take a common goal of trying to lose weight. Many dieters fall into the "my objectives are too vague" category and it causes them to lose incentive. For instance, they may set a weight loss goal of losing 40 or 50 pounds, but then what? After a few weeks, with no real plan in place, they get discouraged.

By being specific and detailed about your goal, however, you increase your chances for success. You could set up a very specific goal of losing two pounds a week: one and a half pounds through diet, and a half pound through exercise. Now you can easily calculate how many calories you need to eat each day, and how much exercise you need to meet your weight loss goals.

Of course, this is only the beginning of the battle, but getting off on the right foot with a real and specific plan in place puts you ahead of the game and encourages you to stick with your goal. This simple but effective concept can be applied to any goal you have and will help you stay on the path to success.

Take another very common example. Some people when asked what they wish for most in life will say, "I want to be rich."

Okay, well, who doesn't? "One day I want to be rich" is a very enticing dream, but what road map can you follow to be rich? How do you even start to achieve such a vague goal?

Instead, you might set a more specific and definable goal of opening your own business. This, by the way, probably won't make you rich, but now you can see you have a real starting point. You are no longer living in dreamland. You now have something to work toward, something real to achieve.

And who knows, as you go along in the process of defining and achieving, you may find that your dreams change along with you. Maybe being wealthy really isn't that important to you, afterall. Maybe the personal satisfaction of starting and running your own business is achievement enough for you. And if you can make a decent living out of it, then you really have achieved something.

These are just two examples of how giving your goals and dreams specific details can help you get started on your way and increase you chances for success. It's okay to set big goals and have great expectations in life. Just remember, a dream will always remain a dream unless you can give it a specific and achievable definition.

Paula A. Parker is a freelance writer and owner of http://www.behappyzone.com where she writes inspirational articles about finding happiness and maintaining a positive outlook in life. You can read more about reaching goals in her article: Keeping Your Dreams Alive

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Tips on How to Use Mantras to Accomplish Your Goals Author: Dion Daly

A lot of people think of mantras as just verbal things, which they are not. So what are they? Well, they are a personal ritual. An action that a person can initiate to achieve something they want. This action could be a physical action, a sound, a syllable, word or group of words, mental or even spiritual. Mantras are believed to be capable of producing a significant change in a person because they can be used as a powerful driving force to aid a person realizes a certain purpose.

Basically they are a life style that helps in personal development. Personal verbal mantras involve repeating your goal and what you are going to do to achieve it over and over again. What this repetition does is remind your brain of how important your goal is to you. A physical mantra would be moving: like, repeating a physical movement over and over again until it becomes ingrained in the brain. A spiritual one would be continuous prayer for an outcome that you want. A mental one would be taking on a different way of thinking about things. It is up to you to choose what way would be best for you to practice.

But, the good thing is, you can use them for anything that you want to achieve in life: things like attaining personal goals, producing a significant transformation in your life style or even developing your psychic capabilities.

So how do you utilize mantras to attain your goals? Here are a few simple steps you can use:

First: make a list of your goals.
The thing is you must make clear your goals. What is it that you want to accomplish? You need to be specific about what you want to accomplish. Could it be succeeding in getting your first half a million dollar by the age of 28, or is it you want to own your first house six years after you begin working.

Second: write down the purpose for wanting to achieve your goals.
Why do you want to have half a million by the age of 28? Is it because you want to realize a sense of financial well-being? So you must find out the commitment that will aid drive you. This commitment will be your incentive to work harder towards attaining your goals.

Third:put your list somewhere you can see it every-day.
So you need to put your list somewhere noticeable. This could be the mirror on your dressing table, wallet or purse.

Fourth: repeat your mantra.
Repeat it 20 times out loud in the morning, afternoon and before going to bed. And every time an obstacle comes in your way. Your mantra will work if you have listed strong enough motives that will force you to get back up and start working towards your goal again.

You must make the whole of your life your own personal mantra. Remember to be tenacious in supporting your mantra by taking action: meaning do any little thing you can every-day that will take you nearer to your goal and great rewards are sure to follow.

One thing to remember is that for best results try to create your own mantra because it will then be personal which means that your unconscious mind will work even that much better towards achieving your gaols.

A few samples of a verbal mantra to say out loud:

I have all the energy I need to accomplish my goals.
My life is a success-story.
I am a winner-I win often, and I win big!
My imagination is now creating all the financial abundance that I desire.
I let go of worry. I enjoy the natural flow of this day; whatever it may bring.
I want to open my mind, body, sprit to become ______ and understand why.
I will do my best to take note of my true self.
I can be who-ever I want to be.
As you can see they are easy to construct, so you can come up with your own ones Good Luck!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/goal-setting-articles/tips-on-how-to-use-mantras-to-accomplish-your-goals-5673393.html

About the Author

Dion Daly is a certified trainer in hypnosis, a master practitioner in NLP and TLT. He also has a degree in metaphysics.

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